intervals to Neureut. This extension of an inner city tram route on a former DB route was one of the steps in the development of the Karlsruhe model. Extension to Leopoldshafen and Hochstetten (1979–1989) On 2 July 1982, the city of Karlsruhe and the municipalities of Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen and Linkenheim-Hochstetten signed an agreement which provided for the extension of the Hardt Railway as far as Hochstetten. In 1982, the city of Karlsruhe took over the line from the connection with the tram line from the DB. Freight on the line, however, was still operated by the DB. On 1 January 1987, the whole line from the tram loop in Nordweststadt to Neureut became the property of the AVG. In 1983, Stadtbahn multiple units were purchased to replace the articulated multiple units used by AVG on A line in August 1983. The new sets offered significantly more capacity. In November 1985, rebuilding began on the Hardt Railway between Neureut and Leopoldshafen. This section was opened on 13 December 1986. It follows the route of the old Hardt Railway as far as Eggenstein and it then runs through the town centre in Leopoldshafen. In 1987 and 1988, several platforms on the Hardt Railway were raised to 38 centimetres to give passengers a less difficult entry into the vehicles and thus accelerate boarding. On 3 June 1989, the Hardt Railway was then extended to Hochstetten. The original plans had envisaged that the line would initially run through Linkenheim on the old route and then run on a new route through both Linkenheim and Hochstetten in order to open them up. Ultimately, the line was built entirely through the centre of Linkenheim on the former federal highway B 36, which was moved to a bypass in order to reduce conflicts with cars in the limited space in the town centres. Further development (1989–1997) Since 8 December 1989, a pair of trains run twice a day also to the Karlsruhe Research Centre. The track was extended for this purpose within the site at the research centre so that a station could be built. Shortly thereafter, in early 1990, it was agreed to allow freight trains to the research centre to pass in future through the centre of Leopoldshafen, making the old Hardt railway between Eggenstein and the branch to the research centre unnecessary. It was therefore dismantled in 1990. A steam locomotive was parked for a