The plans in the mid-19th century to build a railway network in the Grand Duchy of Baden, initially focused on the construction of the Baden Mainline as a north-south route through the Upper Rhine Valley from Mannheim to Basel as well as a connection through the Lake Constance area to Constance. However, northeastern Baden continued to be ignored. Therefore, from the 1850s, ever louder demands were raised for a connection to the rail network from the poor areas in southern Odenwald, in the Bauland and in the Tauber valley (mockingly known as Badisch Sibirien, Baden Siberia, because of its small population, cold winters and isolation from the rest of Baden). While a railway line through the area was expected to be only marginally profitable, if at all, railway construction was seen, with its transport benefits, to be an investment that would promote development in this area.