Ketten Rieger & Dietz and its subsidiary Erlau, the Gesenkschmiede Schneider forging die smithery, the SDZ Druck und Medien media company, the Papierfabrik Palm paper mill, the alarm system manufacturer Telenot, the laser show provider LOBO electronic and the textile finisher Lindenfarb, which all have their seat in Aalen. A branch in Aalen is maintained by optical systems manufacturer Carl Zeiss headquartered in nearby Oberkochen. Transport Rail Aalen station is a regional railway hub on the Rems Railway from Stuttgart, the Brenz Railway from Ulm, the Upper Jagst Railway to Crailsheim and the Ries Railway to Donauwörth. Until 1972, the Härtsfeld Railway connected Aalen with Dillingen an der Donau via Neresheim. Other railway stations within the town limits are Hofen (b Aalen), Unterkochen, Wasseralfingen and Goldshöfe station. The Aalen-Erlau stop situated in the south is no longer operational. Aalen station is served at two-hour intervals by trains of Intercity line 61 Karlsruhe–Stuttgart–Aalen–Nuremberg. For regional rail travel, Aalen is served by various lines of the Interregio-Express, Regional-Express and Regionalbahn categories. Since the beginning of 2019, the British company Go-Ahead took over the regional railway business of DB Regio in the region surrounding Aalen. The town also operates the Aalen industrial railway (Industriebahn Aalen), which carries about 250 carloads per year. Bus Aalen also is a regional hub in the bus network of OstalbMobil, the transport network of the district Aalen is in. The bus lines are operated and serviced by regional companies like OVA and RBS RegioBus Stuttgart. Street The junctions of Aalen/Westhausen and Aalen/Oberkochen connect Aalen with the Autobahn A7 (Würzburg–Füssen). Federal roads (Bundesstraßen) connecting with Aalen are B 19 (Würzburg–Ulm), B 29 (Waiblingen–Nördlingen) and B 290 (Tauberbischofsheim–Westhausen). The Schwäbische Dichterstraße ("Swabian Poets' Route") tourist route established in 1977/78 leads through Aalen. Several bus lines operate within the borough. The Omnibus-Verkehr Aalen company is one of the few in Germany that use double-decker buses, it has done so since 1966. A district-wide fare system, OstalbMobil, has been in effect since 2007. Air transport Stuttgart Airport, offering international connections, is about away, the travel time by train is about 100 Minutes. At Aalen-Heidenheim Airport, located south-east of Aalen, small aircraft are permitted. Gliding airfields nearby are in Heubach and Bartholomä. Bicycle Bicycle routes stretching through Aalen are the Deutscher Limes-Radweg ("German Limes Bicycle Route") and the Kocher-Jagst Bicycle Route. Public facilities Aalen houses an Amtsgericht (local district court), chambers of the