Vienna S-Bahn

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Vienna S-Bahn
A Class 4020EMU with an S-Bahn train at Wien Südbahnhof, 2007.

A Class 4020 EMU with an S-Bahn train
at Wien Südbahnhof, 2007.
Background
Locale Vienna, Austria
Transit type S-Bahn
Number of lines 9
Number of stations 50 (in Vienna)
Daily ridership 300,000
Headquarters Vienna
Website ÖBB: Suburban trains (English)
Operation
Began operation 17 January 1962 (1962-01-17)
Operator(s) Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB)
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Vienna S-Bahn
Schematic of the Vienna S-Bahn, 2012.

The Vienna S-Bahn is a suburban metro railway network in Vienna, Austria. As opposed to the city-run urban metro network, the Vienna U-Bahn, it extends beyond the borders of the city, is operated by the Österreichische Bundesbahnen (Austrian federal railways), and consists of many branch lines. S-Bahn is short for Schnellbahn, which means "rapid railway".

Network

The Viennese S-Bahn consists of a multitude of branch lines extending beyond the city boundary, most of which converge at a central route segment called the Stammstrecke ("trunk line"). While many of the individual lines run at half-hourly or hourly intervals, they are able to offer combined frequencies of only a few minutes or less along the Stammstrecke. One line, the S45, operates entirely within Vienna's boundaries.

The numbering of the lines have changed since the partial opening of the new Vienna Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) on 9 December 2012.[1]

Train services since December 2012[1]
Line Route and intervals Lines used
S 1 (Wiener Neustadt Hbf → 60′ →) Mödling – 30′ – Gänserndorf Southern Railway – Trunk line – Northern Railway
S 2 Wiener Neustadt Hbf – 60′ – Mödling – 30′ – Wien Meidling – Wien Floridsdorf – 9′-30′ – Wolkersdorf – 60′ – Mistelbach (– Laa an der Thaya) Southern Railway – Trunk line – Northern railway – Laa Eastern Railway
S 3 Wien Meidling – 30′ – Stockerau – 60′ – Hollabrunn
– 60′/120′ – Absdorf-Hippersdorf
Trunk line – Northern railway – North-western Railway
Trunk line – North-western Railway – Absdorf-Hippersdorf–Stockerau railway
S 7 Wien Floridsdorf – ≈30′ – Airport – 60′ – Fischamend – 60′/120′ – Wolfsthal Trunk line – Aspang Railway – Danube Lands Railway – Bratislava Railway
S 40 Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof – 30′/60′ – Tulln – 30′/120′ – Tulln Stadt – 60′/120′ – St. Pölten Hbf Franz Joseph Railway – Tullnerfeld Railway
S 45 Wien Hütteldorf – 10′/15′ – Wien Handelskai Suburban Line – Danube Shore Railway
S 50 Vienna West – ≈30′/60′ – Tullnerbach-Pressbaum (– ≈30′/60′ – Rekawinkel) Western Railway
S 60 (Rekawinkel – ≈30/60′ –) Wien Hütteldorf – ≈30′/60′ – Bruck an der Leitha (Western Railway) – Connecting Railway – Southern Railway – Eastern Railway
S 80 Wien Hirschstetten – 60′ – Wien Meidling – 60′/120′ – Ebenfurth – 60′/120′ – Wiener Neustadt Hbf Marchegg Eastern Railway – Laa Eastern Railway – Southern Railway – Pottendorf Line

No lines except for S45 and S80 always have the same route and final station; most have trains that go further and ones that do not.

History

Logo of the Vienna S-Bahn

Planning for an S-Bahn network for Vienna was started in 1954, as a part of reconstruction of the Austrian Federal Railways. Concrete plans were completed by 1955, but financing was not secured until 1958. The collapse of the investment budget of the ÖBB led to a partial stop of construction in 1960, necessitating a postponing of the grand opening of the network by a little over a year.

The S-Bahn era in Austria began on January 17, 1962. After a day of testing the network with empty trains, passenger transport began at midnight the following day.

From 1962 until 2005, the term S-Bahn was rarely used, the full term Schnellbahn being preferred. Starting with the 2005/2006 timetable, however, S-Bahn has begun to appear in timetables and loudspeaker announcements. Announcements in Wiener Lokalbahn trains still use the Term Schnellbahn as of 2009.

The S-Bahn-Stammstrecke Wien Meidling - Wien

S-Bahn train on the Stammstrecke bridge over the Alte Donau in Floridsdorf.

The Stammstrecke ("core route") of the Vienna S-Bahn has a length of 13,3 km (8.3 mi). From the south to the north, the following stations are served:

All lines stop at all Stammstrecke stations except for S5 and S6 which do not stop at Matzleinsdorfer Platz.

The Wiener Vorortelinie

The most highly frequented single line in Vienna is the S45 Wiener Vorortelinie, which translates to "Vienna Suburban Line". The localities along this line all lie within the city proper, although they were independent until the late nineteenth century, when they were annexed, six years before this line opened. Originally part of Otto Wagner's federally operated Stadtbahn, this line was not taken over by the city with the rest of the network in 1925. The line was subsequently closed in 1932. Although still used for freight traffic for several decades afterwards, the line would not see passenger traffic until 1987, when it was reopened as part of the S-Bahn after extensive renovation.

Many of the original Otto Wagner stations are still standing and still in use. However, two of the present stations, Breitensee and Oberdöbling were demolished after the original line's closure and rebuilt in a different style by architects Alois Machatschek and Wilfried Schermann. One new station, Krottenbachstraße was added to the refurbished line, and two of the original line's stations, Baumgarten and Unterdöbling, which had also been demolished, were not replaced. Rebuilding Unterdöbling station is proposed for the near future, as is extending the line south to the Reichsbrücke. The line was extended from Heiligenstadt to Handelskai in 1996, to allow for an easy connection to line U6 of the Vienna U-Bahn.

Gallery

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Netzplan Nahverkehr Großraum Wien 2013" (PDF) (in German). Österreichische Bundesbahnen. Retrieved 1 February 2013. 

External links

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