Stuttgart Rack Railway

Stuttgart Rack Railway
Rack Railway at Haigst
Overview
Native nameZahnradbahn Stuttgart
OwnerStuttgarter Straßenbahnen
Service
Route number10
Operator(s)Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen
Depot(s)Near Marienplatz
Rolling stock3  ×  ZT 4.2
History
Opened23 August 1884 (1884-08-23)
Technical
Line length2.2 km (1.4 mi)
Rack systemRiggenbach system
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge
Electrification750 V DC
Maximum incline17.8%
Route map

Marienplatz
Depot
Liststraße
Pfaffenweg
Wielandshöhe
Haigst
Neue Weinsteige
Nägelestraße
Zahnradbahnhof
Degerloch

The Stuttgart Rack Railway (German: Zahnradbahn Stuttgart) is an electric rack railway in Stuttgart, Germany, known affectionately as the Zacke (spike) or Zacketse by the local residents. The line opened on 23 August 1884 and links Marienplatz in the city centre to Degerloch on the Filder plateau. It is integrated with the Stadtbahn network of the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen (SSB) and since 1978 has been line 10 (before this it was line 30). At Marienplatz it connects with lines U1 and U14 and at Degerloch it connects with lines U5, U6, U8 and U12. Ordinary VVS tickets are valid.

The line is one of only four rack railways operating in Germany, along with the Bavarian Zugspitze Railway, the Drachenfels Railway and the Wendelstein Railway, and is the only one used primarily as public transport. The rack railway is one of two working railway lines that are tourist attractions in Stuttgart; the other being the Stuttgart funicular railway that leads to the forest cemetery, and operates as SSB line 20.