Enabling rural mobility: frequent rail service in the Neckar-Alb region

The Neckar-Alb region is home to over 700,000 people, more than 200,000 of whom reside in the two major urban centres of Reutlingen and Tübingen. In addition to the densely populated urban areas, the region also encompasses the very quiet Swabian Alb countryside.

The state of Baden-Württemberg has set itself the goal of providing 15-minute and 30-minute service intervals for public transport in urban and rural areas respectively. In addition, there will be an increased focus on rail transport to provide greater mobility guarantees for people. A key element of this plan is the development of the Neckar-Alb regional light rail system.

The new rail service is intended to relieve traffic congestion and offer residents a sustainable and reliable alternative to the car.

Ramboll is supporting the development of the 16km Reutlingen Süd–Engstingen route where former tram and railway lines are being revitalised and upgraded to a modern dual-system railway. The goal is to establish a 15- to 30-minute interval service between Reutlingen Central Station and Engstingen with direct connections to regional local transport services.

The extreme topography poses a particular challenge: on the Hohenauer Steige, a height difference of 180m must be overcome within just 2km including gradients of up to 100‰. The light rail vehicle used on this route is configured in such a way that it can even cope with the extreme 100‰ gradient. However, in order to ensure the continued use of the old rack railway (comprising tracks that provide additional traction for climbing steep gradients), the feasibility of a track solution is being investigated (for example, using four rail tracks) to enable the operation of both the modern light rail vehicles and the rack railway.

In addition, the route through nature reserves and drinking water protection zones has been planned to prevent surface water from entering the groundwater in an uncontrolled manner. In the event of heavy rainfall, the surface water retention facilities have been designed to ensure water evaporates on site rather then being immediately discharged into the sewerage system.

In the section between Pfullingen North and Pfullingen South, Ramboll is examining two route options, each of which presents specific challenges.

The inner-city route involves redesigning the limited road space, which is only 10 metres wide in some places, to ensure sufficient space for all road users in future. To achieve this, the conversion of existing roads into one-way streets is being considered, among other measures.

The second option runs along the old railway line, which is currently used as a cycle path. The focus here is on promoting multimodal mobility by integrating the planning of a combined cycle and light rail axis.

The decision on which option to implement is expected to be made in autumn 2025.