For the past few weeks, the German news has been full of reports about the “Stuttgart 21” project.

“Stuttgart 21” is the re-development of Stuttgart’s main station and the surrounding railway lines.  At present, Stuttgart is a “Kopfbahnhof”, meaning that it was built as a Terminus and the tracks end there.  Trains go in and out through the same entrance, consequently passengers in high-speed intercity trains change direction when the train stops there and train crews have to change ends to continue their journey.

It is not the only such station in Germany.  Frankfurt and Munich, for example, were built this way as well.

But now the station is to be transformed into a “Durchgangsbahnhof” – one where the tracks run through and out the other side.  This is said to save time, because the stops will be shorter – the train crews can stay where they are.

At the same time, new lines should improve connections to Paris and to Stuttgart’s airport. [Read more…]