Halberstadt tram

Halberstadt tram
Leoliner low-floor wagon crosses the Halberstadt – Blankenburg line
Basic information
Country	Germany
city	Halberstadt
opening	June 28, 1887
electrification	May 2, 1903
operator	Halberstädter Verkehrs-GmbH
Transport network	VTO
Infrastructure
Route length	11.7 km
Track length	16.9 km
Gauge	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system	600 volts = overhead line
Operating mode	Furnishing operation
Stops	25th
Depots	1
business
Lines	2
Clock in the peak hours	15 minutes
Clock in the SVZ	30 min
vehicles	16
statistics
Residents in the catchment area	42 thousand
Route network plan, as of 2018

The Halberstadt tram, alongside the Naumburg tram and the Dessau tram, is one of the smaller tram systems in Saxony-Anhalt . In the district town of Halberstadt, north of the Harz , with around 41,000 inhabitants, the electric tram has been running since May 2, 1903. Due to inadequate maintenance during the GDR , the tram network was about to be shut down at the end of the 1980s. After the German reunification , the tracks and overhead line systems were renewed. When decommissioning debates could be averted after the turn of the millennium, new low-floor vehicles of the Leoliner type were procured, so that today the entire network is driven by vehicles suitable for the disabled .

Halberstädter Verkehrs-GmbH currently operates two tram lines that run every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends. However, the section to Klus is only used on weekends and only every hour.

history

First years of operation

On June 28, 1887, the horse tram company of Halberstädter Pferdebahn AG was founded. The two lines of this train began at the main station, both led to the fish market and divided there. One line ended at the Johannistor, the other at the Voigtei. In 1901, the city's magistrate decided to electrify the railway. After this was decided, the city took over the operation on July 1, 1902, which from then on was called Halberstädter Straßenbahn AG . In addition, the two end points were connected and a parallel route was built through today's Walter-Rathenau-Strasse and Richard-Wagner-Strasse to the main station. The electrification was completed on May 2, 1903 with the construction of a new tram depot near the power station in Gröperstrasse . Electrical operation began on the same day. The connection to the depot led through the narrow and narrow streets of the lower town.

Operation began with 19 cars. However, after the route to the Klusberge recreation area was opened in 1903, six more cars had to be purchased as early as 1904. In 1908 another two cars were added to the inventory. Up until 1909, the railroad was at the limit of profitability, only then was a route network found that met customer needs and brought increasing numbers of passengers with it.

In 1909 the following lines were operated:

• 1 train station - Magdeburger Straße - fish market - Bakenstraße - Grudenberg - Westendorf - fish market - train station
• 2 Train station - Magdeburger Strasse - Fischmarkt - Westendorf - Wilhelmstrasse - Richard-Wagner-Strasse - train station
• 3 Train station - Magdeburger Straße - Fischmarkt - Hoher Weg - Gröperstraße - cemetery
• 4 train station - Magdeburger Strasse - fish market - Westendorf - Grudenberg
• 5 Fischmarkt - Spiegelstrasse - Westerhäuser Strasse - Klus
• 6 Friedhof - Hoher Weg - Fischmarkt - Spiegelstrasse - Westerhäuser Strasse - Klus

A total of six lines with a length of 23.3 kilometers were operated on 14.5 kilometers of track. By 1913, the number of travelers had doubled to 2.7 million compared to 1903.

First World War

The First World War also led to restrictions in Halberstadt. The conductors were almost entirely replaced by female conductors. The global economic crisis led to a decrease in the number of passengers. The resulting drop in income led to the introduction of the conductors-less operation from January 1, 1921. In 1924, operations were stopped except for the route from the train station via Magdeburger Strasse to the fish market.

In 1925, after the introduction of the Rentenmark , the tram resumed operation with conductors on three lines:

• 1 main station - Magdeburger Straße - fish market - Voigtei - Grudenberg - Westendorf - fish market - main station
• 2 Central Station - Richard-Wagner-Strasse - Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse - Spiegelstrasse
• 3 (Friedhof - Hoher Weg -) Fischmarkt - Spiegelstrasse - Herbingstrasse - Klus

Second World War

From 1931 new vehicles from Lindner were purchased. Despite the outbreak of war , a total of eleven new cars of this type were purchased by 1941. In 1943 a new building that had been planned for a long time was inaugurated. On April 8, 1945, in addition to the historic old town, almost all of the trams were bombed.

Operations between the cemetery and the fish market were resumed as early as August 18, 1945. In the summer of 1946, the entire network was back in operation except for the route to the Klus . On January 1, 1950 the Stadtwerke Halberstadt were dissolved, the tram operation came to the municipal commercial enterprise of the city of Halberstadt (KWU) . On May 1, 1951, the KWU was dissolved again and the VEB (K) Verkehrsbetriebe Halberstadt was formed.

After the Second World War until 1995

Gothawagen 45 with sidecar, 1990

Rekowagen 28 in Gröperstrasse, 1990

ER-GT4 151 (ex. Stuttgart 719) before being repainted on the way to the final cemetery, 1992

From June 1951 the old Lindner railcars were replaced by the new LOWA railcars and later by Gotha vehicles . In 1953 the new administration building at the cemetery in Gröperstrasse 83 was put into operation. Conductorless operation was introduced in 1966. Validators have been in the vehicles since September 30, 1976. At the end of the 1970s, the network was largely rebuilt. The Magdeburg street was streetcar-free and the distance on the widths way was in the Kühlinger road laid. The terminus at the main train station was redesigned to a turning loop and the fish market was also made tram-free by converting the stop at Holzmarkt.

On January 1, 1982, the company was incorporated into the VE Verkehrskombinat Magdeburg as VEB Städtischer Nahverkehr Halberstadt . It remained in this until a decision by the council of the Magdeburg district on May 25, 1990. After the city was again owner of the meanwhile run-down operation, it was decided to keep the tram. Halberstädter Verkehrs-GmbH was founded on December 7, 1992 . In the meantime, 1991 began to completely renew the tracks and overhead lines. In 1992 the vehicle fleet was renewed by taking over used GT4 trams from Stuttgart and Freiburg im Breisgau . These vehicles replaced the two-axle tram cars. On August 4, 1993, tram line 2 was extended from the previous final stop at Voigtei to the Nordring residential area and the Sargstedter Weg loop .

After the turn of the millennium

On May 2, 2003, the 100th anniversary of the Halberstadt electric tram was celebrated. From 2003 to 2005 the future of the Halberstadt tram looked bad. In the city administration, the suspension of tram operations was repeatedly discussed. These ideas have not yet been implemented. On September 3, 2005, a contract for the delivery of five low-floor trams of the type NGTW6-H Leoliner was concluded with the then LEOLINER Fahrzeugbau Leipzig-GmbH (now HeiterBlick GmbH). At the same time, the expansion of Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse began. The road, supply lines, rails and stops have been completely renewed. After the presentation of the first Halberstadt Leoliner at the traffic technology trade fair InnoTrans 2006, it was handed over to the HVG on October 13, 2006 and presented to the public on October 14 at a depot festival. The other four vehicles were delivered by February 2007. All Leoliners have been in regular service since August 2007.

Since the timetable change on August 26, 2007, lines 1 and 2 have been operating in combination. At the main train station, one line changes to the other. In addition, line 3, which had previously operated on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, has been discontinued. The route to the Klus was integrated into line 2. Since then, some of the trains on line 2 have been running in the direction of the main station from Herbingstrasse via the Klus loop. For passengers coming from the main train station, there is a connection to line 2 to Klus at the Herbingstraße stop. The network, which is used every day, has been completely renovated since October 19, 2009.

In the city council meeting on July 7, 2011, it was decided to re-examine the suspension of tram traffic. In the outlook of the city's budget from 2015, the cessation of tram operations is required by around 2025. According to HVG managing director Axel Wöhlbier, the investment backlog and wear and tear on the vehicles will also be so high from 2025 that repayment of the funds, which are tied up until 2033, is more economical than continued operation.

At the timetable change in September 2012, line 1 was replaced by buses on Sundays due to the low utilization of the route to the cemetery and due to increased energy costs.

From the end of 2015 to December 2017, an additional train ran every hour between Sargstädter Weg and Klus on weekdays. This train drove in both directions via Westerhäuser Strasse. In the early afternoon the train drove to the cemetery and started again from there - the hourly service was interrupted once.

With the timetable change on December 10, 2017, the link between lines 1 and 2 at the main station should be abandoned. This should make it possible to offer all trips with low-floor vehicles. It was planned to carry out certain journeys of Line 1 with a bus, if not all NGTW6-H Leoliners are operational. These trips should be specially marked in the timetable. Since the bus routes were also to be reorganized with this timetable change in Halberstadt, which would also affect school traffic, the timetable change (including the planned increase in fares) was initially on February 11, 2018, the end of the first half of the school year, and later postponed to April 15, 2018.

Current line network

Play media file

Ride on line 1 from the main train station to the cemetery , April 2012

Play media file

Ride on line 2 from Johannesbrunnen via Klus to Heinrich-Heine-Platz , April 2012

line	Start stop	Line course	last stop	comment
1	Central Station	Heinrich-Heine-Platz - fish market - wood market - sugar factory	graveyard	only runs Mon-Sat
2	Central Station	Heinrich-Heine-Platz - District Office - Herbingstrasse (- Klus) - Herbingstrasse - Westerhäuser Strasse - Holzmarkt - Voigtei	Sargstedter way	about Klus only on weekends

The trams are in use Monday through Friday from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. They operate on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 5:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Since only five Leoliners are available and a 15-minute cycle with five courses is offered on weekdays , if one or more Leoliners fail, high-floor GT4 railcars will continue to be used.

vehicles

Control car

• 5 low-floor articulated railcars NGTW6-H Leoliner, road numbers 1 to 5
• 3 articulated multiple units GT4 in bi-directional design, road numbers 164 (formerly Freiburg 106), 167 (formerly Nordhausen 91, formerly Freiburg 110), 168 (formerly Nordhausen 92, formerly Freiburg 111)
• 1 articulated multiple unit GT4, road number 156 (formerly Stuttgart 550)

Historic trams and special cars

• 1 historic Lindner railcar built in 1939, road number 31, is occasionally used as a sightseeing coach for registered groups
• 1 historic railcar ET54 LOWA built in 1956
• 1 railcar T57E with sidecar B2-64 road numbers 39, 61, built in 1960/1969, is occasionally used as a city tour car for registered groups
• 1 multiple unit T2.62 children's train, road number 30, built in 1966 (1996 formerly regular service, 1979 formerly Halle / Saale 750)
• 1 railcar TZ 70 road number 29, built in 1975 (2001 ex 29 regular service, 2009 former monument next to depot)
• 1 articulated multiple unit GT4 ZR HAKIBA road number 166, built in 1962 (2006 formerly 166 regular service, 1997 formerly Freiburg 104)
• 1 articulated multiple unit GT4 ZR track maintenance car, road number 161, built in 1962 (2010 formerly 161 regular service, 1994 formerly Freiburg 105)

literature

• Wolfgang Dörge: The tram in Halberstadt. Dirk Endisch, Leonberg-Höfingen 2003, ISBN 3-936893-07-1 .

Web links

Commons : Tram Halberstadt  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of Halberstädter Verkehrs-GmbH
• Pictures of the Halberstadt tram on www.fr-strab.de
• Private website about the Halberstadt tram at www.strassenbahn-halberstadt.de
• The tram in Halberstadt in 1980 on www.drehscheibe-foren.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Halberstadt vehicle park at tram2000.com, accessed on August 29, 2014
2. ↑ Strassenbahn Magazin 10/2015, p. 29 f
3. ↑ Jörg Endries: HVG managing director warns: The tram is worn out . In: www.volksstimme.de. Retrieved November 17, 2016 . 
4. ^ Chronicle of the city of Halberstadt 2012. (No longer available online.) P. 60 , archived from the original on April 17, 2016 ; Retrieved April 17, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ TRAM 2 additional trips Sargstedter Weg - Holzmarkt - Klus ( memento from April 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
   TRAM 2 additional trips Klus - Holzmarkt - Sargstedter Weg ( memento from March 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Timetable change 2017/18 postponed - new date 11.02.2018 ( Memento from 9 December 2017 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ 2017/18 timetable change postponed - new date April 15, 2018. (No longer available online.) HVG Halberstädter Verkehrs-GmbH, archived from the original on December 9, 2017 ; accessed on February 4, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Coordinates: 51 ° 54 ′ 14.6 "  N , 11 ° 2 ′ 44.6"  E