Built in the 1890s, the narrow-gauge Bottwartalbahn once connected Marbach am Neckar and Heilbronn. In the 1960s, passenger traffic on the line was largely discontinued, followed later by freight traffic. The line has since been closed and most of it has been decommissioned. Passenger traffic on the Schozach-Bottwartalbahn was discontinued in 1966 due to a steady increase in motorized private transport and a parallel rail bus line. However, in the 1990s and 2000s, there were initial considerations about reactivating the line in diesel mode or as a light rail line. The project was given a new boost six years ago: Overcrowded highways and roads as well as a general rethink about protecting nature and the environment in times of climate change led the districts of Heilbronn and Ludwigsburg and the city of Heilbronn to look at reactivating the line again.
The districts of Ludwigsburg and Heilbronn in cooperation with the neighboring municipalities along the Bottwartal and the city of Heilbronn have now taken up the topic again and have jointly commissioned a new feasibility study including a standardized assessment for the connection from Marbach via Beilstein to Heilbronn. The study examined the technical and operational feasibility of a continuous BOStrab connection (BOS stands for "Betriebsordnung Straßenbahn" - streetcar operating regulations) and subsequently demonstrated the economic benefits required for funding.
A study already completed in 2020 has now been updated due to changes in funding conditions and now serves as a preliminary study for a subsequent standardized assessment to demonstrate the economic benefits and eligibility for funding. After the results in 2020 were still very sobering in terms of a possible reactivation of the Heilbronn - Beilstein - Marbach line, the feasibility study, updated on the basis of new funding conditions, now shows concrete positive prospects for reactivation.
On July 25, 2023, the results of the feasibility study were presented to the committees of the participating districts and municipalities at an information event in the Reblandhalle in Neckarwestheim. The Ludwigsburg section from Marbach via Murr, Steinheim, Großbottwar, Oberstenfeld to Beilstein was examined. Four variants were examined on the Heilbronn side. Based on the Standardized Assessment 2016+, which gives greater weight to climate protection targets, for example, the variants have estimated benefit-cost factors of 1.59 to 1.91 in an initial rough assessment.
The next step in the Heilbronn section is to determine which of the four variants will be pursued as the preferred variant in the standardized assessment. The city of Heilbronn would also like to investigate how the railroad should run within the city limits.
