Running up that hill: Stuttgart's unusual railways

[@rewboss]

Thanks to all who pointed out in the comments that the rack railway will soon be wheelchair accessible after all. Apparently I just missed the first public trial of new vehicles which are due to come into regular operation in October this year (2022), so good news for wheelchair-using rack railway enthusiasts.

[@NicolaW72]

Duke Liudolf of Swabia don´t wanted to found a Metropolis but saw in the area a good place for his horse breeding back in 950. And of course you can see and feel this everywhere in Stuttgart today - it isn´t a wheelchair-friendly city by its nature, to say it open - always Hill up, Hill down. But there´s done much for handicaped people.

[@veronicaclephas7570]

As an American with no viable public transport (in a midsize American city, also in a valley and with that iconic urban sprawl) learning about public transport in other places is oddly fascinating

[@SpikeTheDog84]

the youtube channel "not just bikes" might be worthwhile for you, then. if you did not know it already, that is. the youtuber explores the big questions of urban development: what makes a city strong, what is a livable, walkable neighbourhood, why is not having a car a stigma and almost a necessity in the US? there´s a playlist for all of that :)

[@VieleGuteFahrer]

@@SpikeTheDog84 I swear, this guy has a cult following.

[@robertmatthews1186]

As an American who has also lived in urban sprawls with sparse public transit, I currently live just south of the Stuttgart Airport and my old habits of driving everywhere will die hard. But at least I know the bus route to my workplace. Been here since December 2019, by the way.

[@borstenpinsel]

If Stuttgart had viable public transport it wouldn't be the city with the most/longest traffic jams. People spend more time stuck in traffic there than any other city in Germany including Munich which has for example the bridge with the highest numbers of cars per year (and far from perfect public transport)

[@ThomasZadro]

Born and raised in Stuttgart, I would like to express my gratitude for having shown this side of my beloved hometown. Having said this, I would like to underline that it is indeed not just car-friendly but also one of the greenest cities in Germany. One can walk from the outskirts of Bad Cannstatt to the city centre without crossing a single street. The vine plantations around the city allow a beautiful view, and museums such as Daimlermuseum, Porschemuseum, or the Staatsgalerie (a museum of arts with an international reputation) make it worth a trip at any time. Besides this, you could have shown the Schillerplatz (to be reached through the Alte Schloss), one of the most charming places in the entire city centre. To keep it short: Stuttgart is heavily underrated as a tourist destination.

[@legojayman]

I should move to Germany

[@insatsuki_no_koshou]

Yummm, lung cancer and asthma tourism.

[@Kordanor]

@@insatsuki_no_koshou It's not that bad compared to other cities though. In Germany it got place 33 apparently. Globally its at place 3524. Top spots for air polution are held by mostly indian cities followed by literally hundreds of chinese ones.

[@muellerhans]

@@Kordanor Sorry, but in which year did Stuttgart rank 33? I saw several studies in the last decade and often Stuttgart ranked first in Germany. And because of your comment I looked up recent data (found some published by Airly this year) and in this, Stuttgart ranks 7th in europe and 2nd in Germany when it comes to NO2 and 8th in europe and first in Germany when it comes to PM10.

[@Kordanor]

@@muellerhans That was on iqair from 2019, no guarantees though. Can't vouch for that source. But I mostly wanted to put it into comparison internationally (especially asia) as the polution is relative, and the sarcastic comment was coming from someone with a chinese name ;)

[@bobbler42]

My abiding memory of Stuttgart was that there was almost nowhere you couldn’t see the Mercedes sign on the station from.

[@ppd3bw]

A certain Gottlieb Daimler and his works might have to do with the relative wealth of the city.

[@Korschtal]

Thanks for this. I've travelled many miles in Stuttgart's U-Bahn system, and for two very pleasant years the Zacke was my way to commute to my college: I'd leave my bike near the tiny Nägelestrasse stop and travel down the hill in to the centre, I love the way it wiggles through back gardens, and at one point almist circles a house, starting at basement level and ending up above the roof. The Zacke was originally the only rail route into the city from the eastern towns, and it was steam powered, which must have done horrible things to any washing on the line in the neighbouring houses.

[@stefthepef]

I had no idea about the reputation, ha. It's not as stereotypically "quaint" as the other German cities I've been to, but man, I love Stuttgart. Huge parks, nice roads and scenery all around/just outside the town, one of the less chaotic airports in .de, and really it's just heaven if you're a Porsche nerd. Prototype spotting between all the different auto companies there is fun, too, haha. The public transit system is suuuuuuuuper easy to get around on, which is just night and day compared to Texas, ha. (I even like modern architecture. Haha.) And if you really gotta have your fachwerk houses, there's a few smaller towns nearby with more intact old city centers.

[@NicolaW72]

Yes, indeed.

[@Kuid4or3]

It's bc that's bullshit. It does not have a bad reputation.

[@casperbetz1949]

"Erbschleicher-Express" loses a little in the translation. 😂

[@NicolaW72]

"Legacy Hunter" sounds nearly honorable...😀

[@michaelstramm2366]

I,m born and raised in good old Stuggitown, although i have been around lots of places in Germany, merry old England, Ireland, US of A , France , Poland , and yes a short stint even to Norway. Coming home , getting out of the Airport hopping the S Bahn and then take the short ride by Bus unto home , makes me feel good every time. Greets by a Schwobaseggl

[@bloodfreud]

"...a next up, Germanys ugliest City!" Dude you do not intend to make a lot of friend here, do you? xD jk, i live 50km away from Stuttgart and never heard about that Jewish-Lady and that Railway, very informative Video.

[@kilianhzh]

The Zacke is getring new cars soon (they are already procured and in final testing). They will be wheelchair accessible and will also come with a new bike rack, doubbeling capacity from 10 to 20 bikes. There is also the U15 which has the steepest unsupported tracks in normal gauge in Europe. On some sundays there are two „museum lines“ where they run historic cars in the usual traffic.

[@NicolaW72]

🙂👍

[@Genius_at_Work]

I always thought that the Title of "steepest Adhesion Line" goes to the U3 in Hamburg, between the Stations Rathaus and Rödingsmarkt. It may be the Combination of Steep Grade and tight Curve that makes this Section so challenging though, with other Places being even steeper.

[@eprofessio]

I’m from the desert southwest and lived in Stuttgart for two and loved the hot days.

[@MegaJK97]

Damn, I love your city planning/building and public transport content lately very much! I know it's not your main topic, but as an public transport and city planning enthusiast I really enjoy these types of videos a lot! If you like unique historic public transport I invite you to Dresden. We also have two special lines: a suspension railway and a funicular.

[@anonymouscommentator]

stuttgart is in a valley which means you have such an amazing view over the city when you stand up on the hills

[@sinform9714]

For the Rack Railway are new vehicles on the way and in in testing at the moment. They should be also wheel chair accessible.

[@nicodvorak9926]

it feels weird to see you at places where i’m at almost everyday

[@Delibro]

Yea thats it, thats so strange :)))

[@countzero2405]

As a bit of an architecture fan I find some of the ugly concrete monstrosities actually kind of interesting. But one modern building that definitely isn't ugly is the "Stadtbibliothek am Mailänder Platz". On the outside it's just a big cube but it looks pretty cool in the evening when all the windows are illuminated. But on the inside it's just insane! And there is a café on the top floor and you can go on the roof to enjoy the view, too.

[@whitegold2960]

Nah the cube is pretty bad but the interior 10/10

[@fabibi_ha]

If you are interested in prison architecture, you can also visit Stuttgart-Stammheim :)

[@STYX3WS]

Hate the cube restaurant, worked there. Its really shitty with no real ventilation, should be closed around now if they haven't done something about that, as temperatures rise up to 50°C on the top floor during summer

I love the Stadtbibliothek! Inside out. Also, the amount of books and media in it is insane.

[@ft4709]

Fortunately, the Zack will be wheelchair accessable in the not too distant future. They're in the process of getting new trains.

[@danpreston564]

My mum was from Stuttgart and it’s still my happy place. It’s where I spent all my holidays as a kid. I never rode the railway up to the cemetery until a few years ago, when I took my mum and dad's ashes to be buried in the family plot in the waldfriedhof. I’ve never ridden it without visiting my parents. It’s a lovely thing to go on and I love the fact that I have a real reason to ride it. I haven’t been back since covid and must go asap.

[@TheKartoffel101]

You should visit the Straßenbahn museum close to the Wasen and Bad Cannstatt Station. There are many old vehicles preserved. Some are even 100 years old and done of those drives from there to the TV tower every Sunday.

[@pooki-dooki]

I always thought the U-Bahn was short for "Untergrundbahn" in much the same way U-Boot means "Unterseeboot". Of course not all U-Bahns are completely underground, but neither is the Tube, is it?

[@orange13]

...and even a (German) U-Boot spends more time above the waterline than below it

[@olerothemberg3869]

well wikipedia says you thinking is rigth :P

[@pooki-dooki]

I haven't the slightest idea why anyone would claim the U stands for "unabhängig". I would never have made that association.

[@ft4709]

@@pooki-dooki There‘s a very simple reason: The defining characteristic of a true U-Bahn as opposed to a Stadtbahn is the fact that the system is entirely independent of other modes of transportation. The applicable legal regulations for U-Bahn systems also use the term „unabhängige Bahn“ to describe them, so, technically speaking, that is the official name for it. U-Bahn is not a legally defined term but since it’s such a common thing in German it has since found its way into technical conversations as well. However, „U-Bahn“ in Frankfurt means something entirely different to „U-Bahn“ in Munich. Therefore, the association of transit authorities (VDV) found the need to define what they mean when talking about a U-Bahn, so they just said whenever we use the term we‘re referring to a „unabhängige Bahn“. That‘s where this idea came from. However, for the everyday citizen it is completely accurate to assume „U“ stands for „Untergrund“ because that‘s quite literally where the term originated.

[@pooki-dooki]

@@ft4709 Excellent explanation!

[@agermanengineer831]

Loved your video except for one point. There will be new cars for the rack railway, those will be wheel chair accessible and start to operate in the near future :)

[@lenab5266]

Wow i didn't know Stuttgart has that bad of a reputation as it feels in the comments and a bit in the video. I thought most people just feel very neutral about it. I mean it's not the prettiest but not ugly as well. There are enough beautiful places. And sure there is Stuttgart 21 and the air pollution problem but first i think it's not that big of a deal some people make it and second why do people outside of stuttgart even care about this that much?

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Stuttgart has to be one of the ugliest cities in Germany. It all balances out because the geographic location is just gorgeous, but in terms of how it looks it is not far off from Hagen, which is arguably the ugliest of all cities in Germany. For exactly the same reason as Stuttgart I might add. Bombed to oblivion and then rebuild in the most tasteless manner.

[@joma_rius4557]

@@Quotenwagnerianer It isnt so bad. Many buildings were destroyed, yes, but some of them (very beautiful ones) are still standing. You sound like youve never been there..

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

@@joma_rius4557 I've been there. The old city center is completely gone.

[@JakobFischer60]

I live 50 km south of Stuttgart and when I type in a city 50 km north east of Stuttgart, the satnav will take me straight through the inner city of Stuttgart. They never managed to build a road surrounding the city in the east. No wonder there is so much air pollution.

[@knownothing5518]

STUGGI!!! The original plan was replacing trams with a full on metro/subway system, however it quickly got too complicated, so they opted for the Stadtbahn instead, running it above ground and separate from the roads where possible. The only bits of actual remaining tram track start and end at the tram museum, which maintains a loop around the block. You can take joyrides on it on old trams.

[@brokkrep]

I was very surprised to find out, this city has no U-Bahn.

[@ppd3bw]

@@brokkrep A population of "only" 600,000 does not justify a full subway system that you may find in London, Paris or Berlin. Stuttgart sure wanted one, but soon enough adapted the plans to not end up with a bottomless money pit. It really is amazing that they even keep up a loop for the old museum trams that used narrow gauge (like the Zacke, too) while the current system is regular gauge. You can see the third rail for the narrow gauge cars in the video.

[@brokkrep]

@@ppd3bw I thought for a long time, that Stuttgart os way bigger.

[@adamabele785]

@@brokkrep It is because of the way the maps are drawn. There are several smaller cities within the neighbourhood that are separate administrative units but are part of the Metropolregion Stuttgart: Echterdingen, Leinfelden, Esslingen, Waiblingen, Fellbach, Korntal, Ludwigsburg, Böblingen, Sindelfingen etc. Over 100 cities and municipalities. All these parts are integrated and form something like a bigger Citiy, but are not called Stuttgart, however in a sense they are.

[@LRM12o8]

@@ppd3bw yes it does. Nürnberg and Fürth have a bit over 600.000 inhabitants together and they have a U-Bahn. Rightfully so, getting around is so much easier in the parts where there is a U-Bahn line. I guess the reason Stuttgart couldn't do one is the Gipssteinkeuper, a kind of stone that is very hard to drill through and known to swell up when it comes in contact with water.

[@DoubleACbg]

I used to work for a certain riverboat company in Pittsburgh, where I would encounter visitors from all over the planet, and I often encountered visitors from Germany that asked about the two funicular railways, aka the Monongahela Incline and the Duquesne Incline, and often they would say that they reminders of the funicular railways in Stuttgart.

[@JanMichalSzulew]

The Zacke will be "barrierefrei" soon enough - 3 new cars (type ZT4.2) with low-floor middle section were ordered from Stadler. Two of them are already in Stuttgart, and one of them (#1102) was actually demoed to the general public last week.

[@joeschneider3427]

Also, the new cars will be air conditioned ! One of the old cars (No. 1003 "Helene") has been lifted from the tracks and moved to the Stuttgart Tram Museum last night. Drivers will be trained for the new vehicles during summer, the switch to the new vehicles is scheduled for October 2022.

[@hayfahvytsen]

Lived in Stuttgart for a year back in the 90s. Schloßplatz, Schloß Solitude, Weindorf, Wasen, Grabkapelle, Porsche... Still a fun city. But sad that Calwer Eck closed! Floored that Biddy Earlys is still around... 😆

[@texasgirl75]

Thank you for this video!! I have marveled at both and was never really comfortable with the idea of hopping on for a ride. I think I'm ready now 😁

[@markquee1213]

Thanks for this comprehensive insight to Stuttgart. Although I've lived all my life quite close to it there were still a lot of things that I learned from your post.

[@lighttecsound6818]

The U does really stand for indipendant. Even though there are street running tracks in some places. In many cases U15 and U2, they were not part of the initial planing because they could never be indipendant. It was a proces of learing that busses are not good enougth for the number of passenger. The rack raylwayx will be wheelchair accessable in october when the new rolling stock is itroduced.

[@kilianhzh]

Thats why the 15 was just Line 15 until 2008 (i think). Until then it used narrow gauge tracks.

[@NeoDerGrose]

The rack railway will be wheelchair accessible soon. They ordered a completely new fleet of low floor vehicles which just recently got certification for operation. It won't take long for them to take over all services on the route.

[@blacklab30]

Do you know about the cablecar at the Neroberg in Wiesbaden, located at the other end of the Rhein-Main-Region, from your point of view, Sir ? You did not mention it in your destination video about that city.

[@McGhinch]

Stuttgart is underrated. having said that, that does not matter. It saves Stuttgart from a lot of tourists. Stuttgart has some features in itself and its suburbs that are almost unknown to other cities. Alas, some of them are currently getting destroyed or minimized. - There are many "green" areas within the city limits that are used for recreation. There is a reason that it is/was called "Großstadt zwischen Wald und Reben" (big city between forest and vines). From the mainstation a five minute walk will get you to a vineyard in the city center. - In Bad Cannstatt there are so many different mineral water wells that you are busy to try them all. You probably will not like the taste of many of the waters but they have their medicinal purpose. - The Fernsehturm (tv tower) was the first of its kind. All others world wide are mere copies. The only thing the Fernsehturn missed is a revolving restaurant. It was planned. The Swabians shied away from the cost. If only they had known that the tower was paid by visitors fees a few years later. - Public transportation I: When the S-Bahn was established in the 1970s Stuttgart received used trains from Frankfurt, only to replace them by new trains manufactured for the topographical situation in Stuttgart. The trains from Frankfurt were just to weak to climb up the steep hills. - Public transportation II: When the first Stadtbahn coaches were put on rails in Stuttgart the regular trams suddenly slowed down when the Stadtbahn prototypes accelerated and sped up when the Stadtbahn braked. They are produced by MAN and very soon MAN was translated to "Murks aus Nürnberg" (something like botch-up from Nürnberg). - Public transportation III: "Zacke" is short für "Zahnradbahn" (rack railway) where "Zacken" are prongs, teeth, or points where the cogwheel finds grip. When you look at the center rail, you see how it got its name. - image of Stuttgart: When you come the "Stuttgarter Westen" you see many multi story houses for the workers of the factories in Stuttgart. There is little "green" and most are built with the "absolutely wonderful" architecture of the 1950s and 1960s. After WWII they were also able to have straight streets crossing at square angles. - Attractions: Too many to list, so I don't even start. Actually, I you have some time and are interested in visiting a city, Stuttgart should be in the top 5 in Germany. There is so much to see and to do. Each time of the year has its own fests and often there will be something that is called a "Hocketse" (difficult to translate, but generally a fest where you can sit, almost always open air, consume local food specialties, wine, beer, music -- they will sell also water and soft drinks.).

[@NicolaW72]

Yes, indeed, absolutely.👍

[@joma_rius4557]

And what is getting destroyed or minimized?

[@McGhinch]

@@joma_rius4557 The main station. Yes, they are supposed to rebuild it, but what is a station without rails? The Bahnhof (railway station) will be reduced to a Haltepunkt (railway stop). It will no more be a Hauptbahnhof. The railway does no more circle around Stuttgart when coming from southern directions, thus no more sightseeing for the passengers. The "untere Anlagen" are smaller now and many old trees are gone. Maybe they will expand the area to its former size, but they will never put in trees that are already more than a 100 years old. The Planetarium used to be surrounded by planted areas, Now towards the -Neckarstraße- Willy-Brandt-Straße there is only concrete.

[@joma_rius4557]

@@McGhinch I heard that there will be many new parks or bigger parks after finishing Stuttgart 21, like the new "Gleisbogenpark". And I think its better to get to Stuttgart faster than to see sights on the way. Its public transportation and no sightseeing. For that they have busses with audio guides...

[@McGhinch]

@@joma_rius4557 Oh well, just compare how long it takes to the old Hauptbahnhof when coming from the south and how long it will take when Suttgart 21 is completed in a couple of years. You will find that it will not be faster. On the other hand, I personally prefer travelling on the surface compared to travelling in tunnels.

[@TheKartoffel101]

The Zacke will get new wheelchair-accessible vehicles soon. They're in the built atm and will replace the old ones very soon.

[@uwebezner]

They are already there. But they must test the trains

[@technofeeling2462]

Never heard that Stuttgart has a bad reputation. Typical cities with bad reputations are Düsseldorf or Duisburg

[@bjulalula9537]

Really nobody likes or hates Stuttgart - it is just boring. Düsseldorf has at least a nice Feindschaft with Köln

[@NicolaW72]

Stuttgart is indeed a very beautiful city!😀It has not only some outstanding parts of the Public Transport City. It has a very special atmosphere and history and is really worth to a visit. I´m really often there caused by professional reasons. And yes, the geography of the city is unique - maybe only a little bit comparable with Dresden. Thank you very much for this travel video!🚞👍

[@memeswithalex8877]

Funfact: The Zacke was modernised in 2022. Now the bike platform is bigger and the Zacke itself is wheelchair accessible.

[@paxundpeace9970]

A least some interesting old buildings remained or got rebuild. (You can't tell for sure) 2:34

[@karlwiklund2108]

IIRC, the Neuschloss was mostly rebuilt. I think it's home to the tax office these days.

[@Delibro]

There are both, many rebuilded ones and many remained ones.

[@joeschneider3427]

Destruction in WW2 was worst in the historic centre and the area to the north west of the centre, whereas In the southern (where the Zacke runs) and the eastern areas you still find lots of pre-war buildings.

[@hanshartfiel6394]

I used to live in Waiblingen for a while but had to go into Stuttgart quite often and found that the best thing about this city was the Hauptbahnhof where I could take the train out of this shit hole

[@barisle]

Well I really don't think that waiblingen looks better in any way shape or form when comparing it to stuttgart. It sure looks like a bland industrial town, well atleast not as bad as pforzheim or friedrichshafen

[@fhs7838]

It's so amazing that both of them are integrated with public transport system, not a pure tourist attraction. In HK, there's also a cable car that can be paid via Octopus (IC card for public transport). But its price is obviously too expensive as a regular public transport line. Making it pretty a pure tourist attraction.

[@TheSandkastenverbot]

Traffic is awful and the buildings are mostly ugly. But Stuttgart has a lot of beautiful places as well.

[@indiecarmayne]

There are some similar railways like the Sommerbergbahn in Bad Wildbad (Zahnradbahh/Cogwheel Railway) , the Merkurbahn in Baden-Baden, the Turmbergbahn in Karlsruhe and the modern, completely autonomous Falkenbergbahn in Bad Herrenalb. Also to mention is the Pragsattelbahn and the Schlossparkbahn in Stuttgart. And as a honorary mention I would add the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal.

[@bome123]

I'd love a video about Hannover as well, I think the city is very underrated and really isn't as bad as the reputation it has.

[@u.p.1038]

It is pretty bad though.

[@sophiemae100]

Can't believed i lived almost a year in Stuttgart and never knew of this railway. I'm almost tempted to book a trip back!

[@michaelstramm2366]

Sophie , you,re welcome back . And there is so much more to see which you propably have not seen yet in old Stuggitown.👍

[@zeitbombe5959]

As a Stuttgart local I wanted to add that public transport in the inner parts of the city is messy (thanks im part to S21) but still works amazingly well. Also the Seilbahn can be used for sledding in the winter (or at least it could be used some years ago).

[@HansFranke]

Maybe a tiny titbit about the U. It originally was marking the Berlin subway and only the subway. But when some cities put their part of their tram network underground or build new tram lines to run as a pre-metro system (like Frankfurt or Stuttgart), they as well adopted the U for their new lines, arguing that these will eventually become full fledged independent subway systems "soon", abandoning all classic tram lines. Well, those were the 60s to 80s, when tram systems were scrapped. There are only 4 real U-Bahn systems in Germany: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Nuremberg (of which all but Hamburg still have a separate tram network). All other are metrofied tram systems.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

And it is also worth noting that Nuremberg's U-Bahn system has fully autormated cars. There is no driver in the front. Which gives you the oddest feeling when you sit in the front.

[@NicolaW72]

@@Quotenwagnerianer Yes. Something like an aircraft without a pilot - good luck, the computer hopefully doesn´t go haywire.

[@NicolaW72]

Yes, indeed. But Stuttgart has some "real U-Bahn-Parts of the U-Bahn.

[@aphextwin5712]

And Germany also invented a new term for this kind of mixed light railway (partially underground, partially above ground, but also largely running on tracks separate from other traffic with mainly just railway crossings): Stadtbahn.

[@HansFranke]

@@NicolaW72 Well, since they are only parts, then they are not U-Bahn but still Tramway, just running underground - aka Unterpflasterstraßenbahn - like in Nuremberg or Boston (Green line).

[@asdsdjfasdjxajiosdqw8791]

4:23 lol, that sounds like a rumour started by British tabloids.

[@philipphermann9454]

That's what my Childhood trips with my grandparents where like. Up with cablecar and cog railway, sometimes drive all the way to the airport or up to D the television tower with the old tram cars. Every time I take one of those lines I get flashbacks 😅

[@garryferrington811]

This was actually interesting. We could use public transport here.

[@peterbrown6224]

Despite living in Germany for seven years, I never made it to Stuttgart and missed all of its oddities. One of these days I'll do something about it. Not in high summer, though.

[@lonestarr1490]

Despite living in Germany for thirty-five years, I never made it to Stuttgart either.

[@adamabele785]

@@lonestarr1490 A mistake.

[@NicolaW72]

@@adamabele785 Definetely!🙂

[@adamabele785]

Die Stadtbahnwagen sind ausgelegt für eine Steigung von 9 % und mit bärenstarken 1 MW Motorleistung an 8 Antriebsachsen ausgestattet, um die langen Steigungen zügig zu schaffen und auch bergauf schnell beschleunigen zu können. Für die meisten anderen Städte wäre diese Motorisierung absoluter Overkill, für Stuttgart unvermeidlich. Das Stadtbahnnetz wird kontinuierlich weiter ausgebaut und ist für Pendler und Innenstadtbewohner überlebensnotwendig. Die Stuttgarter lassen nichts auf die Stadtbahn kommen und haben dafür mehrfach tief in die Taschen gegriffen.

[@ThomasK3004]

Ja, aber einige Verkehrsbeziehungen sind für die Stadtbahn viel zu steil. Ich denke, dass Stuttgart in den nächsten Jahren auf einigen Strecken zusätzlich noch ein paar 3S-Bahnen realisieren wird. Bisher gibt es in Deutschland nur eine einzige 3S-Bahn und die steht in Koblenz.

[@adamabele785]

@@ThomasK3004 Vor wenigen Wochen hat man eine Seilbahn in Vaihingen abgelehnt. Eine Schienenstrecke ist bei weitem leistungsfähiger als eine Seilbahn. Außerdem wollen die Leute nicht die Kabinen über ihren Köpfen mit Blick auf Balkon und Wohnzimmer. Alle genehmigten und alle geplanten oder auch nur diskutierten Erweiterungen sind Schienen.

[@ThomasK3004]

@@adamabele785 Deine Aussage, dass eine Schienenstrecke bei weitem leistungsfähiger sei als eine Seilbahn ist so pauschal nicht gültig. In eine Kabine der 3S-Bahn passen 32 Personen (20 Sitzplätze und 12 Stehplätze für den ÖPNV-Betrieb). Die minimale Kabinenfolgezeit liegt bei 20 Sekunden, sodass die verkehrsplanerische Leistung (32 Personen * 3600 Sekunden / 20 Sekunden) = 5760 Personen pro Stunde und Richtung beträgt. Das entspricht etwa der Leistung einer Straßenbahn, die mit 45 m langen Fahrzeugen alle 2,5 Minuten fährt. Richtig ist, dass man mit einer U-Bahn eine verkehrsplanerische Leistung von 30000 Personen pro Stunde und Richtung erreichen kann, aber pro Kilometer Streckenlänge erfordert die U-Bahn auch zehnmal höhere Investitionsaufwendungen im Vergleich zur 3S-Bahn!

[@geotropa1043]

You are doing a great job and deserve to have many more viewers still! - But are you aware of your voice - specifically in the off - acquiring more and more of the typical features of those from teaching English as a foreign language programmes?

[@maxh.5858]

Love how you say Schhtuttgart .. thats the proper way!

[@MarsOhr]

Better way is: Schduagrd.

[@amiausUSA]

Last night I was writing my 25-year memoir about riding the U Bahn, S Bahn, Zahnradbahn and the cable car to Waldfriedhof, all of which I rode on Saturday 2nd August 1997 while visiting Stuttgart for the first time, and at the time, I was living in Munich. The Schönes Wochenende ticket was a bargain at 35 D-Mark, and it was even valid on the Stuttgart Stadtbahn and S Bahn, with no extra charge. On Sundays it is possible to ride a nostalgic tram operating in the present-day tunnel through Hauptbahnhof, Schloßplatz, Charlottenplatz, and along the same route as the U15 up to Ruhbank before it turns back to the Strassenbahn Museum. Some stations along the way, kept the low floor platforms from when the Stadtbahn used to be operated only by the meter gauge GT4 vehicles, and over the years, all the stations raised their platforms for stepless access to the standard-gauge DT8s operating in Stuttgart since the 1980s. Years ago I even filmed a DT8 closing its doors at Bad Cannstatt Wilhemaplatz, and it had folding steps to accomodate the low floor platforms that were not raised until years later. The direct section from Hbf to Staatsgalerie should be completed by December 2023. Staatsgalerie was demolished and rebuilt closer towards the planetarium. On the street level, the Hbf construction and Bonatzbau can be seen. My most visit to Stuttgart was February 2022, and I think at the time, only 20 of the 28 chalice structures had been completed, now the count is 22. In two and a half years time, the new underground rail station should be operational.

[@TheKartoffel101]

Fun fact: The city hall of Stuttgart wasn't destroyed. The new city hall just covers up what's left of the original. Because the USA financed everything after the war Stuttgart wanted to redesign its city. The new castle/Neues Schloss was close to becoming a parking lot and Hotel.

[@stevebartley628]

We did both on our trip. We used our group day ticket for the four of us. We ended up doing 9 separate trips throughout the city that day. A great bargain for about 12 Euro. I could not find the ticket on the English version of the ticket machine. It was easy to find on the German version. The flower shop was open then. Too bad it is now closed.

[@paxundpeace9970]

They unique that why they are called U15 and so on.

[@joergf6]

... Be running up that road Be running up that hill Be running up that building See, if I only could ... (Kate Bush)

[@kpunkt.klaviermusik]

And in addition to these there is a Mini Steam Locomotive to ride around the Killesberg Park - we call it Killesbergbahn.

[@Danny30011980]

IN "Genial Daneben" they once had a question regarding the funicular there "Lustige Witwen Bahn" allegedly got its name from the wirdows visiting graves of their husbands and on the way would exchange stories from the past on the way to the cemetery

[@georgereddy7752]

Yesterday was in Aschaffenburg - freaking beautiful city I would say. Didn't meet you, unfortunately 😁

[@rainerzufall42]

The title of this video is kind of a clickbait teaser title to me. I love it! ;-) Was it on purpose? As a brit speaking about ancient systems, you may know about a 37 year old summer hit of 2022 from England...

[@Delibro]

I'm sure that wasn't rainer Zufall ;)

[@rainerzufall42]

@@Delibro Hehe!

[@Canleaf08]

Then there is the T-Bane line 1 in Oslo, going up to the Hollenkommen / Voksenkommen station, which are used by T-bane trains from Oslo S. It is crazy how high this train goes. It might look normal on the Netzspinne, but takes over 45 minutes to get from Oslo S up to Voksenkommen.

[@blobofjam]

As an Englander living on the outskirts of Stuttgart, every time I head into the city centre it feels more modern English city than anywhere else.

[@robtyman4281]

Stuttgart looks very interesting - being English, like a cross between Sheffield and Milton Keynes! (Sheffield's hills, and MK's modernist architecture......but not layout!).

[@siriusvenus8708]

This was an excellent presentation! I lived in Stuttgart and surroundings for a few years. For most of the time I lived without feeling any stifling heat because I lived in areas that were hilly, up on hills, and not in the inner city--except for the last half year. I lived in an area that is flat and in the center of the stagnant air flow, not far from downtown Stuttgart, in an area called Heslach (the Dinkleacher factory was down the street on Tuebingerstrasse). It was so hot in April, before climate change (back around 1996--or when climate change was not officially recognized) that I could not stand the heat any longer and moved away. It was a dry heat but an oppressive sort of humid heat. It felt like the moisture in my body was being sucked out by the cement and the buildings and cars while I was baking.

[@schinkenspringer1081]

Now you will have to visit Karlsruhe too, we even have (somewhat) adequate Public-Transport!

[@kilianhzh]

The Rack-Railway "Zacke" has the first of the two new engines/cars in service since Saturday 8th of Oktober with the second engine/car coming to service soon. the New cars are pretty nifty with the space in-between the entries being basically at street level, making it easily accessible for wheelchairs, elderly people, and strollers. the new car has a bigger bicycle carrying capacity (from 10 with the old one to 15 with the new one) and can also accommodate two cargo bikes.

[@cmjones01]

Thank you for this. It brought back many happy memories of working and studying in Stuttgart in the 1990s, riding around on the bright yellow U-Bahn and trams with their improbably steep gradients. The city may not have the most inspiring architecture but the setting amongst the hills is spectacular and full of opportunities for hiking, biking and endless views. I miss it.

[@CanonessEllinor]

The “christ.” truck at 3:50 just after you finish explaining all the issues with Stuttgart is a great piece of understated visual humor.

[@Kivas_Fajo]

I live in Stuttgart since I'm 8. I'm past 50 now. I've never taken a ride in the Seilbahn, believe it or not.

[@joeschneider3427]

2:33 note the pillar with the little bronze pug on top - a memorial to Vicco von Bülow (Loriot) who lived here for a few years

[@pascalfischer2297]

Stuttgart is a wonderful city! Personally I'd say it's worth a visit for everyone visiting Germany!🇩🇪

[@tubechap8424]

You are undermining The Tim Traveller 😉

[@OVK966]

You just missed the new Zacke Trains which replace the 40 year old carriages you have seen. They are in service since this week and are now accessible by wheelchair.

[@prop_thunder_therealone]

dude wuppertal exists and i live in wuppertal and the geograpy is even more shitty

[@karlwiklund2108]

Neat. I might have a look next time I'm in Stuttgart (I live about an hour south).

[@zdopezz3744]

I live near Stuttgart but I didnt even knew that the cable car exists hahah

[@MrReachashish]

Is Stuttgart more hilly than Wuppertal?

[@JamesTobiasStewart]

Algorithm, boost this please.

[@soundscape26]

I wasn't aware Stuttgart rivalled Frankfurt for the worst reputation in the largest German cities tier. That city hall sure is hideous and some of the other buildings shown are totally uninspired as well but I quite like the hills and the abundant greenery. Very nice presentation Andrew, thanks!

[@DenzelPF31]

I don't think that neither Frankfurt nor Stuttgart are bad/ugly cities. I love all those hills and the beautiful neighborhoods on top of them in Stuttgart and even the city centre is getting better every year as they demolish post war buildings. In Frankfurt I really love the special vibe with the sky scrapers and everything near the river of Main. And there they also exchange many ugly buildings from the past by newer ones in the city centre.

[@soundscape26]

@@DenzelPF31 Never been to either myself but reading online it's frequent to find Germans claiming that Frankfurt is full of junkies and have a high crime rate... more than being ugly proper. As for Stuttgart I'm only referring to what Andrew said at the start. From a geographical point of view the city looks lovely. As for the people themselves I have no idea but I think it's relatively affluent? Someone here in the comments claimed people from Stuttgart tend to be a bit stuck up.

[@Delibro]

@@soundscape26 I don't know that either. No one said Stuttgart has many outstanding buildings. And I'm quite happy with that, I never heard any Stuttgarter to say it is the best tourists place, its just a standard city, and thats ok :) While its true that the south of Germany is more affluent than the north and east, the differences are smaller than rural to urban differences. I don't think that we are stuck up, but as we are minding our own business and don't have the vibes of Brasilia you may have that impression :D

[@BrianSeaman]

Great film - thank you 👍🙂

I lived for about 2 years in Stuttgart and I noticed those noisy trams but I didn't realise there was a reason for the noise, I just thought they were old. Also, I disagree with the view of Stuttgart being a car-centric city. I don't have a car, never did and I found it 100% walkable. Combining public transport with walking got me literally everywhere, even places that were quite far off. In fact, I remember Americans complaining about the city centre being car-unfriendly, that there were no drivethrus & that it was a pain to find parking because it was "far" from the stores and points of interest.

[@rewboss]

To be fair, what I said was that Stuttgart _looks_ like a car-centric city, before pointing out ways in which it isn't really.

[@maurovenier8754]

I lived in Stuttgart. Stuttgart is very beautiful. The problem are the Stuttgarter, the inhabitants.

[@schonbuchgams]

Great footage 👍 liked & subscribed, thanks for sharing, grüße Michael

[@PanzerschrekCN]

Does anyone bike in Stuttgart?

[@dorokrippahl5665]

Yes, especially parents with their children in cargobikes. Most of them with electric bikes.

[@timseguine2]

Yeah. Not as much as in some other cities, but there are quite a few.

[@McGhinch]

When I still lived there, I biked about 10,000 km per year including training in the vineyards.

[@Delibro]

Well, compared to cities like Hannover, hardly no one bikes here, at least as commuting in the south and center of Stuttgart. Its a bit more in the north, east and west as it is not that steep there. Its different as a means of sports and freetime though.

[@dorokrippahl5665]

@@Delibro Ich wohne in Stuttgart West und es sind viele Leute mit Lastenrädern oder mit Kindern vorne auf dem Kindersitz unterwegs. Der Bismarckplatz wurde während des ersten Lockdowns für Autos gesperrt. Als die Leute wieder mehr Fahrrad und Auto fuhren, hat die Stadt den neu eingezeichneten Radweg zum Glück verlegt. Er führt nicht mehr direkt durch die Tische und Stühle an der Eisdiele. Beim Warten auf das Eis wurden wir mehr als einmal fast überfahren. Natürlich ist viel zu wenig Platz für Radwege und ohne elektrische Hilfsmittel sind nur Rennradfahrer unterwegs. Wenn es Richtung Halbhöhenlage geht, sind bestimmt weniger Leute mit Fahrrädern unterwegs und mehr Leute mit einem dicken Mercedes und eigener Garage zu finden. Die Radwege in Hamburg müssen auch toll sein habe ich mir sagen lassen.

[@h223-n1x]

Heidelberg has a nice cable car, too.

[@tarickw]

Hah nice timing. I moved there just this january and it is quite funny to see all these things I recognise.

[@Delibro]

Hehe welcome in Stuttgart. I live her my whole life and its quite funny to see all these things I know my whole life :))

[@charlesjohnson4442]

Ahhh Stuttgart, reminds me of Zurich, San Francisco, Pittsburg, and 1989 East Berlin. I think your video proved your earlier point about why the city is much maligned by Germans. Still love seeing your travels in Germany though, the good the bad and the ugly. Keep the content coming!

[@untruelie2640]

Independence (Unabhängigkeit)? Who came up with this nonsense? 😅 I was always under the impression that the U initially stood for "Untergrundbahn". Anyway, a nice and informative video, as allways. :)

[@Kuid4or3]

I live there and I have not met anybody who knew about that Statue. Also - Stuttgart does not have a bad reputation in Germany. For example - Berlin has - for good reasons. Duisburg has. Frankfurt aswell. I like that you went so deep tho.

[@jonistan9268]

I was in Stuttgart during the heatwave of summer 2017, was absolutely horrible. The Polybahn in Zürich actually uses a similar system to detect fallen trees and branches, using the old masts of the overhead wires.

[@John_Weiss]

Now, if Stuttgart we're Austrian instead of German, the major roadways would just have been sent through tunnels going right through the hills on either side of the valley. Austrians seem to love tunneling through any mountain or hill they can. (My husband's half-Austrian, and when he first took me to where his family's from, I was stuck by how frequently highways didn't go around towns so much as _under_ them (or under the mountain next to it).)

[@AndreasDelleske]

I had no idea Stuttgart could be in any way interesting :) having lived there 32 years ago.. Yeah, the normal gauge tram might be its best feature, but lines are much longer around Karlsruhe.

[@avsbes98]

2:02 As my Mom was told when she was studying to become an Architect: "In Stuttgart more was destroyed after than during the war."

[@idraote]

I love cable cars, especially older ones. My hometown is quite hilly and we have a couple of those here too. I just love them.

[@nlk294]

Auf de Schwäbsche Eisebahne...

[@strafrag1]

Excellent video, Andrew. Thanks.

[@jkb2016]

3rd reason for Stuttgart's unpopularity: It attracts anti-vaxxers and simila weirdos, for some reason. The cable car reminds me of Wiesbaden's Nerobergbahn.

[@nlpnt]

Until you got to the part about modernizing rather than abandoning trams mid-century, I was starting to think Stuttgart was the Los Angeles of Germany.

[@Kreylem1]

Where is the sound?