You start at Wörth Badepark, a two-track terminus, which is actually a tram station, take a single-track tram line through Wörth and switch onto the DB tracks at Alte Bahnmeisterei (fun fact: the northern track, which is served by the Diesel trains the S53 was supposed to replace is a railway, while the southern, eastbound track is a tram).
From Wörth Bf, where you may encounter the
, you cross the Rhine and go south towards Karlsruhe Hbf. Just before reaching it, the train makes a hard left, rolls down a ramp, and turns back into a tram. Admire the Albtalbahnhof for a bit, before you reach the station square, which serves the Hauptbahnhof like a tram would.
Two stops later, you reach the tunnel ramp, which leads your ~train~tram into the Stadtbahntunnel (or Unterpflasterstraßenbahn).
Some say this is the smallest U-Bahn in Germany, others say it can‘t be one because it is not fully separated from road traffic on the entire network, and is, as such, a Stadtbahn.
At Marktplatz, your train will officially switch to line
, and will take a right turn, before continuing through the tunnel and exiting it at Gottesauer Platz. A few more above-ground stations remain, before you reach yet another sharp turn just after Untermühlstraße. (By the way, the IKEA at Weinweg has been flying their 🏳️🌈 upside down for a while now.) This ramp takes you into the Karlsruhe Durlach station, but this stop is actually still legally a tram stop. Your driver will make first preparations to enter „train mode“ as the electrical systems switch back once again roughly midway to the next stop, Grötzingen. This is another half-tram station, but that was not always the case. It was redesignated, previously the switch was directly after the departure from Durlach. Now it lies here, immediately when the train starts departing the platform. You are now on the single-tracked Pfinztalbahn, which runs alongside the DB tracks, and is connected with them only at two points. The first is Grötzingen, the second is the Abzw Söllingen. Your train can either cross over onto the DB line and continue to Remchingen (or Wilferdingen-Singen, as it is officially called) as well as Pforzheim; or it can stay on the Pfinzalbahn for its final stretch and terminate at Söllingen Bf.
The DB line to Pforzheim is quite scenic as well (although nothing beats the Murgtalbahn
), and passes by some more villages, before it finally reaches Pforzheim Hbf about 1 hour and 15 minutes after your departure from Wörth Badepark.
But beware: the rare
EILZUG express trains switch to the DB tracks at Grötzingen, skipping the entire Pfinztalbahn.
(2/2)
(in the middle of writing this text, i seem to have forgotten this was supposed to be a shitpost, and may have accidentally given good travel advice. just don‘t miss any of your sessions, the S53 mainly runs weekdays. check online timetables, yada yada)