Stubai Valley Railway

Innsbruck Stubaitalbahnhof – Fulpmes
A railcar changing direction in Kreith station
Route number (ÖBB) :	916 01
Course book route (ÖBB) :	formerly 320
Route length:	18.164 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system :	since 1983: 900 volts  =
Power system :	up to 1983: 3 kV 50 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	46  ‰
Minimum radius :	40 m
Legend Innsbruck tram Innsbruck Stubaitalbahnhof (since 1983) 0.000 Stubaitalbahnhof (until 1983, today TMB ) 589.5  m above sea level A. 0.086 0.300 Inntal Autobahn (A 12) 0.700 Brenner motorway (A 13) 1.100 Innsbruck tunnel (158 m) 2.240 Brennerstrasse (B 182) 2,350 Innsbruck Sonnenburgerhof 678.56  m above sea level A. 2.897 Gärberbach 705.23  m above sea level A. 3,550 Natters Hölltal 3.707 Natter Landesstrasse (L226) 4,495 Bahnhofstrasse 4,520 Natters 765.14  m above sea level A. 4,610 Hinteranger 5.387 Innsbrucker Strasse (L227) 5.440 Mother's castle stable Loading track (since 2015) 6.022 mothers 818.65  m above sea level A. 6,082 Innsbrucker Strasse (L227) 7,000 Mother's Birchfeld 7,050 Dorfstrasse L304 7.285 Driveway 7,700 Mother's Nockhofweg 7.791 School alley 7.900 7.900 Mutterer Tunnel (148 m), until August 2017 8.100 Mühlgraben Viaduct (109 m), until August 2017 7,930 Mühlgraben Viaduct (153 m), since November 2017 8.425 Mutters Raitis (until 1983) 904.6  m above sea level A. 8.565 8.305 8.565 Error profile 8.667 Driveway 8,690 Mutters Raitis (since 1983) 9.120 Mother's Feldeler 9,598 Driveway 9.825 Mother's outside circle 947.5  m above sea level A. 9,952 Mother Street (L227) 10.060 Driveway 10,650 Mother's Kreith 980  m above sea level A. 11.200 Kreither Viaduct (110 m) 11,680 Mother's Brandeck 12.674 Telfes Telfer meadows 1002  m above sea level A. 15.080 Telfes Luimes 1006  m above sea level A. 16.217 Telfes place 1003.25  m above sea level A. 16,353 Bahnhofsweg 17,120 Telfes StuBay (until December 14, 2014 " Tennis Camp ") 18,078 Bahnstrasse (L56) 18.164 Fulpmes 936.25  m above sea level A. 18,248 Fulpmes depot

Coordinates: 47 ° 15 '10 "  N , 11 ° 23' 53"  E

The Stubaitalbahn is an 18.164 kilometer long branch line from Innsbruck to Fulpmes in Tyrol . The meter-gauge branch line runs from the Innsbruck district of Wilten via the villages of Natters , Mutters , Kreith and Telfes . The trains to Fulpmes run under the line designation STB according to the tram-train principle from Innsbruck main station and use the tracks of lines 1 and 3 of the Innsbruck tram to the Stubaital station .

The nine train stations Sonnenburgerhof , Hölltal , Mutters , Nockhofweg , Feldeler , Kreith , Telfer Wiesen , Luimes , Telfes have - on the otherwise single-track cross-country route - switches that are usually used in left-hand traffic. The terminus at Fulpmes has three tracks.

history

Planning and construction

Two railcars on the Mutterer Viaduct on a test drive before the opening

In 1888 there were already initial considerations to build a railway into the Stubai Valley , as iron processing companies were located at the entrance to the valley and the road into the valley was in very poor condition. However, the project failed due to objection from the affected communities. In 1895 the director of the local railway Innsbruck – Hall i. Tyrol (LBIHiT) proposes to build a local railway along the Brennerstraße and the Ruetz river into the Stubai Valley to Matrei am Brenner , including the communities of Telfes, Fulpmes, Mieders and Schönberg . The Tyrolean railway pioneer Josef Riehl , who was commissioned with the detailed planning of the route, suggested a different route via Natters, Mutters and Kreith to Telfes. In 1899, the planning of the road into the Stubai Valley was finally abandoned because this project turned out to be too uneconomical. From now on one turned to the railway project. The train should have the same standard values ​​as the Innsbrucker Mittelgebirgsbahn (now line 6 of the Innsbruck tram), which is already under construction .

But there were already numerous hurdles to be overcome during the planning phase. For example, it was planned to follow the course of Brennerstraße from Wilten, but in this case the military demanded that the street be widened by one meter and the track laid in the street, which would have made the railway uneconomical again. So it was decided to only roughly follow the course of the road. At the end of 1900, the railway construction committee was informed that the monarchy would only contribute to the costs if the railway was only built as far as Fulpmes.

The route revision took place in mid-1901. Now only the financing was unclear. The city of Innsbruck, which also held shares in the Stubai Valley Railway, suggested that the railway be operated using electricity from the newly built Sill power plant, which could deliver more power than the city needed. However, the technology was initially lacking, as AC motors with the appropriate power and dimensions had not yet been developed in order to be able to use the offer. The AEG Union (at that time Union-Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft ), however, was looking for a test option for a newly designed AC motor ( repulsion motor ) by the engineers Winter and Eichberg. Ing.Riehl was able to agree with the AEG Union that these engines would be used on the future Stubaitalbahn if AEG provided the missing capital for the construction.

The groundbreaking for the meter-gauge railway line took place in mid-1903. Due to the low capital, Ing. Riehl adapted the line to the shape of the landscape. The underground caused major problems along the entire route, as the terrain is not very stable.

Construction work was completed in July 1904. From the Wilten-Stubai train station , which was near the Bergisel train station of the LBIHiT , the route led to the Berg Isel – Plateau (today: Sonnenburgerhof ), Gärberbach and Natters stations and from there to the Mutters train station . The route then runs past the Raitis stop to Kreith train station . From there, continue past the Luimes-Mieders stop , through Telfes station to the Fulpmes terminus . The substation was located at the Stephansbrücke and the feed-in of the traction current was roughly in the middle of the route.

The name of the company was Aktiengesellschaft Stubaitalbahn (AGSt.B.) . Shareholders were among others the city of Innsbruck, the LBIHiT , the AEG-Union, as well as some smaller shareholders. The LBIHiT was responsible for the management

business

AC era (1904–1983)

Beginnings of the Stubaitalbahn (1904–1914)

Address by Archduke Eugen at the opening of the Stubai Valley Railway

Trial operations began in July 1904. In the beginning, the Stubaitalbahn had three railcars, six sidecars and four freight cars. However, there were some serious problems. The engines turned out to be so uneconomical that it was subsequently decided to run the tram service in Innsbruck, which opened a year later, with direct current, so that the Stubai Valley Railway could not use the city route to continue to the Südbahnhof (now the main train station) for the time being. The delivered sidecars also turned out to be less than ideal, as the long wheelbase caused problems. The track had to be widened a bit, for which one also had to procure wider wheel tires.

Although the entire overhead line was designed as a chain contact wire, the support wire was insulated from the contact wire, so that the power line was carried out solely via the contact wire, which led to a strong voltage drop. So no sidecar operation could take place when the company opened on August 1, 1904. In order to compensate for this operational obstacle, substations were built at the Telfes and Kreith stations and at the Berg Isel – Plateau stop and fed in there, so that from October 1904 operation was possible without hindrance. From then on, the volume of traffic increased so much that another railcar and four more freight cars had to be procured the following year. The train ran at 75-minute intervals with a travel time of 75 minutes.

In 1908 the coach house had to be expanded by one track to a total of three tracks due to the growing fleet. The Nockhofweg stop was also opened in the winter of this year due to the increasing number of winter sports enthusiasts who were added by the connection to the Muttereralmbahn . In 1912 two more freight cars were ordered.

Problems from the First World War (1914–1960)

During the First World War , the railway had to take over many wounded transports to the military hospital in Fulpmes. The railcars hardly had any breaks, which led to extreme material wear. At the end of the war only one railcar was still operational, which is why a steam locomotive was borrowed from the Mittelgebirgsbahn. The Telfer Wiesen stop was opened in 1926. In order to be able to draw electrical energy from the Achensee power plant , the nominal voltage and network frequency of the Sill power plant were changed from 2.5  kilovolts at 42.5  hertz to 3 kilovolts at 50 hertz.

In 1928, the engines that were heavily used in the World War were exchanged for new ones, but the hope that they would be less worn was not fulfilled.

In 1929 consideration was given to extending the railway on its own track to the Südbahnhof, but this project was prevented by the global economic crisis. The connection to the German Reich in 1938 increased the number of passengers a lot. The superstructure, which had only been sparsely repaired until then, had to be renewed in 1941 in order to cope with the increased transport volume. In the next two years, large parts of the route were renovated and in 1948 the old rails (profile XXX) were finally completely replaced with the heavier rail profile XXIVa. In 1953 the vehicle fleet was strengthened by two sidecars from the Rechtsufiger Thunerseebahn (STI).

In 1952, the Hölltal crossing point was opened in order to be able to handle the transport of ski tourists to the Nockhofweg every 30 minutes.

Modernization of the railway (1960–1983)

AC railcar with two sidecars in Fulpmes

The last trip of the "old Stubai"

In 1962 the communities in the Stubai Valley were asked whether the railway should be modernized or discontinued. A survey result that was positive for the railway meant that the vehicle fleet had to be overhauled. The wooden car bodies of the sidecars were broken off and new, sheet metal car bodies were built on the old chassis. The braking system was renewed, at the end of the 1960s the Lake Thun sidecars were taken out of service and an additional sidecar made of spare parts was built.

The new Brenner and Inntal autobahns were supposed to run right through the depot of the Stubaitalbahn, which meant that operations were about to be closed. In order not to have to change the desolate catenary of the railway, new pantographs were procured, which instead of an aluminum contact piece had a carbon contact piece, which put much less stress on the contact wire. However, the railway did not end, the route of the motorway was rescheduled instead.

In 1971, mail was stopped and in 1974 freight was stopped on the Stubaitalbahn, as the competition from the road was too great. In 1974 the catenary was finally renewed using material from the Innsbruck trolleybus , which had just been discontinued, as well as the discontinued Innsbruck – Hall railway in Tyrol .

In 1977 the railway radio was introduced on the Stubai Valley Railway. The supervisory authority also asked for the center headlights to be replaced by two side lights. In 1979 the first test drive with a direct current railcar ( formerly Hagener ) took place on the Stubaitalbahn, for which direct current was fed in from the city's tram network.

The change was announced in the old railcars

On May 30, 1981, the Birchfeld and Stubay stops (tennis camp until December 14, 2014) were opened (the second only towards the valley so as not to overload the motors by driving up the incline), and a rectifier plant was built in Kreith.

On June 23, 1983, the last AC train left the Stubai Valley station. This marked the end of the era of the “old Stubai”, as the Stubaitalbahn was called with its nostalgic vehicles.

DC era (since 1983)

The Remise at Innsbruck's Stubaitalbahnhof now houses the Local Railway Museum

Railcar in winter operation

Changeover (1983–1994)

After a few days of rail replacement traffic , direct current railcars started operating on July 2, 1983, and for the first time drove to and from the main train station via the tram network. At the same time, a rigid 50-minute cycle was introduced and travel times were shortened. Whereas the travelers previously needed around 75 minutes from the main train station to Fulpmes, including a change, the new trains only needed about an hour to travel from the main train station to Fulpmes, with the overland route taking just under 50 minutes. In the stop Telfer Wiesen the siding using a second switch to was passing loop and the station, expanding at a train station. The train crossings found from now in Hölltal and meadows Telfer instead.

The Brandeck stop was opened on May 31, 1987. In order to do justice to the increased number of passengers, because of official requirements and because the procurement of new vehicles would have become too expensive because of the small number of units, the direct current railcars were modernized in the early 1990s.

In 1993 the Luimes stop was expanded to a train station and the Feldeler stop was put into operation.

Collision and consequences for train protection (1995-2000)

Control element of the train control system (1995-2009)

Fulpmes train station ( monument protection )

On April 21, 1995 there was a serious accident below Mutters, because a driver forgot to wait for the train crossing in Mutters, but drove on and collided with an oncoming school train. Two people were seriously injured and 13 people were slightly injured in the accident, including the two drivers, and the two leading parts of the car were irreparably damaged. As a result, radio operation - a new, computer-aided train control system - was put into operation in 1997, which shows the driving staff that travel has been cleared and warns all trains on the route when a beacon is passed. Conductorless operation was also introduced in the same year.

In 1996 the Stubaitalbahn AG merged with the Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe to form the Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe und Stubaitalbahn  GmbH .

Due to the heavy snowfall in 1999, the Brennerstraße and the Brenner autobahn had to be closed for one day in April, making the Stubaitalbahn the only connection out of the valley for one day. Since 1998 is bicycle transport allowed in the Stubaitalbahn.

Low-floor multiple unit (since 2000)

Test vehicle on the drive to Fulpmes

Low-floor multiple units in scheduled service in Fulpmes

Test vehicle in Fulpmes, April 2004

Low-floor multiple unit leaves Innsbruck Hbf

Test drive with railcar 351 in November 2007

New train control system in TW3

At the beginning of the 2000s, an idea from the 1920s was taken up again to run the Stubai Valley Railway from Bergisel directly to the main train station. When the main station forecourt was converted into a modern bus and tram terminal, the switches to connect the planned new line were already installed there, but the project was unexpectedly postponed in 2005 and its realization is uncertain.

In 2004 a test drive with a modern low-floor multiple unit to Fulpmes was carried out and in 2005 the purchase contract for six new vehicles for the Stubaitalbahn was signed. In the summers from 2005 to 2007, some platforms were expanded for low-floor operation, so that stepless entry into the vehicle is possible. The first railcar was delivered in mid-October 2007. The first test drive to Fulpmes was carried out in November, and there were no problems. At the end of 2007, the level crossings at Hölltal and Burgstall were also equipped with a traffic light system to speed up the railway.

On March 11, 2008, the official acceptance of the new railcars was carried out. At the end of 2007 negotiations began to run the Stubaitalbahn every half hour to Kreith, which was implemented on June 1, 2008. The negotiations with the Verkehrsverbund Tirol were not as easy as initially assumed, which is why the original date for the increase in frequency was postponed from mid-March. With the railcar exit required for this (five courses), however, you could also drive every half hour to Fulpmes. In the 2012 annual timetable, there is a symmetry time that differs significantly from the usual and is around minutes: 10 /: 40, which means that symmetrical connections are not possible at the Westbahnhof . At the main train station, the impact is slightly reduced due to the unequal duration of the outward and return journey in the city. With the new cycle, the trains now cross in Luimes instead of in Telfer Wiesen, and a scheduled train crossing in Feldeler was also necessary. In order to increase safety on the Stubai Valley Railway, it was decided from 2008 to equip other level crossings with traffic lights in addition to the level crossing at Sonnenburgerhof. In 2008 the intersections to Hölltal and Burgstall were finally equipped with a traffic light system.

On October 6, 2008, the first low-floor multiple unit ran on schedule on the Stubaitalbahn. However, this was retrofitted with the old train control system, as the new one was not yet ready for use in time. Since mid-July 2009, the Stubaitalbahn has been operated exclusively with low-floor sets. With the switch to the new vehicles, a new train control system was also activated. Due to the increased frequency to Kreith on the railway and the increased demand for vehicles, two city vehicles were additionally equipped with a train control system, and have since strengthened the fleet of the Stubaitalbahn vehicles.

Infrastructure measures

Because of the higher performance of the new vehicles, a new substation was put into operation in Gärberbach and the voltage on the Stubaitalbahn increased to 900 volts. In 2009, traffic lights were installed at the level crossing after the Mutterer Bahnhof and at the two crossings following the Birchfeld, Nockhofweg and Auserkreith stops. Due to the high level of wear and tear caused by the low-floor vehicles, the tracks between Innsbruck and Kreith, some of which were from the 1960s, were replaced with stronger tracks (now 36 kg / m) between August and October 2010. During this time, the level crossings behind the Telfes station and in front of the Fulpmes station were equipped with traffic lights.

In summer 2011, the rails on the remaining section from Kreith to Fulpmes were renewed. The inner rails in the arches, which are not so affected by wear, should continue to be used on the Innsbruck low mountain range. Since 2012, the remaining old stops and stations have also been provided with barrier-free platforms in order to comply with the EU laws for barrier-free access to public facilities from 2014. For this purpose, traffic lights were set up at the level crossings before and after the Natters stop, in front of the Raitis stop and in front of the Auserkreith stop.

New construction of the Mühlgraben Viaduct (2016-2017)

New Mutterer Bridge under construction, May 2017

View to the north of the new Mutterer Bridge, November 2017

During the renovation of the Mutterer Tunnel and the Mutterer Bridge (Mühlgraben Viaduct) in 2009, it became clear that more work would be necessary to maintain them in view of the loads caused by the low-floor vehicles. That is why the planning of a new bridge was started in 2014, which branches off between Nockhofweg and the tunnel and reaches the route again after the existing Mutterer bridge. The tender "New construction of the Mutterer Bridge" - in particular the "erection of a bridge structure in composite construction with 2 reinforced concrete columns, total length approx. 153 m, height above ground approx. 42 m" - was awarded to Porr in October 2016 . For the construction of the bridge, a siding for the construction train was required at the Nockhofweg stop and therefore the stop was expanded into a double-track station in July 2015. In addition, by the end of the year, a loading platform was set up between the two hairpin bends below Mutters so that material could be brought to the construction site if necessary. Construction of the bridge began at the end of October 2016. By the end of May 2017, the pillars and abutments were erected; in June the steel structure of the supporting structure was lifted. The route of the Stubai Valley Railway changed with the new building. The route has been straightened and shortened in this section. In August 2017, operations on the Stubai Valley Railway were temporarily suspended after it was discovered that the wall anchors of the retaining wall above the Inntal motorway had rusted through. At the same time as the construction of the new line at Raitis and the laying of the tracks on the new bridge, the retaining walls were renovated. The level crossings in Hölltal and at the Sonnenburgerhof were also renewed. Scheduled traffic over the new Mutterer Bridge was resumed as planned on November 17, 2017. Since the old bridge is a listed building, ^[date] should this be adapted for hikers and cyclists. The tunnel shows substance damage. What should happen to the property in the future has not yet been determined (as of 2017).

Later planning and project studies

There were several other plans for extensions and branching routes for the Stubai Valley Railway, but these were never implemented.

Connection to other places in the western low mountain range

Length profile of the Sellraintalbahn

When it became clear that, due to geological problems, the Stubai Valley Railway would not be built from the Stephansbrücke , but via Natters and Mutters, there were plans to create a branch of the railway. In 1914 a project for a branch line ( Sellraintalbahn ) via Götzens , Birgitz and Axams to Gries im Sellrain was under discussion. At the ice bridge south of Tanneben in the Fotschertal valley, the most conspicuous engineering structure of the railway would have been a spiral viaduct.

However, the First World War prevented these plans from being implemented. The extension of the route via Götzens and Axams is still sometimes discussed today, but mostly dropped again for financial reasons and above all because of the lack of time savings compared to opening up with buses.

In the course of the step-by-step implementation of the 2003 regional train concept for the central Tyrolean area, which began in 2004 and will run until 2014 (emerged from the 1999 Innsbruck tram concept), which also provides for the reconnection of Hall in Tyrol by means of a light rail line and extensive expansions of the Innsbruck tram network, the Chances for a later implementation of the extension to Götzens and Axams increased again. The preliminary planning for this branch line has already been fully financed in the financing contract for the East sub-project of the regional rail concept.

Connection of the rear Stubai Valley

Most of the plans envisaged that the Stubai Valley Railway should be led further into the Stubai Valley in order to connect Neustift to the railway network. These plans should have enabled the mining of iron ore , which is available above Neustift. However, the ore grade was judged to be too low for profitable mining, and so this important motivation for continued mining fell away. At the time of this planning, tourism was not yet developed to such an extent that it would have allowed further development for tourist reasons.

There were only plans for further development to Neustift for tourist purposes after the Second World War . In 1983 a study was carried out at the Institute for Railway Engineering and Public Transport at the University of Innsbruck in the course of converting the Stubai Valley Railway to direct current and integrating it into the Innsbruck tram network. However, there would only have been a chance of realization if the planned storage power plant in Sulzenau had been built near Neustift. The extended Stubaitalbahn should have been used to transport cement. A transport capacity of 1300 tons per direction and day was aimed at, whereby at the same time hourly passenger traffic per direction should have continued. The existing tunnels should be widened for freight traffic and the existing bridges strengthened. Various route variants were proposed for Fulpmes, including a tram-like tour through the town - which would, however, have been unsuitable for transporting goods - as well as two variants that should have passed Fulpmes to the north and opened up the valley station of the Schlick 2000 ski area . In Innsbruck, a connection to the standard gauge network of the ÖBB would have been created either at the main train station or at the western station , which would have enabled the standard gauge wagons to be driven onto the narrow- gauge wagons by trolleys . The trolley operation had already proven itself on the Zillertal Railway for the construction of the Schlegeis storage power plant and enabled a daily directional transport capacity of 980 tons there. Behind Fulpmes, the Medraz route and the Fulpmes industrial zone should open up, cross the various hamlets of Neustift, develop the Hochstubailift, and end in the fields behind Milders near Stackler, where a transfer station was planned.

Occasional considerations and concepts for the avalanche-proof development of the Stubai Glacier have repeatedly included the Stubai Valley Railway. For cost reasons, however, road construction was used. But since environmental protection is becoming more and more important in the meantime, the call for an extension of the railway to the glacier and a car-free, rear Stubai Valley is getting louder.

Passenger numbers

This graphic shows the development of the number of passengers on the Stubaitalbahn between 1905 and 2018. The passenger numbers 2002–2018 are summarized in the following table:

Current passenger numbers

	0	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9
2000 ...			839.710	866.462	866.534	824,948	831.285	866.512	963.360	996.885
2010 ...	971,549	1,048,078	1,061,962	1,094,168	1,188,038	1,244,282	1,366,823	1,350,890	1,419,117

route

Downtown route

City route

A train arrives at the Stubaitalbahnhof

The Stubaitalbahn uses parts of the tram network. Coming from the depot of the Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe, she turns into Pastorstrasse, crosses the concert bridge and drives along the Südring on its own track. Via Andreas-Hofer-Straße and Bürgerstraße, you finally reach the market square, a central transfer hub. From there you continue over the Marktgraben, crossing the central pedestrian zone, to the Burggraben, into Museumstraße and after passing the Landesmuseum transfer stop via Bruneckerstraße to the main train station, which is also a transfer hub. There, the Stubai Valley Railway waits as planned for a standing time of five minutes on its own track in Terminal A. From here it goes through the Salurner Straße past the Triumphpforte into Maria-Theresien-Straße . The train goes through Anichstraße back to Bürgerstraße and then back along the way to the depot.

A morning course for students on the Stubaitalbahn runs via the north branch of tram line 1 to Saggen . Coming from Museumstraße, the train turns into Ing.-Etzel-Straße and follows it to Claudiastraße. Via Claudiaplatz , Haydnplatz and Erzherzog-Eugen-Straße, you reach the terminus of line 1 at the Mühlauer Brücke at the former valley station of the Hungerburgbahn . From there it goes through Conradstraße back to Claudiaplatz and on to the main station.

Suburban / overland route

Overland route before Aug. 2015 with the Mutterer tunnel and bridge, without Nockhofweg siding

View from Mutters train station to Innsbruck and the Bergisel ski jump

A train arrives in Fulpmes

The starting point of the overland route of the Stubai Valley Railway is in the depot, exactly in front of the platform of the old Stubai Valley Railway Station. The ascent of the route to Fulpmes begins here. After just a few meters, the siding branches off to the old Stubaitalbahn station on the Remisen forecourt of the Tiroler MuseumsBahnen. After a sharp curve to the right, the ramp into the low mountain range begins. Across the Inntal autobahn and under the Brenner autobahn, it comes along a retaining wall to the helical tunnel under the Brennerstraße. Following the Brennerstraße to the Sonnenburger Hof, the train circles the Ferrariwiese. After crossing the Brennerstraße, the first turnout is reached at the Sonnenburger Hof. As planned, there are no train crossings here. From here it goes again steeply along the slope past the Gärberbach stop into the Hölltal. The second turnout is located in Hölltal train station and is used as planned. Crossing Natterer Straße, following a few long arcs, the train reaches the Natters stop. From here it goes in steep hairpin bends, crossing Mutterer Straße and passing the Burgstall stop, to Mutters train station. The Stubaitalbahn has now covered the greatest gradients of up to 46 ‰.

Leaving Mutters station, the train crosses Mutterer Straße again and after a long bend reaches the Birchfeld stop. The Nockhofweg stop is reached along the slopes of the low mountain range, which is particularly popular with winter sports enthusiasts, as it provides good access to the valley station of the Muttereralmbahn . After an arch, you drive in a wide left arch over the Mutterer Bridge, which is the steepest part of the Stubaitalbahn at just over 50 ‰. Originally, the route continued to the right to what was once the second tunnel of the Stubaitalbahn. Directly after the tunnel, the route led over the Kehr viaduct, which spans the Mühlgraben. Before the Raitis stop, the new route, which is slightly below the old one due to the incline, comes back on the old route. Through a small piece of forest, the train arrives at Feldeler station, which was built for the housing estate founded here in the 1990s. The second scheduled crossing takes place in Feldeler. Continue to the Auserkreith stop and then follow a steep slope to the Kreith train station. From Kreith, the route follows the mountain flank into a valley cut in order to then cross it at the Kreither Kehrviadukt and reach the Brandeck stop. Continuing through larch forests, you reach Telfer Wiesen station. After continuing over the Telfer Wiesen, the Luimes train station is reached, where the apex of the route is at 1,006 m. This is where the scheduled crossing of the trains going to Fulpmes takes place. From here you continue to Telfes train station. After a descent over two hairpin bends, the final station in Fulpmes is reached, where two vehicles are accommodated in the remise overnight. Since the Fulpmes train station has no switches for moving railcars around sidecars, gravity displacement took place and continues to be used with sidecars. The railcar pushes the sidecar out of the station after the passengers have disembarked, uncouples and drives back into the station. The sidecars now roll onto a second track under the force of gravity, accompanied by a conductor. The railcar then drives out of the station and back to the other track to the sidecar and couples up. During alternating current times, this method of shunting was also common in the Stubai Valley station in Innsbruck.

See also: Innsbruck → Fulpmes  on OpenStreetMap and Fulpmes → Innsbruck  on OpenStreetMap

Attractions

ex-Hagener at the old Mutterer Viaduct 2004

Train around 1965 on the Kreither Viaduct

The entire overland route offers numerous panoramic views over the city of Innsbruck and the mountain scenery of the Stubai Valley. On the uphill stretch from the Stubai Valley train station to Mutters, you can see almost the entire city of Innsbruck against the backdrop of the Nordkette . Soon afterwards you get an insight into the Wipptal and the Sillschlucht and subsequently a view of the Tux Pre-Alps . Behind Mutters there is a popular photo opportunity: the Mutterer Viaduct spans the Mühlgraben over a length of 109 meters and at a height of 20 meters. The iron framework construction of the bridge stands on stamped concrete pillars. In 2017, however, it was replaced by a new building that will open in November. The new bridge is 153 meters long and 43 meters high. From here you can see the old, listed construction, which may be used as a cycle path. The new bridge also offers an excellent panorama of the Wipp and Inn valleys.

Kreith offers a good view of the Europabrücke and the sand trap and the moated castle of the Ruetzwerk . Behind Kreith is the next famous photo of the Stubaitalbahn: the Kreither Viaduct is 110 meters long and 25 meters high over the Klausbachgraben. The bridge is one of only three steel trestle bridges in Austria. The other two are on the Ybbstalbahn mountain route .

You will soon reach the Telfer Wiesen, from where the Stubai Alps can be seen ( Stubai Glacier , Zuckerhütl , Habicht , Serles ).

In addition to the Mutterer and Kreither Viaducts, the station buildings of the Stubaitalbahn are also architectural sights. The old Stubaitalbahnhof in Innsbruck and the station buildings in Mutters, Kreith, Telfes and Fulpmes have hardly been changed since their construction in 1904, which gives the railway a certain charm.

vehicles

Railcar 1 still has open platforms and lyre bar

Railcar 1 in its final condition

In all eras, the Stubaitalbahn had a fleet of vehicles that was typical for it, with hardly any vehicles from other Innsbruck trams and local railways. This was mainly due to the fact that for a long time it was only operated with alternating current and was a separate company until the end of the 1990s. Today the train control system helps to ensure that only a selected fleet of vehicles comes to Fulpmes. In addition to the vehicles described below, exotic vehicles were also occasionally in use on the Stubaitalbahn: In the First World War , due to a lack of spare parts for the engines, a steam locomotive of the Innsbruck Mittelgebirgsbahn was used to pull the no longer operational railcars back to Fulpmes and Sidecar of the Localbahn Innsbruck – Hall i. Tyrol were later used as reinforcement for ski trains when their own reserves were insufficient. Today you can meet railcars of the former Innsbruck-Hall i. Tirol as special or work trains on the route. In contrast to this, vehicles that are intended for the Stubai Valley Railway can now also be encountered on other lines of the tram network.

Railcar

Four-axle "Stubai railcars", road numbers 1 to 3 and 4

Double traction (front: railcar 2, rear railcar 4) with half-scissor pantograph and lyre bar, as well as platform doors

Removal of the railcar 2

ex-Hagen railcar in a former IVB color scheme in front of Fulpmes

When it opened in 1904, the Stubaitalbahn had three AC multiple units available. The structure and the mechanics were manufactured by the Grazer Waggonfabrik , the electrical part by the AEG Union. In the following year another one with a slightly different design was purchased. The railcars had a length of 11,400 mm (railcar 4: 11,900 mm) and a width of 2,400 millimeters, weighed 20.5  tons (railcar 4: 21.0) tons, and offered 38 seats and 28 standing places (railcar 4: 36 or 26 places). The special feature of these railcars was that they were the first single-phase AC railcars in the world. The bad experiences with these railcars led to the fact that no AC motors were built for railways that were operated at such a high frequency.

Appearance:

The railcars were originally painted in a brown / white color scheme, but were painted in the red / white Innsbruck color scheme at the end of the 1950s. Since the train was designed purely as a "regional train" at the time, the vehicles were quite brawny in contrast to vehicles from the other Innsbruck railways, which were procured in the following years. The car body had wooden battens on the flanks. The front and back of railcars 1 to 3 were laminated, and railcars 4 were also battened. In the middle of the car between second and third class was a high-voltage compartment in which the transformer was housed. Outwardly, railcar 4 differed from the other railcars in that it was 500 millimeters longer (the platforms were each 250 millimeters longer), and the windows of the second class were twice as large (which later also had the same size as the other windows of the car) like the rest of the side windows. The railcars were equipped with a lyre bar . The platforms of the driver's cabs could only be closed with a grille and were only replaced by removable doors later in winter. At the end of the 1960s, the half-scissor pantographs mentioned were also installed. A few years later the lyre bar was removed. Originally the cars were equipped with a roof headlight, which was soon replaced by a central headlight in the front panel. Later the authorities of the Stubaitalbahn stipulated that a two-lantern Zugspitzensignal be installed.

Technical:

The railcars each had four Winter-Eichberg AC motors, which were operated with 2500  volts AC at 42.5  Hertz and developed 29 kilowatts (40  hp ). The motors developed a very high amount of heat and brush fires also occurred frequently, which led to a short service life of the insulation. The air brake was operated by an axle compressor . In contrast to the compressed air system of the later Haller railcars , this system had a separate control and main brake line, which allowed double traction. At the end of the 1920s, the motors were exchanged for Winter Eichberg 2 motors, which were operated at 3000 volts at 50 Hertz and developed 37 kilowatts (50 hp), but did not bring any significant improvements. In the mid-1950s, the railcars were completely overhauled. The air brake was renewed and the axle compressor replaced with an electric compressor.

Current:

Railcar 3 had an accident in 1982 in which it was badly damaged. Due to the imminent changeover of the Stubaitalbahn to direct current, it was decided to break off the railcar. In 1983 the remaining railcars were finally parked and handed over to the newly founded Tiroler MuseumsBahnen . Railcar 1 was externally refurbished for the 100th anniversary of the Stubaitalbahn and towed to Fulpmes as a mobile museum at the celebration. Railcar 2 was transported to Freiburg in January 2008, where it was given new accommodation.

"Former Hagen" articulated railcars, road numbers 81 to 88

→ Main article : "" Ex-Hagener "articulated railcar, No. 81–88" in the article Vehicles of the Innsbruck tram

Flexity Outlook ("Cityrunner"), road numbers 351 to 356

→ Main article : “Flexity Outlook (“ Cityrunner ”), No. 301–326 and 351–356” in the article Vehicles of the Innsbruck tram

sidecar

Two-axle "Stubai sidecars", road numbers 11 to 16 and 17

Two-axle sidecar 14 with a tinny car body

In 1904, the Stubai Valley Railway procured six two-axle trailer cars when it opened. In 1969, due to an acute lack of cars, a seventh (number 17) was built from existing spare parts. The sidecars were the same as the railcars of the Stubaitalbahn from the Grazer Wagonfabrik and were also 2400 millimeters wide. With a length of 10,000 millimeters and a mass of 7.0 tons, they were the largest sidecars in Innsbruck and offered 36 seats and 27 standing places.

Appearance:

The sidecars had a wooden car body and were painted in the brown / white Stubaitalbahn color scheme. The flanks were clad with wooden battens, while the front and rear sides of the platforms were made of sheet metal. Since the sidecars were always outside at night, the car bodies were already badly rotten by the mid-1950s. They were broken off and completely new sidecars were built on the chassis, which were modern according to the standards of the time and had a sheet metal flank and also modern half-windows. The new sidecars were also painted red and white.

Technical:

The sidecars also had an air brake. The long wheelbase (4000 millimeters) of the sidecar has put a lot of strain on the track's superstructure over the years, so that there is no longer an operating permit for the sidecar.

Current:

Two sidecars are now at the Nostalgiebahnen in Carinthia and one at the Tiroler MuseumsBahnen . The rest of them came to the Bregenzerwaldbahn , where they were re-gauged to 760 millimeters. One of these cars was later given a new box that was more similar to narrow gauge cars. In 2017, all four cars were handed over to Romania and converted into four-axle vehicles there.

Two-axle STI sidecar, road numbers 161 and 162

→ Main article : "Two-axle" Thunersee sidecars ", No. 161–162" in the article Vehicles of the Innsbruck tram

Freight wagons

Freight wagon 22 of the AGSt.B. on a special trip

One of the most important reasons for building the Stubai Valley Railway was the small iron industry at the entrance to the Stubai Valley. Therefore, freight traffic was an important source of income for the Stubaitalbahn in the beginning. In 1904 the Stubaitalbahn had two two-axle closed and two low-side freight cars available. Until 1912, the freight car fleet consisted of two two-axle and two three-axle low side cars, two two-axle and four three-axle open freight cars, three two-axle and two three-axle closed freight cars and a two-axle mail car. The Stubaitalbahn also had its own tower car. The vehicles were all supplied by the Grazer Waggonfabrik.

Freight traffic was stopped in 1974. GW21, GW29, GW33 and GW35 were handed over to the nostalgic railways in Carinthia, where they are now parked at the Lendkanal tramway. GW25 and GW34 were handed over to the Florianerbahn. GW234 was dismantled there and has since been scrapped. With the conversion of the Stubaitalbahn to direct current, the remaining freight wagons were renumbered in 1984 and given a 200 digit. GW232 and GW222 Tiroler MuseumsBahnen delivered, where they were restored to their original state. GW228 was converted to a track plow in 1984 as a successor to GW224, after which GW224 was scrapped with the remaining freight wagons. GW228, GW236 (equipment trolley) and GW237 (tower trolley) were officially finally parked at the beginning of 2014. While GW236 and GW237 were sold to the Florianerbahn, where they have been since the beginning of 2018, GW228 was scrapped in mid-2016 due to a lack of space.

number	Construction year	Mass in tons	Length in millimeters	Maximum payload in tons	comment
Jhn 21-22	1904	2.2	5800	6.0	biaxial, low side
Jhn 23-24	1905	5.2	7800	10.0	triaxial, low side
Jk 25-26	1907	3.0	5800	6.0	biaxial, open
Jkh 27-30	1908/1912	4.9	7800	10.0	three-axle, open, year 29–30: built in 1912
G 31-32	1904	3.3	5800	6.0	biaxial, closed
G 33-34	1905	5.5	7800	10.0	triaxial, closed
G 35	1907	3.9	5800	6.0	biaxial, closed
GF 36	1908	3.9	5800	6.0	two-axle, closed, mail car
37	1903	3.3	5800	-	two-axle, tower car
J: Gondola ; h: turntable ; n: low side car ; k: high side walls; G: Covered freight car ; Q: Mail car

literature

• W. Duschk, W. Pramstaller u. a .: Local and trams in old Tyrol . Self-published by Tiroler MuseumsBahnen , Innsbruck 2008, 48 pp.
• Walter Kreutz: Trams, buses and cable cars from Innsbruck . Steiger-Verlag, Innsbruck 1991, ISBN 3-85423-008-7
• W. Duschk u. a .: 100 years of the Stubai Valley Railway . Self-published by Tiroler MuseumsBahnen , Innsbruck 2004, 48 pp.
• Bahn im Bild 19 - The Stubaitalbahn , published by Peter Pospischil, Vienna 1990
• Wolfgang Kaiser: Trams in Austria . GeraMond-Verlag, 2004 ISBN 3-7654-7198-4
• Eisenbahnarchiv Tirol (Ed.), Günter Denoth et al .: ... pulled by magic - 100 years of electric railways around Innsbruck , 2004
  from the content: Stubaitalbahn operating history and vehicles, Mutteralmbahn, Fulpmes Froneben funicular, ... 48 p.
• Karl Armbruster: The Tyrolean mountain railways . Buchdruckerei G. Davis & Co., Vienna 1914, Die Stubaitalbahn, p. 79–94 ( digitized version from the South Tyrolean Provincial Library [accessed on September 15, 2017]).

Web links

Commons : Stubaitalbahn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe (official)
• Tyrolean Museum Railways
• Historic rail vehicles on tramways.at

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Stubaitalbahn at www.tmb.at, accessed on October 9, 2012
2. ↑ ^{a b} Stubai Valley Railway . In: Bote für Tirol u. Vorarlberg , No. 173/1904 (XC. Year), August 1, 1904, p. 1.
3. ↑ Opening of the Stubaitalbahn. In:  Innsbrucker Nachrichten , August 1, 1904, p. 4 (online at ANNO ).
4. ^ Kurier , April 23, 1995
5. ↑ Tiroler Tageszeitung , April 24, 1995
6. ↑ Start of planning for the light rail. In: www.strassenbahn.tk. November 25, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2016 . 
7. ↑ The planned STB direct line will not be built. In: strassenbahn.tk. October 7, 2014, accessed March 29, 2016 . 
8. ↑ Tiroler Tageszeitung , May 14, 2008
9. ↑ More traffic lights and heavier rails for the Stubai Valley Railway. In: strassenbahn.tk. April 26, 2010, accessed March 29, 2016 . 
10. ↑ That brings 2011 for the tram. In: strassenbahn.tk. January 2, 2011, accessed March 29, 2016 . 
11. ↑ Exchange of tracks in the Stubai Valley will begin soon. In: www.strassenbahn.tk. July 5, 2011, accessed March 29, 2016 . 
12. ↑ New bridge for the Stubaitalbahn in Mutters. In: strassenbahn.tk. August 12, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2016 . 
13. ↑ The new tram bridge in Mutters. In: strassenbahn.tk. February 16, 2014, accessed March 29, 2016 . 
14. ↑ Works - 351711-2016 - TED Tenders Electronic Daily. In: ted.europa.eu. Retrieved January 6, 2017 . 
15. ↑ New Nockhofweg siding on the STB line under construction. In: www.strassenbahn.tk. July 12, 2015, accessed March 29, 2016 . 
16. ↑ Duilestrasse tram depot and new Mutterer Bridge opened. In: strassenbahn.tk. November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017 . 
17. ^ Tiroler Tageszeitung Online: Mutterer Brücke released for Stubai trams . In: Tiroler Tageszeitung Online . November 16, 2017 ( tt.com [accessed March 9, 2020]).
18. ↑ Tiroler Tageszeitung Online: Radweg-Offensive: Millions for Tyrolean cyclists . In: Tiroler Tageszeitung Online . May 15, 2017 ( tt.com [accessed March 11, 2020]).
19. ^ ^{A b} Walter Kreutz: Trams, buses and cable cars from Innsbruck . Steiger-Verlag, Innsbruck 1991, ISBN 3-85423-008-7
20. ↑ ^{a b} Duschk, W. et al .: 100 years of the Stubaitalbahn . Self-published by Tiroler MuseumsBahnen , Innsbruck 2004, 48 pp.
21. ↑ www.ivb.at ( Memento of the original from August 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
22. ^ District papers Stubai / Wipptal, 23./24. May 2012
23. ↑ ^{a b} IVB annual reports 1986–2018 from [1]

Remarks

1. ↑ The project originally envisaged that the railway should continue via Neustift, Mieders and Schönberg to Matrei am Brenner. - See: Stubai Valley Railway . In: Bote für Tirol u. Vorarlberg , No. 173/1904 (XC. Year), August 1, 1904, p. 1.

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on February 28, 2007 in this version .