Mannheim–Saarbrücken railway

The Mannheim–Saarbrücken railway (German: Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn) is a railway in the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland that runs through Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Kaiserslautern, Homburg and St. Ingbert It is the most important railway line that runs through the Palatinate. It serves both passenger and freight transport and carries international traffic.

The route was largely opened from 1847 to 1849 as the Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn (Palatine Ludwig Railway) between Ludwigshafen and Bexbach. The line is identical with the Ludwig Railway between Ludwigshafen and Homburg and it therefore often referred to as the Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn. The remaining sections went into operation between 1867 and 1904. The line was electrified from 1960 to 1964. In its present form, the line has existed since 1969, when Deutsche Bundesbahn moved the Ludwigshafen Hauptbahnhof to its current location. Deutsche Bahn operates the route under timetable number 670. Some sections of the line are cleared for speeds of 200 kilometres per hour for the ICE and TGV services between Paris, Kaiserslautern, Mannheim and Frankfurt. The Mannheim–Homburg section was integrated in the network of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn in two stages in 2003 and 2006.