At the same time as the Ludwig Railway was being built, plans were developed for a north-south link within the Palatinate.
It was debated as to whether a route through the hills from Neustadt via Landau to Wissembourg (Alsace) or a route near the Rhine via Speyer, Germersheim and Wörth was more urgent and desirable.
The military especially preferred a route on the edge of the Palatinate Forest.
However, the political events of 1848 caused the project to come to a standstill.

In January 1850, a brochure appeared in Neustadt (then called Neustadt an der Haardt) that promoted a route via Landau to Wissembourg (German: Weißenburg) and argued that the line should serve the larger townships rather than those immediately alongside the Rhine among other things.
The decision finally went in favour of a line through the hills in 1852, after reports and investigations had been launched the previous year.
On 3 November 1852, the Bavarian king, Maximilian II allowed its construction to proceed, by approving the creation of a joint-stock company that launched the project.

The Neustadt–Landau was opened on 18 July 1855 and the Landau–Wissembourg section followed on 26 November 1855.
This meant that Neustadt was the third railway junction within the Palatinate, after Schifferstadt (1847) and Ludwigshafen, formerly Rheinschanze (1853).
At the same time as the Ludwig Railway was being built, plans were developed for a north-south link within the Palatinate. It was debated as to whether a route through the hills from Neustadt via Landau to Wissembourg (Alsace) or a route near the Rhine via Speyer, Germersheim and Wörth was more urgent and desirable. The military especially preferred a route on the edge of the Palatinate Forest. However, the political events of 1848 caused the project to come to a standstill.
In January 1850, a brochure appeared in Neustadt (then called Neustadt an der Haardt) that promoted a route via Landau to Wissembourg (German: Weißenburg) and argued that the line should serve the larger townships rather than those immediately alongside the Rhine among other things. The decision finally went in favour of a line through the hills in 1852, after reports and investigations had been launched the previous year. On 3 November 1852, the Bavarian king, Maximilian II allowed its construction to proceed, by approving the creation of a joint-stock company that launched the project.
The Neustadt–Landau was opened on 18 July 1855 and the Landau–Wissembourg section followed on 26 November 1855. This meant that Neustadt was the third railway junction within the Palatinate, after Schifferstadt (1847) and Ludwigshafen, formerly Rheinschanze (1853).
Neustadt (Weinstraße) Hauptbahnhof