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| Trams in Vienna | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Locale | Vienna,Austria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Trams in Vienna (German:Wiener Straßenbahn, in everyday speech alsoBim orTramway) are a vital part of thepublic transport system inVienna,capital city ofAustria. In operation since 1865, with the completion of a 2 km (1.2 mi) route to industrial estates nearSimmering, it reached its maximum extent of 292 km (181.4 mi) in 1942. In February 2015, it was the fifth largesttram network in the world,[2] at about 176.9 kilometres (109.9 mi) in total length and 1,071 stations.[1]
The trams on the network run onstandard gauge track. Since 1897, they have been powered by electricity, at 600VDC. The current operator of the network isWiener Linien. In 2013, a total of 293.6 million passengers travelled on the network's trams.[1] As of 2013[update], there were 525 tramcars in Vienna's tram fleet, including 404 trams or tramsets scheduled for service duringpeak periods,[1] comprising 215 single cars and 189 motor and trailer sets.[3]
The earliest precursor of the Vienna tramway network was theBrigittenauer Eisenbahn, ahorsecar tramway. From 1840 to 1842, it led from theDonaukanal to the recreational establishment known as theKolosseum, at the end of the Jägerstraße.
Some two decades later, several firms competed for a concession to construct an urban "horse-tramway" in Vienna.Schaeck-Jaquet & Comp prevailed. By October 1865, trams could be recorded as operating betweenSchottentor andHernals, and on 24 April 1866, the route was extended toDornbach.
Subsequently, the municipality of Vienna tried to persuade other firms to construct tramway lines. However, due to the difficult conditions, all of the competing firms (including Schaeck-Jaquet & Comp) arranged a merger, leaving the newly formedWiener Tramwaygesellschaft as the only remaining firm. In later years, that firm built the majority of the Vienna tramway network. The social conditions were nevertheless such that labour disputes arose. In 1872, theNeue Wiener Tramwaygesellschaft was formed as a competitor, but was able to build only a network in the suburbs.
In 1883, theDampftramway Krauss & Comp. opened Vienna's first steam tramway line, betweenHietzing andPerchtoldsdorf. In 1887, the line was extended further south toMödling, and towards the city centre toGaudenzdorf, and a new branch line led toOber St. Veit. A further line, of national significance, was opened in 1886 from Donaukanal toStammersdorf, where the trams connected with trains on theStammersdorfer Lokalbahn toAuersthal. FromFloridsdorf a branch line led toGroß Enzersdorf.
Alongside the Dampftramway Krauss & Comp., the Neue Wiener Tramwaygesellschaft also operated a few lines with steam locomotives.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Vienna's BürgermeisterKarl Lueger began the municipalization of urban services, which, until then, had been supplied by private enterprises. In 1899, by a proclamation issued by MinisterHeinrich von Wittek, the municipality received a 90-year concession from the Imperial Railway Ministry for "a network of standard gauge light railway lines in Vienna to be operated by electric power". The 99 lines (or sections) explicitly identified in the proclamation included new lines, and the purchase of the network of the Wiener Tramwaygesellschaft, the employees of which were to be taken on as far as possible by the city. The lines were integrated into theGemeinde Wien – Städtische Straßenbahnen service, which was entered on 4 April 1902 into thecompany register. In 1903, the network of the Neue Wiener Tramwaygesellschaft was also purchased.
On 28 January 1897, an electric tram operated for the first time in Vienna: on the tracks of today's line 5. With their lower noise and odour production compared with horse-drawn and steam tramways, the electric trams quickly became favourites. On 26 June 1903, the last horse tramway was ceremoniously farewelled. In 1907, the line designations still valid today, using numbers and letters, were introduced. The steam tramway was able to continue operating its services until 1922 on a few branch lines in the outer suburbs. Well into the second half of the twentieth century, Viennese frequently referred to the electrified tramway asdie Elektrische (the electric).
Up until 1910, the only trams delivered to the Vienna tramway network were vehicles with unglazed platforms (or cabs), i.e.: without any windscreens protecting occupants from the cold and wind. This was still in the tradition of the horse cars, on which direct contact of the driver with the harnessed horses was required. (It took until 1930 until the cabs and platforms of all tramcars had protective glass.) In 1911, the first double stops were introduced.
DuringWorld War I, tram operations were increasingly difficult to perform. From 1916, women had to take over part of the work of the male tramway staff engaged by the military. Due to the harsh conditions of that time, operations had to be partially closed down. In 1917, a quarter of all stops were abandoned.
On 16 October 1925, theWiener Stadtbahn, which had been taken over by the municipality of Vienna, was absorbed into the tramway network's tariff system. In 1929, the peak tram fleet was achieved, and in 1930 the network reached its maximum length, 318 km (198 mi). In the interwar period, Vienna had more people than today. In 1910, the city reached 2.1 million; after First World I began, the population decreased significantly, reaching its lowest level at the time of the 1991 census, at about half a million. Between the wars, the tramway was virtually unrivalled as a city transport in Vienna.
After theAnschluss with Germany'sThird Reich, the tramway network was changed on 19 September 1938 fromleft hand traffic toright hand traffic. During World War II, tram operations continued, for as long as Vienna remained spared from fighting. Its peak haulage, on the then still extensive route network, was almost 732 million passengers, in 1943. That year, 18,000 people found work on Vienna's tramways.
In 1944–1945, however, when Vienna was bombed extensively, operations had to be gradually closed down, until the last line, the O-Line, was closed on 7 April 1945.
Following theBattle of Vienna in early April 1945, the first five lines were able to be returned to service on 28 April. Most of the city's fleet of 4000 trams were badly damaged, 400 of them beyond repair. The task of restoring the network would not be completed until 1950; some short sections of track were never put back into operation.
In 1948, Vienna acquired second hand trams of Type Z (road numbers 4201-4242) under theMarshall Plan from New York. These trams, which became known asAmerikaner (Americans), were a little wider than other trams used in Vienna. They could only be put into operation on tracks that had a wider track spacing, left over from the steam tramways. An example of these more widely spaced tracks was Line 331 to Stammersdorf. TheAmerikaner were comparatively modern, because they were equipped with air-operated doors and automatic retractable ramps. Additionally, the seat backs could be adjusted, so that all seated passengers could always face towards the direction of travel. Some of the major modifications required for theAmerikaner to be able to run in Vienna were carried out byGräf & Stift in Wien-Liesing.
Until the 1950s, the network was still consistently operated with old, repaired and partially rebuilt trams, as new ones could be purchased only from 1951 onwards. Even in the 1950s, new trams were consistently obtained in series of only limited numbers, as from 1955 the abolition of the tramway in Vienna was the contemporary transport planning vision, and investments were made accordingly.
In their early to mid-20th century, private cars had been the exception in European cities, because they had then been too expensive for most of the population. However, with the growth ofprivate transport in the postwar period, the calls for acar-friendly city became louder. Rail traffic on the road was therefore seen as a "transport barrier" (the term "transport" applying only to motor vehicles), and the full relocation ofpublic transport to the U-Bahn andbuses was seen as the vision of the future.
In 1956, Vienna's firstarticulated trams, designated as TypeD, were commissioned from Gräf & Stift. Due to the tight financial situation, the new trams were assembled from salvaged parts. The basis of each one was two old Stadtbahn trailerchassis, on which modern car bodies were mounted. The chassis and bodies were then connected, by means of a telescopic joint section, of Italian design. The prototype of the TypeD, with road number 4301, was delivered on 3 July 1957. After the testing and commissioning process had been completed, the TypeD entered service from 17 February 1958. The inaugural trip operated by these trams was on Line 71.
A total of 16 typeD trams were built. They were used until 1976 on Lines 9, 41, 42 and E2. They were cumbersome, due to their high weight (28 t (31 short tons; 28 long tons)), and were also otherwise unconvincing.
In 1958, at the time of conversion of the short Line 158, the practicality of using buses to replace trams was tested. From 1960, there was ongoing conversion of sections of track running through narrow streets in the densely built up areas within theGürtel; the best known example is line 13 fromWien Südbahnhof to Alserstrasse. However, individual sections on the periphery of the city, and in surrounding communities beyond the city limits, such as the former steam tramway lines toMödling andGroß-Enzersdorf, were replaced by bus lines. In the 1960s, apre-metro system was built to move tramway sections under surface, that - according to the attitudes in those years - obstructed car traffic on the main roads.
The realisation that the contemplated abolition of the tramway would not be a short-term project, mainly because of the rather lengthy construction of the planned U-Bahn network, led to the introduction, from 1959, of the six-axle articulated typeE andE1 trams, of which a total of 427 were built to 1976. This was a generational change of long-term effect.
The last high-floor articulated trams to enter the fleet were the TypeE2 vehicles, which were built under licence fromDuewag, together with matching typec5 trailer cars; they entered service on 28 August 1978 on Line 6, and remain in service today. This type was the first to be fitted with exits featuring retractable steps to improve comfort when entering and alighting. Additionally, the tramcar design was modernized, and the safety features of the technical equipment were considerably improved. A total 98 cars of this type were produced bySimmering-Graz-Pauker, and 24 byBombardier.
The construction of theVienna U-Bahn led to further extensive line closures in the tramway network, due to a policy that trams are not to operate in parallel with the U-Bahn, even on short sections. As this policy is still in effect today, further closures of tramway lines can be expected, to coincide with the further expansion of the U-Bahn network. However, the continued existence of the tramway network in Vienna is no longer in question, and there are even some new openings planned.
For reasons of economy, Wiener Linien ceased to roster conductors in trailer cars from 1964, and in powered cars from 1972. Industrial relations factors delayed the final departure of conductors until 1996, when the last conductor ended his service (on Line 46).
On 2 September 2017 the U1 extension to Oberlaa (former tram 67) opened with great fanfare and the section of tram line 67 from Per-Albin-Hansson-Siedlung was cut to terminate at Reumannplatz. Also, a new network of bus services in the Favoriten area commenced. From the same date tram lines 2, 10, 44 and 60 saw major changes and Line 58 was replaced by extensions of lines 10 and 60.
As of June 2021[update], these lines operated:
| Line | Termini | Length[4] | Depots | Media | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan-Fadinger-Platz | Prater, Hauptallee | 10.52 km (6.54 mi) | Favoriten, Gürtel | |
| 2 | Friedrich-Engels-Platz | Dornbach | 12.83 km (7.97 mi) | Brigittenau, Ottakring, Floridsdorf (1 car pm) | |
| 5 | Praterstern S U | Westbahnhof S U | 7.87 km (4.89 mi) | Brigittenau, Rudolfsheim, Floridsorf (1 car pm) | |
| 6 | Burggasse-Stadthalle U | Geiereckstraße | 7.39 km (4.59 mi) | Favoriten, Simmering | |
| 9 | Gersthof S Wallrißstraße | Westbahnhof S U | 6.18 km (3.84 mi) | Hernals, Rudolfsheim | |
| 10 | Dornbach | Unter-St.-Veit Hummelgasse | 7.84 km (4.87 mi) | Ottakring, Speising, Rudolfsheim (1 car pm peak) | |
| 11 | Otto-Probst-Platz | Kaiserebersdorf Zinnergasse | 13.22 km (8.21 mi) | Favoriten, Simmering | |
| 18 | Burggasse-Stadthalle U | Schlachthausgasse U | 8.07 km (5.01 mi) | Rudolfsheim, Favoriten | |
| 25 | Aspern Oberdorfstraße | Floridsdorf S U | 9.42 km (5.85 mi) | Kagran | |
| 26 | Hausfeldstraße U | Strebersdorf Edmund-Hawranek-Platz | 11.88 km (7.38 mi) | Kagran, Floridsdorf | |
| 30 | Floridsdorf S U | Stammersdorf | 5.27 km (3.27 mi) | Brigittenau (3 cars ex FLOR), Floridsdorf | |
| 31 | Schottenring U | Stammersdorf | 11.21 km (6.97 mi) | Floridsdorf | |
| 33 | Josefstädter Straße U | Friedrich-Engels-Platz | 5.86 km (3.64 mi) | Brigittenau, Floridsdorf | |
| 37 | Schottentor U | Hohe Warte | 4.78 km (2.97 mi) | Gürtel | |
| 38 | Schottentor U | Grinzing | 5.33 km (3.31 mi) | Gürtel | |
| 40 | Schottentor U | Gersthof Herbeckstraße | 4.43 km (2.75 mi) | Gürtel, Hernals | |
| 41 | Schottentor U | Pötzleinsdorf | 5.12 km (3.18 mi) | Gürtel, Hernals | |
| 42 | Schottentor U | Antonigasse | 3.38 km (2.10 mi) | Gürtel, Hernals (1 car pm peak) | |
| 43 | Schottentor U | Neuwaldegg | 5.99 km (3.72 mi) | Hernals | |
| 44 | Schottentor U | Ottakring Maroltingergasse | 4.39 km (2.73 mi) | Ottakring | |
| 46 | Ring/Volkstheater U | Joachimsthalerplatz | 4.80 km (2.98 mi) | Ottakring, Rudolfsheim (1 car pm peak) | |
| 49 | Ring/Volkstheater U | Hütteldorf Bujattigasse | 8.54 km (5.31 mi) | Rudolfsheim, Ottakring | |
| 52 | Westbahnhof S U | Baumgarten | 5.78 km (3.59 mi) | Rudolfsheim | |
| 60 | Westbahnhof S U | Rodaun | 11.10 km (6.90 mi) | Rudolfsheim, Speising | |
| 62 | Oper/Karlsplatz U | Lainz Wolkersbergenstraße | 10.99 km (6.83 mi) | Speising | |
| 71 | Schottenring | Kaiserebersdorf Zinnergasse | 12.93 km (8.03 mi) | Simmering | |
| D | Absberggasse | Nußdorf Beethovengang | 11.74 km (7.29 mi) | Favoriten, Gürtel | |
| O | Raxstraße Rudolfshügelgasse | Bruno-Marek-Allee | 9.11 km (5.66 mi) | Favoriten | |
| U2Z[5] | Schottenring | Karlsplatz Bösendorferstraße | 3.18 km (1.98 mi) | Favoriten | |
The longest line is currently line 11, running 13.2 km (8.2 mi) from Otto-Probst-Platz near the Wienerberg via the districts ofFavoriten andSimmering to Kaiserebersdorf. On the other hand, line 42 is the shortest route, only covering 3.4 km (2.1 mi) fromSchottentor to its terminus at Antonigasse in the district ofWähring.
From end of May 2021 until autumn 2023 the new line U2Z, replacing underground line U2 during construction, is slightly shorter.
The Vienna tram fleet consists of bothhigh-floor andlow-floor vehicles. On weekdays, some lines operate with a combination of high and low-floor trams, but on weekends (especially Sundays), only a limited number of high-floor trams are used on lines D, 2, 5, 25, 31, 38 and VRT. Low-floor trams were successively introduced from 1995, most recently on line 33 in September 2011. This allowed all tram stops in Vienna to be served by such vehicles, thus providing step-free travel throughout the entire network.[6]
From 1959, articulated tramcars of Type E were used. However, it became difficult to operate these trams withtrailer cars due to their underpoweredmotors, necessitating their replacements soon afterwards.
The successors, the Type E1 trams, were first delivered in 1966. They were of similar appearance to their predecessors, but equipped with more powerful motors. The Type E remained in service until 2007, most recently on lines 10 and 62. E1 had its last day in regular service on July 1, 2022, this on line 30.[7]
After production of the E1 ceased in 1976, a further successor generation, the Type E2, was developed, and has been in service since 1978.
The trailer fleet constructed to match the tramcars is made up of Types c4 for the E1 tramcars, and Type c5 for E2 tramcars. On less frequented lines, the tramcars also operated without trailers.
Following a number of seriousaccidents, the majority of the high-floor trams have been fitted with electric door edge sensors andrear-view mirrors.[8]
_(Wieden%2c_Vienna_-_2002).jpg)
Thearticulated Ultra Low Floor (ULF) trams, built by a consortium composed ofSiemens and ELIN, come in two lengths: Type A, a short version with five sections, and Type B, a longer, seven-section version.
Since 1995, one prototype of each length operated on the network. Since 1997, series production versions of both types have been in service.
Type A1, a further development of Type A, has been in service since 2007 as the first generation of Vienna tramcars to be fitted withair conditioning. These cars have an updated interior design (yellowhandrails, gray walls and red plastic seats) and door-closing indicator lights. They are currently used on lines O, 9, 10, 33, 37, 42, 44, 46, 52 and 62. Deliveries of the longer ULF version, Type B1, began in April 2009, and are currently found on lines D, 1, 2, 5, 6, 18, 25, 26, 31, 38, 40, 41, 43, 49, 60, 67 and 71.
After a fire in one of the low-floor trams in July 2009, it was decided to retrofit all of them with specialfenders.[14]
Since 2014, six seats in the second and last sections of Type B and B1 trams have been permanently removed and replaced with twofolding seats and 16 standing places to accelerate passenger transfer and increase capacity.
In 2015,Bombardier Transportation's specially-designedFlexity Wien series won against the ULF from Siemens in a tender for 119 new trams, including an option for a further 37 units, purchased with a maintenance agreement. The trams, based on theAdtranz Incentro design, are 34 metres in length and have six double-leaf doors, one fewer than the long ULFs. They have a capacity of 211 and a floor height of 215 millimetres to provide ground-level boarding.[15] They are produced in Bombardier's Vienna factory and have been delivered to Wiener Linen since the end of 2017, entering service out of Favoriten depot in December 2018, initially on line 67 and later lines 6, 11, 18[16] and 71.[17][18] Internally designated as Type D, they will gradually replace the last high-floor vehicles in the existing fleet.
Throughout its history, the Vienna tramway network has had a variety ofRemisen ("carriage houses"), which were officially described asdepots orstations. Due to the abandonment of numerous lines, some of these facilities have now been closed for trams (e.g., 2., Vorgartenstraße, 3., Erdberg, 12., Assmayergasse, 14., Breitensee, 15., Linke Wienzeile, 18., Währing, 22., Kagran). A few of them have nevertheless remained in use as operating garages for buses. In 2006, the now former Breitensee depot became the most recently abandoned facility, with its tram fleet being taken over by the Rudolfsheim station.
In recent years, as part of conservation measures, some depots have been gradually closed down as a separate unit, demoted to the status of so-calledAbstellanlagen ("parking facilities"), and placed under a different depot. Currently, there are four operating depots in the Vienna tramway network and six parking facilities, as well as the Erdberg station, where theVienna Tram Museum is housed. Repair work is now performed mostly in the remaining depots, where all vehicles are now officially stationed. The depots are split into the following sectors; North - Floridsdorf, Brigittenau and Kagran, Central - Hernals and Gurtel, South - Favoriten and Simmering, West - Rudolfsheim, Ottakring and Speising.
CertainLines orvehicles are assigned to each depot or parking facility:
| Name | Symbol | Lines | Vehicles | Address | Nearest stop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favoriten depot[19] | FAV | D, O, 1, 6, 11, 18, VRT, U2Z | A, A1, B, B1, D, E1, E2, c5 | 10., Gudrunstraße 153 | Quellenplatz |
| Simmering parking facility[20] | SIM | D, 11, 71 | B, B1, E2, c5 | 11., Simmeringer Hauptstraße 156 | Fickeysstraße |
| Floridsdorf depot[21] | FLOR | 2 (1xPM), 5 (1xPM), 25, 26, 30, 31, 33 | A, B, B1, E1, E2, c4, c5 | 21., Gerichtsgasse 5 | Floridsdorfer Markt |
| Brigittenau parking facility[22] | BRG | O, 2, 5, 33 | A, B, B1, E2, c5 | 20., Wexstraße 13 | Wexstraße |
| Kagran parking facility[23] | KAG | 2, 25, 26 | B, B1, E1, c4 | 22., Prandaugasse 11 | Kagran |
| Hernals depot[24] | HLS | 2, 9, 40, 41, 42, 43 | A, A1, B, B1, E2, c5 | 17., Hernalser Hauptstraße 138 | Wattgasse |
| Gürtel parking facility[25] | GTL | D, 1, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42 | A, A1, B, B1, E2, c5 | 18., Währinger Gürtel 131 | Nußdorfer Straße |
| Rudolfsheim depot[26] | RDH | 5, 9, 18, 49, 52, 60 | A, A1, B, B1, E2, c5 | 15., Schwendergasse 51 | Anschützgasse |
| Ottakring parking facility[27] | OTG | 10, 44, 46, 49 | A, A1, B, B1 | 16., Joachimsthalerplatz 1 | Joachimsthalerplatz |
| Speising parking facility[28] | SPEIS | 10, 49, 52, 60, 62 | A, A1, B, B1, E2, c5 | 13., Hetzendorfer Straße 188 | Wattmanngasse |
Heavier maintenance, along with periodic servicing, is performed in theMain Workshops of the Wiener Linien.[where?]
Media related toTram transport in Vienna at Wikimedia Commons
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