The railway from Strasbourg to Basel is a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 141.3-kilometre long railway line. It is used for passenger (express, regional and suburban) and freight traffic. The railway was opened in 1840-1844.

Main stations

• Gare de Strasbourg
  Gare de Strasbourg
  Gare de Strasbourg is a rail station in the commune of Strasbourg, in Bas-Rhin, France. It is the eastern terminus of the Paris–Strasbourg railway.- Services :The station is the main station in Strasbourg and one of the main stations in the east of France....
  
  
• Gare de Colmar
  Gare de Colmar
  The gare de Colmar is a rail station located in Colmar, in the Haut-Rhin département of Alsace, France. The same design was used in the construction of Gdansk's principal train station in Poland...
  
  
• Gare de Mulhouse
  Gare de Mulhouse
  The Gare de Mulhouse, also known as Gare de Mulhouse-Ville or locally as Gare Centrale, is the main railway station in the city of Mulhouse, Alsace, France...
  
  
• Basel SNCF and Basel SBB railway station
  Basel SBB railway station
  Basel SBB is the central railway station in the city of Basel in Switzerland. Trains run by the Swiss Federal Railways to destinations within Switzerland use this station, as well as Deutsche Bahn Intercity-Express trains to Germany as well as Zürich and Interlaken...
  
  

Line history

The concession for the railway Strasbourg–Basel was granted to the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Strasbourg à Bâle, founded by the Koechlin brothers

Koechlin family

The Koechlin family was an Alsatian family which acquired its wealth in the textile industry and became leading industrialists and politicians of the region.-Early family history:...

, in 1838. The first sections that were opened in 1840 led from Benfeld

Benfeld

Benfeld is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.The handsome 1846 synagogue survived the Nazi occupation.-References:*...

 to Colmar

Colmar

Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....

, and from Mulhouse

Mulhouse

Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...

 to Saint-Louis

Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin

Saint-Louis is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.The inhabitants are called Ludoviciens.-Geography:...

 near the Swiss border. In 1841 Koenigshoffen (near Strasbourg) and Benfeld were connected, and Colmar was connected to Mulhouse. Finally in 1844 the sections between Strasbourg and Koenigshoffen, and between Saint-Louis and the Swiss border were opened. The assets of the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Strasbourg à Bâle were bought by the Chemins de fer de l'Est

Chemins de fer de l'Est

The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est , often referred to simply as the Est company, was an early French railway company. The company was formed in 1853 by fusion from Compagnie de Paris à Strasbourg, operating the Paris-Strasbourg line, and Compagnie du chemin de fer de Montereau à Troyes...

in 1854.