Vorarlberg S-Bahn
Vorarlberg S-Bahn |
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The Vorarlberg S-Bahn is a local transport project in Vorarlberg . The Vorarlberg traffic concept from 2006 forms the basis for the expansion and development. According to the concept, the Lindau – Bludenz railway line between Lindau (Bavaria) and Bludenz, with a branch to St. Margrethen (Switzerland), is the “backbone of public transport development” . The Montafonerbahn , the St. Gallen S-Bahn (connection from St. Margrethen), the cross-border S-Bahn FL.A.CH project (via Liechtenstein to Buchs ) and the Vorarlberg rural and urban bus system will then be integrated into the system . The goal is a 15-minute cycle at peak times on all main axes and a continuous half-hour cycle during the other times as well as on the secondary lines.
As of December 2005, the first talented multiple units of the ÖBB were covered with the label "S-Bahn Vorarlberg". In the meantime, multiple units of the Montafonerbahn were also covered accordingly. In the meantime, all ÖBB local transport trains are running with a corresponding label. Even if the term "S-Bahn" was used in various printed matter of the transport association , the trains were still run as regional trains. With the timetable change in December 2011, for the first time two lines ( S1 , S3 ) will also run as scheduled as S-Bahn, sometimes every half hour on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Since December 2017, the Vorarlberg S-Bahn trains have been running every hour on the route between Bregenz and Bludenz on the nights before Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
Lines
line | route | Route name | Operational management | Installation |
---|---|---|---|---|
S 1 | Lindau Hbf (D) - Bregenz - Bludenz | Lindau – Bludenz railway line | ÖBB | December 11, 2011 |
S 3 | Bregenz - St. Margrethen (CH) | Railway Lindau-Bludenz , railway St. Margrethen-Lauterach | ÖBB | December 11, 2011 |
S 4 | Bludenz - Schruns | Montafonerbahn | Montafonerbahn AG | December 9, 2012 |
S1: Lindau - Bludenz
The Lindau – Bludenz railway line is very busy. At the absolute peak times, S-Bahn and regional express trains run on individual sections in train sequences of less than ten minutes, even if only partially in time. Since December 2011 there has been a half-hourly service between Bregenz and Bludenz until 11 p.m. The most important local transport hubs along the route are Bludenz , Bregenz , Dornbirn and Feldkirch .
S3: Bregenz - St. Margrethen
Currently runs every half hour. The exception are some trains that run every hour in the morning and evening. By 2016, the line was compressed to an almost continuous half-hourly service (or it should form an alternating half-hourly service with the S6). With its end point in St. Margrethen , the S3 offers a connection to the St. Gallen S-Bahn . The most important local transport hub along the route is Lustenau . All former R and REX trains on the route will become S-Bahns, but will keep their old stopping scheme. The majority of all trains stop at Hard - Fußach station .
S4: Schruns - Bludenz
The trains of the Montafonerbahn between Schruns and Bludenz mainly run every half hour, whereby the ÖBB runs some trains from Schruns to Bregenz or Lindau (in return, the Montafonerbahn takes over the operation of a few trains on the S1 and S3 lines as well as on the Buchs line SG - Feldkirch ). In the evening hours there is an hourly cycle. Since the timetable change at the end of 2012, the route and the former regional trains that run on it have been referred to as the S-Bahn.
Planned lines
S2: Feldkirch - Buchs
This number is reserved for the route from Feldkirch through Liechtenstein to Buchs. At the moment only six to seven local trains run here per day. See below for future planning or under train FL.A.CH .
S3: St. Gallen - Bregenz
As part of the S-Bahn FLACH project, the first step is to extend the S3 line of the St. Gallen S-Bahn to Bregenz.
Further planning
The declared goal of the state of Vorarlberg and ÖBB is to further expand the “S-Bahn” brand over the next few years and to introduce it on all railway lines in the state. In 2012, 182 trains per day were ordered in local transport (2007: 152 trains per day). The daily mileage increased to 8000 (2007: 6700).
These values will again be significantly increased after the completion of the expansion measures between Lauterach and St. Margrethen (S3) and the FLACH S-Bahn between Feldkirch and Buchs (future S2).
The offer is also to be expanded in the direction of Friedrichshafen and Ulm ( Friedrichshafen – Lindau railway line and Ulm – Friedrichshafen railway line ). If this is electrified according to the plan, a direct connection to Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen Airport and Ravensburg could be created as early as 2016. However, these plans can only be implemented with a delay, as the electrification of the two routes mentioned did not begin until 2018.
At the end of 2016, ÖBB signed a contract for the purchase of 300 Bombardier Talent 3 trains, 21 of which are to run on the Vorarlberg S-Bahn network by 2019.
Since December 2017, the S-Bahn has been running on the main route between Bregenz and Bludenz on the nights before Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays continuously from 11 p.m. every hour.
Infrastructure measures
In the area of the railway systems belonging to ÖBB Infrastruktur AG, two parallel projects are currently underway: the so-called “Rhine Valley Concept” on the Bregenz – Bludenz axis and the expansion of the Lauterach – St. Margrethen route. In 2004, the implementation of the Rhine Valley concept began with the renovation of the Dornbirn and Feldkirch train stations. Partial commissioning took place in 2007. The Dornbirn-Schoren, Bregenz-Riedenburg and Lauterach stops have been rebuilt and the Hatlerdorf stop modernized especially for S-Bahn traffic. The Hohenems and Rankweil train stations are currently being modernized. The renovation of the Götzis train station is in the planning stage.
Bregenz station is to be rebuilt as part of the “Seestadt” project.
The expansion of the Lauterach - St. Margrethen route served, on the one hand, to improve flood safety and, on the other, to increase the performance of the route. The centerpiece was the new construction of the Rhine bridge between Lustenau and St. Margrethen. In the course of this, numerous bridge structures were renewed and the Lustenauer Bogen was slightly relocated. The Lustenau train station is to be rebuilt by 2015. A completely new stop is planned in Lauterach West. Modifications take place in Hard. In the course of the major construction site at the Rhine bridge, the Lustenau-Markt stop was closed. The ÖBB no longer want to open the stop or state that this is not possible with the new route while the municipality of Lustenau is in favor of rebuilding.
To implement the compressed cycle on the Feldkirch - Buchs line for the FL.A.CH. this route must also be expanded. Specifically, it is a double-track expansion between the Austrian Tisis and the Liechtenstein Nendeln. An EIA procedure is currently running (for the Austrian part). At the same time, the Schaan-Vaduz and Nendeln train stations are to be renewed. Furthermore, a new stop is to be built in Tosters (Vorarlberghalle area). The Schaanwald stop is to be abandoned at its current location. The new Schaanwald stop is being built several hundred meters further in the direction of Buchs in order to better develop the businesses located there and the apartments that have been built in recent decades.
Vehicle use
The Vorarlberg S-Bahn mainly uses electric multiple units of the ÖBB series 4024 . However, during rush hour, ÖBB double-decker coaches or domestic coaches with an electric locomotive of the ÖBB series 1116 or an ÖBB series 1144 can also be found.
Since 2018, all trains in the 4024 series have been modernized inside to the Cityjet standard (new seat covers, screens, ...).
From mid-2019, new Bombardier Talent 3 railcars should also be used in order to cope with the increasing number of passengers. However, their approval (for Austria, Germany and Switzerland) has been delayed and they are still not in use (as of August 2020). As a temporary solution, it was decided to modernize the existing fleet in the meantime (e.g. with WiFi and screens for passenger information).
Web links
- S-Bahn Vorarlberg on the official website of ÖBB
Individual evidence
- ↑ Transport concept Vorarlberg 2006 (PDF; 885 kB)
- ↑ vorarlberg.orf.at: New timetable: S-Bahn runs every half hour , 2 December 2011
- ^ ÖAMTC - Vorarlberg: more S-Bahn offers , accessed on December 3, 2012
- ↑ a b ORF, rail travel in neighboring countries will be made easier , 3 May 2012.
- ^ State of Vorarlberg: More trains on Vorarlberg's rails , October 17, 2011
- ↑ Continuous night train from December. In: ORF Vorarlberg. April 11, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017 .
- ^ ÖBB Infrastructure: Rhine Valley Concept , September 2011
- ^ ÖBB Infrastruktur: [1] , accessed on July 5, 2015
- ^ ORF Vorarlberg: Lustenau-Markt stop will be closed , accessed on May 3, 2012
- ^ Report in the Vorarlberger Nachrichten of May 7, 2011, also published on Vorarlberg Online : Lustenau: Kampf um alten Bahnhof , accessed on May 3, 2012
- ↑ PDF "Project presentation S-Bahn FL-A-CH" from April 20, 2011 at www.llv.li , accessed on February 15, 2016
- ↑ Talent 3 starts in the construction phase: "The hour of birth" of the new generation of trains for Vorarlberg . In: vol.at . ( vol.at [accessed on November 18, 2018]).
- ↑ New trains are delayed . In: orf.at . ( orf.at [accessed on August 6, 2020]).
- ↑ Austria: ÖBB upgrade local transport fleet in Vorarlberg . In: lok-report.de . ( lok-report.de [accessed on August 6, 2020]).