Light rail in the district of Ludwigsburg – concept development and standardised evaluation

The initial situation

The Stuttgart urban railway ends in the north in the town of Remseck (district of Ludwigsburg). The railway line Ludwigsburg – Markgröningen is largely disused. The city of Ludwigsburg is so far without a light rail system.

The Markgröningen railway connects Ludwigsburg with Markgröningen via Möglingen. In 1975, regular rail passenger transport was discontinued and the line was largely decommissioned in 2005. Attempts to reactivate the line for regional passenger transport failed in the past due to an insufficient benefit-cost ratio. In the course of a feasibility study carried out by Intraplan, a low-floor light rail network consisting of two cross-city lines was developed, for which an economically viable benefit-cost ratio was determined in a benefit-cost assessment. In Remseck-Aldingen, it connects to the high-floor Stuttgart light rail network.

Based on the findings of this feasibility study, a route and service concept was to be developed which, instead of introducing a new low-floor light rail system, focused on the gradual expansion of the Stuttgart light rail system. For the low-floor system and the expansion stages of an extended light rail system, the eligibility for funding was to be proven.

The concrete task

Based on the independent low-floor light rail system developed in a preceding feasibility study, several expansion stages of an extension of the Stuttgart light rail system were to be developed and subjected to an overall economic evaluation together with the low-floor system.

Our solution

Depending on the infrastructure expansion stage, a service concept consisting of one or two light rail lines and different frequency patterns was developed according to traffic needs, operational requirements and economic operation.

Benefits of the results

The client and its municipal partners were able to determine the next steps on the basis of well-founded forecasts and submit a funding application to the funding bodies.