Wiener Stadtbahn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wiener Stadtbahn (German for "Vienna City Railway") was a public transportation system that operated from 1898 to 1989. Today, the Vienna U-Bahn (subway) lines U4 and U6 and the Vienna S-Bahn ("fast train") run along its former lines.
The Stadtbahn is one Vienna's more recent historical sites from the early Art Nouveau. The best known site is what used to be an operating center near the central station Karlsplatz. Other stops on the line were the above-ground stations along the Gürtel and in some of the suburbs. Many of these stations retain their original designs.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Stadtbahn was built while the courses of the Wien River and the Donaukanal were being readjusted. Steam engine locomotives were originally used to service the five lines of the system that were actually constructed (seven lines had been intended):
- Wientallinie (Vienna Valley line): Hütteldorf-Hacking - Hauptzollamt
- Donaukanallinie (Donaukanal line): Hauptzollamt - Heiligenstadt
- 2nd District line: Hauptzollamt - Praterstern
- Gürtel line: Meidling Hauptstraße - Westbahnhof - Heiligenstadt
- Vorortelinie: Hütteldorf-Hacking - Ottakring - Heiligenstadt
The other two lines should have crossed through the inner city. These crucial lines would have helped the Stadtbahn be a more appealing and useful transportation system, but their reasons for construction would not be justified today. The layout of the Vienna train network was influenced by both budgets and by its uses for the military.
The only other additional piece ever added to the Stadtbahn was a bend that connected the Nußdorfer Straße station to the Friedensbrücke (Freedom Bridge).
Construction began in 1894, and the lines were opened one by one between 1898 and 1901. In 1918, coal shortages due to the war forced the Stadtbahn to stop using its steam engines.
In the 1920s, the Wiental, Donaukanal, and Gürtel lines were leased by the city of Vienna. These lines were converted to electric trains and in 1925 was reopened under the name "Wiener Elektrische Stadtbahn" (Vienna Electric Stadtbahn).
The trains were specially developed so that they could also run on the tram tracks. Each line was designated by a single letter (D (Donaukanal), G (Gürtel) und W (Wienfluss)) which could be combined with other letters to indicate the lines served (like G, W, GD, DG, and WD). The 18G was one notable line that ran until 1945, and ran from Heiligenstadt too the Gumpendorfer Straße station (a tram station) and then along the course of number 18 tram line.
One of the lines that today would be useful, but is no longer in the expansion plans of the Vienna transit system, is the connecting line from the U6 subway station at Meidling to the Südbahnhof train station (a line that the number 18 tram still runs today).
The electric train cars built in the 1950s contained a new steel frame and were used well into the 1980s. The cars were marked with an "N" for a service car and "n" for a side car.
[edit] Conversion to subway
Starting in 1976, the Stadtbahn was adopted into the newly-establish Vienna U-Bahn subway system. Subway line U4 (which had been the Wiental and Donaukanal lines of the Stadtbahn) used new subway cars built by the Austrian manufacturer SGP (model "U1/2/3" with power bars). Most of the stations were completely remodelled for the conversion.
The subway line U6, however, which had been the Gürtel line of the Stadtbahn, was left mostly unchanged. The old Stadtbahn cars were replaced with new six-axle hinged cars (models E6 and c6, upon which the Viennese tram type "Mannheim" was based). In 1995, new six-axle three-compartment low-floor cars (model T) were introduced.
The station architecture has been kept as true as possible to the original design by architect Otto Wagner. The signalling and electric components have been updated, stations and viaducts have been renovated, and the travel direction has been swapped from the left to the right side. A complete renovation of all the stations and tracks for the other lines would have cost far too much, considering the limited service radius offered by the remaining lines.
[edit] Conversion to S-Bahn
The lines not leased by the city in the 1920s remained part of the Austrian train network and today have been integrated into the Vienna S-Bahn train network.
The line serving the second district remained as the connecting network for Matzleinsdorf and Nordbahnof. Since 1962, it has become a core stretch of the Vienna S-Bahn network (lines S1, S2, S3, S4, S7, S8, S9, S15). The model 4020 and 4024 cars operate on this line.
In 1932, the Vorortelinie ceased operations as a commuter line. One track was removed, and the remaining track was used only for cargo transport. On May 31, 1987, this stretch was reopened for commuter travel as line S45 of the S-Bahn network.
[edit] Pictures
 Stadtbahn bridge over the Wien River in Hütteldorf |
 Wien River and Stadtbahn, on Längenfeldgasse (street) |
 Alserstaße station, on the Gürtel |
 Bridge over the left Wienzeile |
 Viennese Stadtbahn car, type N, at service station in Hütteldorf |
 Before electric cars, ca. 1910 |
