page_title: Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen railway
section_title: Construction under military pressure
hierarchical_section_title: Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen railway / History / Construction under military pressure
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Strategischer Bahnbau in Südbaden und im Donautal
context_page_description: The Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen railway is a single-track and non-electrified 37.08 km-long railway in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The line connects Tuttlingen station with the Tübingen–Sigmaringen railway at Inzigkofen junction, which was once the site of Inzigkofen station. The line runs over its entire length along the headwaters of the Danube and it is therefore considered by Deutsche Bahn to form part of the Donaubahn from Donaueschingen to Ulm.
  The Royal Württemberg State Railways and the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway opened the Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen line in 1890 under pressure from the German General Staff as part of a strategic railway to bypass Switzerland. The military considered the line, along with three other strategic lines in southern Baden, necessary in preparation for another war with France. Since 1901 it has formed part of a national rail link, with the Höllentalbahn and the Ulm–Sigmaringen railway, between Freiburg im Breisgau and Ulm.
context_section_description: The  Ulm–Sigmaringen railway already existed in 1873, but an extension to the west and thus a connection to the Upper Neckar Railway in Tuttlingen was missing. To remedy this situation, Württemberg and Baden concluded a treaty on 22 May 1875, which authorised Württemberg to build a railway line from Inzigkofen to Tuttlingen within the next 15 years, but without setting a date for the start of construction.
  Although the communities between Sigmaringen and Tuttlingen as well as the town of Tuttlingen continued to demand the construction of a railway, very little had happened since then. Nevertheless, the Royal Württemberg State Railways built the 5.1 km-long section between Sigmaringen and Inzigkofen as part of the Tübingen–Sigmaringen railway. This was completed in 1878.
  This only changed fundamentally when the German general staff became interested in the route in the mid-1880s. The general staff were especially influenced by the experience of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871. Railways had been extremely helpful in this war, and in the event of another war against France, it was believed that an efficient east-west link would be essential for victory. The supply of troops and equipment from Bavaria and Württemberg to Alsace, which had been annexed in 1871, was particularly problematic for the military. A rail connection from the federal fortress of Ulm to the Citadel of Belfort was considered to have central importance. The existing High Rhine Railway however, passed through the canton of Schaffhausen and Basel and thus through Swiss territory. Military use of this line had already been ruled out in the treaty between Baden and Switzerland in 1865. This line was unusable in the event of war. The German general staff therefore considered the need for a so-called strategic railways to bypass Swiss territory in the event of war. This made the construction of a Tuttlingen–Inzigkofen line useful.
  The existing Ulm–Sigmaringen–Inzigkofen line was to be extended to Tuttlingen and connected to the existing railway to Immendingen. Further, a new railway, which was to be built to bypass the Canton of Schaffhausen to reach Waldshut, which was built as the Wutach Valley Railway. From Waldshut to Säckingen trains would then run on the High Rhine Railway, exclusively in German territory. In Säckingen trains would then branch off the High Rhine Railway, which runs to Basel, and take a new railway connection to Schopfheim, which led to the construction of the Wehra Valley Railway. The existing Wiesen Valley Railway was to be used from Schopfheim to Lörrach, and a final railway section from Lörrach to Weil am Rhein, the Weil am Rhein–Lörrach railway (also called the Gartenbahn), needed to be built to connect to the existing line to Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin. There, a connection could be made to Belfort.
  Under pressure from the military, construction was undertaken to build these new railways, collectively known as the Kanonenbahnen ("cannon railways"). In 1887, the general staff contractually agreed to close the gap between Inzigkofen and Tuttlingen, and on 26 November 1890, 15 years after the signing of the treaty between Baden and Württemberg, this section was opened for service.  The first train was a special train carrying not only the President of Württemberg, Hermann von Mittnacht, and representatives from Baden and Hohenzollern, but also leading generals of the German general staff. The Deutsche Reich (German Empire), whose military had been responsible for the impetus for the construction, financed a large part of the construction expenses. Württemberg, who had a civilian interest in the closing of the gap between Inzigkofen and Tuttlingen, came up with the rest of the funds. The route was built around 1890 with the help of Italian temporary immigrants.
caption: The line from Tuttlingen to Inzigkofen as part of the construction of the strategic railway between Weil am Rhein and Inzigkofen, including the borders at that time
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