Stuttgart is built on hilly terrain – perfect for a fun drive. Maybe that’s why both Porsche and Mercedes-Benz are based in the city. But if you don’t drive, local public transportation will have you covered with two urban railway lines designed for uphill (and downhill) travel. The Stuttgart Rack Railway is part of the city’s U-Bahn system operating as line 10 and the Standseilbahn is a funicular connecting lines 1 and 14 with Waldfriedhof.
A rack railway looks exactly like a regular train but has a toothed wheel in the middle that locks onto a matching toothed rail to help pull it up steep inclines. If it wasn’t for the rack between the two conventional rails, it would look almost identical to the other U-Bahn trains in the city.
It connects lines 1 and 14 from Marienplatz to lines 6, 5, and 12 at Degerloch uphill. It’s a much faster way of getting uphill than with conventional trains that have to make their way up via a gentler slope. The railway, which opened in 1883, was technically challenging to build. The city-level station at Marienplatz is half on a bridge, part of the railway is underground in the middle of a hill, and it was upgraded to provide a better connection to other U-Bahn lines when it was absorbed by the city.
There are lots of houses along its six intermediate stations, mostly houses for rich people. But tourists like to ride it to see the city from up high. It climbs from 260 metres to 465 metres above sea level. Up to nine bicycles are allowed on a special bike wagon designed for the rack railway so they can be transported safely up and downhill. Carrying a bicycle inside a slanted railway car would risk it rolling away or falling over, possibly causing injury.
It’s included in the fare of a regular ticket for Stuttgart’s public transportation, so you can get a day ticket to enjoy this and the funicular.
