The Ludwig South–North Railway (Ludwig-Süd-Nord-Bahn), built between 1843 and 1854, was the first railway line to be constructed by Royal Bavarian State Railways. It was named after the king, Ludwig I, whose infrastructure priorities had earlier been focused less on railway development than on his Main-Danube canal project.
The railway ran from Lindau on Lake Constance via Kempten, Augsburg, Nuremberg and Bamberg to Hof where it linked up with the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company.