Rosensteintunnel

The Rosenstein Tunnel in Stuttgart is a historic railway structure that has connected the main train station with Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt station across the Neckar Bridge since 1915. It was built as part of the redesign of the city's rail facilities in the early 20th century to expand suburban service to four tracks. Construction of the two twin-track tubes took place between 1912 and 1913 using the cut-and-cover method. Measuring 331 meters long and 8.1 meters wide, the structure was built by Dyckerhoff & Widmann AG. The first tube opened for service in 1915, while the remaining tracks were not completed until 1925, because World War I interrupted the work.

Architecturally, the tunnel is defined by its massive construction: the two tubes are separated by a 1.20-meter-thick dividing wall that also serves as a support pier. Passageways connect the tubes every 16 meters. The clear height varies between seven and eight meters depending on the section, with a transition zone ensuring smoke extraction. Today, hundreds of regional and long-distance trains, as well as S-Bahn lines S1, S2 and S3, pass through the tunnel every day.

As part of the Stuttgart 21 project, however, the tunnel's future is uncertain. Because it is due to be replaced by new underground tunnels, plans call for it to be backfilled or repurposed. For one of the tubes, options under consideration include converting it into a bike path or reopening the former music club "Die Röhre." Keeping it as an active railway tunnel was ruled out, since that would preserve the dividing effect of the above-ground facilities in the Schlossgarten or interfere with mineral-water-bearing layers.