Vienna electric light rail
| Vienna electric light rail | |
|---|---|
 Signs for a platform access
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 Network plan from 1937
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| Course book range : | 1, 11 |
| Route length: | Pure light rail routes: 25.559 km. Connecting tracks to the tram network: 0.892 km |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Power system : | Overhead line, 750 volts = |
| Maximum slope : | 25 ‰ |
| Minimum radius : | 150 m in the open, 22 m in loops |
| Top speed: | up to January 2nd, 1984: 40 km / h, from January 2nd, 1984: 60 km / h |
| Dual track : | continuous |
| Opening: | June 3, 1925 |
| last day of operation: | October 6, 1989 |
| Original operator: | Municipality of Vienna - urban trams (WStB) |
| Operator from November 29, 1942: | Wiener Verkehrsbetriebe (WVB) |
| Operator from January 1, 1949: | Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe (WStW-VB) |
| Stations: | 27 |
| Operational stations : | three |
The Viennese electric light rail , abbreviated WESt , WESt. , Wr.-E.-St. or WEST. , was a local public transport system in the Austrian capital Vienna , which existed under this name from 1925 to 1989. The standard-gauge urban rapid transit system , which was initially classified as a railway , emerged from the original Viennese urban railway , which opened in 1898, was designed by Otto Wagner and operated with steam locomotives , and which in some cases also served suburbs.
In contrast to its predecessor, the electric light rail was no longer operated by the kk Staatsbahnen , but by the municipality of Vienna - urban trams (WStB), from which the Wiener Verkehrsbetriebe (WVB) in 1942 and the Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe (WStW-VB ) in 1949 ) emerged. In addition, it was no longer linked to the national railway network, but instead was linked to the Viennese tram and was also served by tram vehicles that were only slightly adapted . This form of operation with tramcars in Vielfachsteuerung and trains with up to nine two-axle as a standard gauge railway trassierten routes was unique in the world. The electric light rail, on the other hand, formed the cornerstone for the Vienna underground , which opened gradually from 1976 and in which it was finally incorporated.
history
prehistory
When the Wiener Dampfstadtbahn went into operation in 1898 after a planning phase of more than 50 years, it was only able to meet the expectations placed on it to a limited extent. Their routing primarily linked the main lines approaching Vienna and largely corresponded to the strategic needs of the military and served to relieve the major terminal stations . The passenger transport needs of the Austrian capital were not adequately covered by its incomplete and never completed network. In addition, the original light rail could not prevail economically against the cheaper and more frequent trams and caused increasing deficits year after year. Furthermore, the Commission for Transport Systems in Vienna , the formal owner of the Stadtbahn, never agreed a collective bargaining agreement with the tram.
The unpopular steam operation was already considered technically obsolete when it opened and caused problems for residents, passengers and the infrastructure itself in many ways. After two unsuccessful attempts at electrification in 1901 and 1906, the First World War ultimately prevented the urgently needed modernization of the light rail. After the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy , the state largely lost interest in the light rail system as a result of the major changes in the military and transport conditions, and the economic crisis in the post-war period made matters worse. The steam light rail service largely ended on December 8, 1918 due to a lack of coal, only the suburban line remained in operation.
Takeover of the Stadtbahn by the municipality of Vienna
Offer to the Commission for Transport Systems in Vienna in the summer of 1923
As a result of the state railway's lack of interest in the inner-city light rail routes, the municipality of Vienna tried itself in the early 1920s to restore the largely idle transport infrastructure. In addition to municipal housing , it became one of the major projects in Red Vienna . Because after living conditions increasingly normalized and the mobility of the Viennese population increased again, the extensive standstill of the tram led to an overload of the tram, which at that time had to carry all traffic.
To improve the situation, the then Mayor of Vienna, Jakob Reumann, submitted an offer to the Commission for Transport Systems in Vienna on August 23, 1923 to take over around two thirds of the narrower urban railway network free of charge for 30 years, for which the city administration undertook to electrify and electrify the routes in question operate on their own account. In detail, there were the following five subsections:
| Surname | route | concession | length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waistline | Meidling-Hauptstraße - Nussdorfer Straße junction - Heiligenstadt | Main line | 8.317 kilometers |
| Lower Viennese line | Meidling-Hauptstrasse - main customs office | Local railway | 5.450 kilometers |
| Upper Viennese line | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstrasse | Local railway | 5.334 kilometers |
| Danube Canal Line | Main customs office - Heiligenstadt | Local railway | 5.304 kilometers |
| Connecting bow | Junction Nussdorfer Straße - Brigittabrücke | Local railway | 1.154 kilometers |
The municipality of Vienna had previously provided the necessary material loan of 185 billion Austrian crowns or 18.5 million schillings as part of emergency work for the electrification . The previous links with the Westbahn and the Franz-Josefs-Bahn could no longer be taken into account for cost reasons. However, in the last year of peace, 1913, of the 41.2 million passengers on the inner-city routes, only 6.25 million drove out or came from there via Hütteldorf-Hacking and Heiligenstadt . Likewise, the municipality of Vienna was not interested in the comparatively little frequented suburban line on the outskirts, especially since it was still necessary for the so-called transfer traffic between the main lines. The same applied to the connecting railway Praterstern – Hauptzollamt – Meidling , the connecting railway Penzing – Meidling , the Donauländebahn and the Donauuferbahn . Although they were also still in the city, they belonged to the so-called outer network of the steam light rail .
Originally planned full integration into the tram network
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According to the plans of the then tram director, engineer Ludwig Spängler, which were valid in the summer of 1923, the above-mentioned five routes were to be provisionally - that is, until the planned electrical full-line operation or integration into a future subway network - as an electric tram with driving on sight and in the city network The usual voltage of 600 volts direct current can be operated. This would have resulted in a complete merger with the tram network.
The tram cars, which had become redundant due to the weaker traffic since 1918, were intended as means of transport on the light rail. These included above all the 90 type L railcars built between 1918 and 1921 as well as matching sidecars of types m (from 1930 k 3 ) and m 1 (from 1930 k 4 ). Because of the strong inflation in the post-war period, the tram had to contend with a significant drop in frequency in the second half of 1922 and in the first half of 1923. The number of passengers carried fell from around 520 million in 1921 to 440 million in 1922 and increased only insignificantly in the first half of 1923. Thus, at the time of the takeover offer by Stadtbahn, numerous trams were redundant. With them, a maximum speed of only 30 to 33 km / h would have been possible, but this was still considered to be more sensible than the ongoing cessation of the Stadtbahn, which would have remained for years without the intervention of the municipality of Vienna.
Above all, however, the municipality of Vienna planned in 1923, in view of the sometimes negative experiences with the heavy excursion traffic on the steam light rail , a large part of its vehicle fleet during the week in tram traffic and on the afternoons on beautiful Sundays and holidays in the midsummer freshness - and bathing traffic on the light rail to use. Depending on the weather, it was around ten to twenty days a year on which up to three times more passengers had to be carried than usual. The new operator expected around 12,000 passengers an hour on the route to Hütteldorf-Hacking alone at peak times. The advantage here was that the busiest tram traffic times were May, October, the cemetery traffic on All Saints' Day on November 1st and the winter months in snowy years, while their frequency was lower in the months June to September. However, it was precisely in these midsummer months that the traffic peaks for the light rail vehicles fell. Only in a very hot June could there be a simultaneous large demand for cars in both parts of the company, provided that this was already an option for the Danube baths. In June, tram traffic showed a significant decrease in frequency. In addition, experience has shown that the least operational damage occurred to the trams in early summer, which means that the tram could for a short time get along with the smallest permissible vehicle reserve.
The tram cars used on the light rail would have been only slightly adapted, the replacement of the lyre pantographs with pantographs and the installation of compressed air brakes were planned . Director Spängler considered the use of trams in the light rail network to be permissible, because the majority of the passengers to be gained for the light rail system were to be withdrawn from the tram. At that time, on the other hand, they only wanted to procure new wagons for day-to-day operations on the light rail routes, plus a reserve. So it seemed possible to limit the costs for the electrification of the tram to the lowest possible level, especially since the use of a common fleet of vehicles would also have reduced the costs for coach houses and workshops.
Criticism of the demotion to the tram
From the beginning, the electrification of the tram in the 1920s was only intended as a provisional measure, which was not intended to anticipate the later introduction of full-line electric rail operations. Nevertheless, the conversion of a railway line to tram operation with driving on sight and the separation from the railway network remained controversial among experts. One of the opponents of such a solution was the electrical engineer Carl Hochenegg , who in turn worked out an alternative concept in 1923. This also envisaged operation by the municipality of Vienna, but the light rail should be operated with 1500 volts direct current and independently of the tram. Hochenegg proposed trains of up to three three-part railcars with partially lowered floors , which should go beyond the main network to Purkersdorf , now Unter Purkersdorf, and Kritzendorf . Here, up to a four-track expansion of the Franz-Josefs-Bahn, route usage fees would have to be paid to the state railway.
Rescheduling from autumn 1923
The further upswing in traffic that began in autumn 1923 soon led to a modification of the original plans from the summer of the same year. As a result of the increase from 458 million passengers in 1923 to 567 million in 1924, the tram needed all of its existing vehicles again, and new trams even had to be purchased at the beginning of 1924. As a result, only brand-new vehicles were considered for the light rail system anyway, including for Sunday and public holiday traffic. The homogeneity of the entire fleet of light rail vehicles was a great advantage.
In this context, the municipality of Vienna opted for more motorized vehicles in order to be able to reach a maximum speed of 40 km / h. This decision in turn entailed the conversion of the signal systems and security technology as well as an independent power supply. The voltage chosen for the tram was now 750 volts direct current, unlike the city network. Thanks to the new acquisition, it was possible to construct modern railcars capable of multiple traction and equipped with a contactor control. This made significantly longer trains possible than was common in tram traffic at the time.
The new vehicles should still be able to be used in the tram network. By procuring universally usable trams, the tram management wanted to enable so-called transition lines between its two parts of the company and to prevent two thirds of the trams from being out of use for 345 to 355 days a year. The idea at the time was to use only 60 of the 150 railcars that were newly purchased on the occasion of the commissioning of the Stadtbahn, the remaining 90 in the tram network during the week and only on the tram on a few hot summer days. At the same time, it was planned to convert 128 old, small tram cars into sidecars. This would have been possible because the new, large and heavy railcars could pull two large sidecars and the associated increase in capacity would have led to a reduced need for personnel and thus to significant savings. In fact, the total number of railcars in 1925 would only have increased by 22 units. However, the Viennese were disappointed with the appearance of the first light rail vehicles , because the light rail vehicles - instead of the four-axle bogie cars that were generally expected - were only given two-axle vehicles because they could be used in the tram network.
In the end, this reciprocal use never came about, but the municipality of Vienna used some cars that were not needed on the Stadtbahn from 1926 in pure tram traffic.
Contract conclusion and exit clause
It was only after lengthy negotiations that began on October 22, 1923 that Mayor Reumann's successor, Karl Seitz , who had only been in office since November 13, 1923, succeeded in concluding the agreement with the state railway on December 1, 1923. However, due to the political developments after the First World War, the owner of the Stadtbahn was unable to make decisions. As an alternative, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) - which has since emerged from the kk Staatsbahnen - received the authorization to conclude a contract with the municipality of Vienna. This was regulated by Federal Law Gazette number 20 of January 11, 1924, which came into force retrospectively on December 21, 1923. According to a contract signed on March 12 and 13, 1924, the municipality of Vienna finally leased the five routes mentioned above. It had already been agreed beforehand that "the small railroad operation will only run for a period of 30 years and that there is the option of eliminating it by terminating the user agreement in the event of unforeseen developments in traffic conditions".
In particular, a clause was agreed in 1923 that authorized the Austrian Federal Railways to terminate the contract with the municipality of Vienna after ten years if the urban railway lines were required to set up an electric full-line railway. The view expressed in various publications that, due to the ten-year term of the contract, that only trams were procured for the Stadtbahn in 1925, turned out to be wrong. On the contrary, precisely because of the fact that the tram operation is only regarded as a temporary measure, this early termination option was provided for in the contract.
The creators of the Viennese electric light rail, in addition to tram director Spängler, former mayor Reumann and mayor Seitz, vice mayor and city councilor Georg Emmerling - who was then the top head of Vienna's transport system - and city councilor Hugo Breitner .
The electrification of the light rail system was of great importance for the municipal administration. The Viennese Social Democrats had the graphic artist Victor Theodor Slama draft a special election poster for the combined national and local council elections on October 21, 1923 , even during the negotiations to take over the same . It shows, next to a worker and community buildings, a three-car train of the electric light rail and gave the party a resounding success in the election.
Handover of the infrastructure
The individual sections of the light rail network could only be handed over to the municipality of Vienna a few months after the contract was signed, and only in stages, whereby the municipality ordered its first new light rail vehicles in February 1924. It all began on April 18 and 25, 1924, with the belt line from Michelbeuern to Heiligenstadt, the Danube Canal line, the connecting arch and the Lower Wiental line, the Heiligenstadt and Hauptzollamt stations only after the state railway had converted the tracks. On October 6th and 8th 1924 the belt line from Michelbeuern to Meidling-Hauptstraße and the Upper Wientallinie finally came to the municipality of Vienna. This bisection of the belt line had become necessary because the state railway maintained the steam-powered transfer traffic between Hütteldorf-Hacking and Alser Straße until the end of the summer timetable on September 30, 1924. Tram director Spängler even mentions October 10, 1924 as the final handover date for the systems.
Start of renovation work
Ultimately, the electrification works began on May 26, 1924 in Heiligenstadt, a siding was already on 27 May 1924 in Michelbeuern between the route of the tram line 8 and the track 2 of the freight train station in operation while the trains of the Federal Railways continue the track 1 as headshunt up was available for a provisional track termination at line kilometer 5.2. It was not until September 12, 1924, that construction work could then also be carried out from Hütteldorf-Hacking. The construction trains , which performed all auxiliary services such as material transport and overhead line installation, consisted primarily of vehicles from the former Vienna Steam Tramway . These included the box locomotives 5, 12, 13, 15, 18 and 22, the steam tramway sidecars 5, 9, 25, 31, 57, 61, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81 and 98 with working platforms on the roofs, supplemented by Freight wagons of the steam tramway as well as the tram. The wagons with building materials arriving from the state railway were transferred to the main customs office until the points connection there was removed. The electrification work was divided into several construction lots and was carried out by the companies AEG , ELIN , the Austrian Brown, Boveri Werken (BBC) and the Austrian Siemens-Schuckertwerke (ÖSSW).
Ultimately, only a comparatively short construction period was available because electrical operations between Hütteldorf-Hacking and Michelbeuern were to start at the beginning of the excursion season or in the summer of 1925, in accordance with an agreement with the Austrian Federal Railways. According to another source, May 1, 1925 was planned to be the restart date in January 1925.
Apart from the electrification, the station buildings, the staircases and the platforms had to undergo a thorough overhaul before being put back into operation. It was also necessary to replace a large number of sleepers and remove rust from the bridge structures and partially repaint them.
After the Arlbergbahn in 1923 and the Salzkammergutbahn in 1924, the Vienna Stadtbahn was only the third Austrian railway line to be electrified after the First World War. In 1919, the Peggau – Übelbach local railway went into operation and was electrified from the start.
Separation from the rest of the railway network
The lease agreement between the Austrian Federal Railways and the municipality of Vienna led to a whole series of other renovation and adaptation work in addition to the electrification. The city administration separated the light rail at the main customs office, Heiligenstadt and Hütteldorf-Hacking junction stations from the rest of the Austrian railway network and, in return, linked it to the tram network at Gumpendorfer Strasse and in Michelbeuern. The electric light rail was henceforth a so-called island operation in the railway network. The three new access points were created, Main Customs Office WESt., Heiligenstadt WESt. and Hütteldorf-Hacking WESt. From an operational point of view, from 1925 onwards, there was one touch station and two connecting stations .
In addition, the routes after electrification were a little shorter. The Obere Wientallinie in Hütteldorf-Hacking no longer began at kilometer 0.000, but only at kilometer 0.075, based on the center of the loop. The new terminus in Heiligenstadt was on the belt line, again based on the middle of the loop, now at kilometer 8.317 instead of the previous kilometer 8.407. The Danube Canal line was even shortened by 328 meters because it now joins the belt line in front of the Heiligenstadt train station.
At the two end stations, the tram company had two new separate reception buildings , two new operations buildings and new platforms built especially for the electric light rail . In view of the not yet foreseeable useful life at the time, the latter only received a simple wooden roof.
In the course of municipalization, a reception building in Hütteldorf-Hacking specially built for the electric tram
An additional new reception building was also built in Heiligenstadt in 1925
From 1925, a visible fence separated the two sections of the station at the main customs office
Legal status from 1925
Despite its separation from the national rail network and the express tram service with direct wagon transfer from and to the tram network , the electric light rail initially remained a railway even after 1925. As such, their routes continued to be listed in the official timetable , for example . There the Untere Wientallinie, the Donaukanallinie and the connecting arch were to be found under the table number 1, while the belt line was assigned the number 11. The Upper Wientallinie, in turn, was listed under both numbers.
With the municipalization , the distinction between carriage classes was no longer necessary ; the second or third class was replaced by an unspecified unit class analogous to the tram. De facto, the wooden seating in the new coaches corresponded to third class in terms of comfort on the railroad, while the so-called upholstered class was completely eliminated. In addition, initially not all of the cars on the electric light rail were heated, only the railcars, but not the sidecars. Only in later years did the sidecars also have two fresh-flow radiators each.
In 1925, smoking trolleys were also significantly reduced. While smoking was still allowed in eight out of ten cars on the steam light rail, on the electric light rail only the second and penultimate car of a two-axle train, and in the case of three-car trains, only the middle car were designated as smoking cars. They were labeled flexibly using black and white boards in the format of a train route sign, which were hung in the corresponding brackets instead. In contrast, the non-smoking cars were not explicitly signposted.
With electrification, the transportation of checked baggage in special baggage compartments ended , and with the no longer practiced transition to the local lines of the state railway, the electric light rail trains no longer required on- board toilets . Corresponding to the conception of a tram, the new railcars only had the usual foot-operated warning bell for issuing warning signals . A compressed air whistle was not provided , despite the presence of compressed air . The triple headlights that already existed on the steam light rail system were also omitted in favor of a simple, centrally located headlight . An additional light source resulted from the illuminated line signal display on the roof. It was similar with the train end signal . Instead of the three red lanterns customary on the steam light rail, the electric light rail only had one red roof signal disc until 1946/1947. After that, the red end disk was attached to the headlight because of the complex manipulation when turning in stick tracks .
New turning systems
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Although the electric light rail vehicles were also bidirectional , reversing loops were created in Heiligenstadt and Hütteldorf-Hacking to simplify operations . They are based on the original plans for the use of three-car tram trains, which would have run at a much more frequent pace than the electric light rail trains ultimately used with up to nine cars. Both loops had an overtaking track and were driven through in a clockwise direction and thus without a track crossing ; due to the separate platforms, this was done without passengers. Because all four platforms in the two named end stations were in the straight track area, relatively long distances had to be covered on the way to and from the street as well as the transition from and to the state railway trains. In contrast to the rest of the route network, there were grooved rails instead of Vignol rails in the loops , and a different maximum speed of only 15 km / h applied there.
Otherwise, the light rail trains turned everywhere by changing the direction of travel . In Hietzing , a new turning system went into operation in 1925, from then on - according to actual demand - not all trains had to be forced to and from Hütteldorf-Hacking.
Adaptation of the track position in the stations to the narrower vehicles
Because the car bodies of the new electric light rail cars - analogous to the much narrower clearance profile in the tram network - were only 2240 millimeters wide, and thus 910 millimeters narrower than the 3150 millimeter passenger cars of the steam light rail , the tracks in the stations had to be 450 millimeters closer to the Platform edges are moved. The distance to the center of the track was reduced from the original 1650 millimeters to just 1200 millimeters.
The smaller width of the new vehicles also had a significant impact on the ratio between sitting and standing . For example, the seat divider on the steam light rail was still 2 + 2 in the second and 3 + 2 in the third class, while the electric light rail only had a 2 + 1 division. This means that instead of the previous 36 in the second and 44 in the third class, only 24 seats were available per car. This was compensated by the larger standing capacity of the platforms. In the event of overcrowding, up to 99 people could be transported per car, while the steam light railroad had a maximum of 91.
Furthermore, the electric light rail got by without the transfer points for construction trains , which were set up in certain stops on the steam light rail . They were removed in the course of the renovation work.
Reduction of the platform height
Simultaneously with the approach of the platforms, the tracks in the course of electrification by 15 and 16 centimeters were aufgeschottert their new height was thus only 35, respectively 34 cm above rail level . These measures reduced the maximum usable length of the platforms from 120 to 115 meters. Since both the locomotive and the two luggage compartments at the ends of the train were omitted with the electric light rail in comparison to the steam light rail, this did not affect the capacity. A train of the old light rail system consisted of a maximum of eight full and two half two-axle passenger cars, while a train of the new light rail system had a maximum of nine two-axle cars.
Above all, the gravel prevented the lowest step of the car from being lower than the platform. This, in turn, was indispensable for operation in the street, where access was sometimes made directly from the lane. Ultimately, the difference in height between the platform and the lowest step of the car was roughly the same as in the case of the steam light rail, but passengers then only had to climb one - instead of the previous three - steps to reach the 745 millimeter high boarding platform. In the car itself, there was another step, 200 millimeters high, to be negotiated between the platform and the passenger compartment.
The new boarding conditions had a positive effect on the passenger switching times in the stations, especially since there was initially a special passenger flow control for the 1.2 meter wide door openings . According to this, the travelers were originally required to enter the car via the outside of the platform, while those getting off should leave the car via the respective inside of the platform - i.e. the area directly adjacent to the passenger compartment - so as not to obstruct each other. At the time, this directional regulation was also common for many types of trams in Vienna, but in the long term it did not establish itself in Vienna either on light rail vehicles or on trams. In return, passengers on the electric light rail could no longer distribute themselves as evenly over the entire train as with the steam light rail due to the lack of intercar crossings.
The separation stations of Meidling-Hauptstrasse and Brigittabrücke / Friedensbrücke were also the only stations that had central platforms instead of outer platforms due to their transfer function . In this case, passengers also got on and off on the right hand side.
Adaptation of the track system for operation with tram cars
Simultaneously with the electrification, the tram management changed the guide and groove widths of the focal areas of points and crossings as well as the control arms to tram dimensions with smaller groove widths, adapted to the larger distance between the rear surfaces of the tram wheel sets . These dimensions were also retained in the later subway construction. They are the reason why the underground railcars cannot be continuously transferred to the main workshop on their own axles via the railway network.
The electric light rail vehicles themselves also had to be specially equipped for mixed traffic. Because they were operated on the Vignole rails with the S 33 profile and deep-groove frogs taken over from the steam light railway, they ran on special wheel tires with 100 millimeter wide treads. The wheel flanges were made weaker than on normal full-rail cars, but stronger and higher than on normal tram cars.
In 1924/1925, only minor changes and replacements of individual parts were necessary on the tracks themselves. Guard rails have been provided in narrower arches, usually less than 150 meters in radius, for safety reasons .
New staff
In parallel with the electrification work, the tram company had to hire numerous new employees. In the course of 1925, the workforce grew from 15,483 to 16,306, which means that 823 new employees were added due to the tram. In 1927 the entire workforce for the traffic, rail maintenance and workshop service of the electric light rail, excluding the officials in the central administration and excluding the employees in the converter works, was then around 1200 men.
In order to save personnel compared to the previous steam operation, the cash register and barrier systems at the less frequented stops were modified accordingly. So the so-called barrier guards took over the ticket issue themselves, while counters were still available everywhere on the steam light rail .
The elimination of the heater meant that the electric light rail trains were now only manned by two instead of three railway workers. New was also that the train driver the train driver , then traditional in Vienna Motor leaders named as train attendants supported. That means he drove as a companion - to the left of the driver - in the front of the driver's cab . In addition to dispatching trains in the stations, he was responsible for signal monitoring and official monitoring of the driver. However, all other cars were unoccupied, and the passengers were responsible for opening and closing the car doors. Unlike the earlier wagons of the steam light rail, emergency brakes were available to them in emergencies .
Another innovation compared to the steam light rail system was the delayed start of operations on May 1st , with the railcars being decorated with flower garlands for the rest of the day . This practice, which had existed with the tram since 1913, also made it possible for the tram personnel to take part in the May march .
Test drives
Although the mild winter of 1924/1925 favored the conversion work, the electric tram could not go into operation on May Day 1925 due to the late handover of the infrastructure by the state railway. Only on April 9, 1925 was the first test run with an electric light rail train between Michelbeuern and Meidling-Hauptstrasse. The training of the driving staff began soon afterwards and lasted a total of six weeks.
In order to be able to gather experience with the technologies newly introduced for the light rail system in advance, the main workshop adapted six conventional tram cars provisionally for light rail operations as early as September 1924. The railcars 2414 and 2530 as well as the trailer cars 3751–3754 received Knorr compressed air brakes at that time, the railcars also received pantographs. In this condition, the vehicles then carried out tests on line 80, and in January 1925 the railcars were also fitted with a driving block. With the delivery of the first light rail cars, the test cars could finally be restored to their regular streetcar condition in March 1925.
Grand opening
The grand opening of the Vienna Electric Light Railroad took place on June 3rd at 11:00 a.m. at the Alser Strasse station when Vice Mayor Georg Emmerling asked Mayor Karl Seitz to give the order to open the new operation. In the presence of Federal President Michael Hainisch , a few ministers, numerous MPs, the other city fathers and thousands of citizens, he gave the following speech before he sent the first two special trains to Hütteldorf-Hacking:
“The jubilation over the opening of the tram couldn't be too stormy, because we already know the bad lines well enough. Thirty years ago, the Stadtbahn was built in the way that we now have to continue it, based on military considerations; at that time, little consideration was given to the needs of the city of Vienna. We would like to give Vienna good traffic, but we don't have the money and we are forbidden to borrow it. I have to admit with sadness that the commissioning of the entire tram will not provide us with ideal traffic. What we need, what Vienna needs for its development, is the subway that leads from the heart of the city out into the open, where the working people live. At this moment, as Mayor of the City of Vienna, I vow, and the whole town council, with me, that it will and must be our greatest endeavor to make the underground railway possible. Let us now rejoice that part of the electrification work has been completed. I hereby declare the Alserstraße – Hütteldorf route open. "
A total of three seven-car trains were involved in the opening.
Start of regular operations
The scheduled service of the Vienna Electric Light Rail began in the early morning hours of June 4, 1925 on the Michelbeuern – Hütteldorf-Hacking route. In contrast to the previous steam light rail system, it ran in a fixed cycle schedule that was in effect for the entire operating time. From now on there were de facto two light rail vehicles in Vienna, because the suburban line ran as a steam light rail until 1932. For electric light rail competent railway companies , with the legal status of a private company , was henceforth the city of Vienna - urban trams .
Next, on July 22nd, 1925, the northern belt line between Michelbeuern and Heiligenstadt was put back into operation; this expansion took place in the early hours of the morning without any celebration. At the same time as the extension to Heiligenstadt, the car hall there went into operation. From now on, the two deployment locations each shared half the car exit. The trains passed through the Michelbeuern freight station without stopping. The third reactivated section was the Untere Wientallinie on September 7, 1925, which again went into operation in the early hours of the morning without an opening ceremony.
After the Danube Canal line including the connecting bend and the Gumpendorfer Strasse junction were completed, the electric light rail went into full operation in October 1925. For this purpose, a second opening ceremony, including subsequent special trips, took place at the Brigittabrücke station at lunchtime on October 19, 1925. Federal President Michael Hainisch also took part again, as did Justice Minister and Vice Chancellor Dr. Leopold Waber . Scheduled operation on the entire network finally began in the early morning hours of October 20, 1925.
In the final stage, the new means of transport consisted of a 25.559 kilometer long and continuous double-track network, plus 0.892 kilometers of connecting tracks to the tram network. It originally had 26 stations, including five passenger stations , a freight station and 20 stops . The distance between two passenger traffic stations varied between a minimum of 600 meters in the Schottenring – Roßauer Lände section and a maximum of 2,400 meters in the Brigittabrücke – Heiligenstadt section. The mean distance was around 850 meters.
Special case line 18G
A special case in the light rail network, but also in the tram network, was the so-called tram looping line 18G , which also went into operation when full operation began on October 20, 1925. Coming from the direction of Heiligenstadt, it switched to the tram network shortly before the Gumpendorfer Strasse station at the junction there, in order to then follow the course of tram line 18. A whole series of legal and operational peculiarities had to be taken into account for this mixed operation . These resulted on the one hand from the various regulations for trams and railways, and on the other from local customs. These included, for example, escorting with conductors - only in sections - the different voltage , the track width deviating by five millimeters , the maximum train length, the various pantograph systems, the regulations regarding seated or standing railcar drivers and closed or open doors and the requirement to use the grass collector to lock on the light rail routes.
Interwar period
Success through community tariff with the tram and higher travel speed
The joint tariff for the tram, which was introduced with the start of full operation on October 20, 1925, made the new mode of transport really popular and carried over 90 million passengers in its first full business year in 1926. From the beginning of September 1926, the electric light rail also carried dogs, while the tram service only existed from 1931. These were only allowed to be taken on the front platform of the smoking trolleys and only outside of the working day rush hour, the fare corresponded to that of an adult. Before that, the steam light rail had already carried dogs.
In addition, despite its lower top speed of only 40 instead of 50 km / h for the steam light rail, the electric light rail was slightly faster than its predecessor due to its better acceleration and braking deceleration . In 1925 the average cruising speed was 23 and 23.5 km / h, respectively, while the steam trains only reached 20 to 21 km / h. Another source from 1928 gives an average of 24 km / h for the electric light rail, assuming a starting acceleration of 0.5 seconds per meter, a braking deceleration of 0.7 seconds per meter, 20 seconds station stop and 38 km / h top speed , for 1962 24.3 km / h are given. However, the steam light rail had previously stayed at a station of only 15 seconds, albeit with significantly lower passenger numbers. Tram director Spängler emphasized on the occasion of the opening of the electric light rail that it was only slightly slower than the light rail vehicles in Berlin , Hamburg and Paris , which at that time only achieved average speeds of between 24 and a maximum of 28 km / h.
In any case, the electric light rail was always significantly faster than the Viennese tram. In 1925 it had an average cruising speed of only 12.5 km / h, which could only be increased slightly to 14.2 km / h by 1962.
The contemporary poem To Remember the Electrification of the Vienna City Railroad by Joh.Maierbichler described the progress made by the new means of transport at the time as follows:
“The electric train
is a beautiful invention.
We also owe it to
the fast connection.
Now you can
no longer suffocate from the smoke ,
And you stay on the seat
No longer pecking in
the soot. Splendid in amazement,
The tram leads us,
As
fast as it flies, You drive there as if smeared.
The Opponitz waterworks
give us more light and power,
the light rail is electrified
Isn't that a splendor?
For greater convenience
for the traveler now,
you change from the light rail
to the tram.
Each honor her work
What she accomplished in a moment,
Now the city of Vienna has
awakened to new life. "
Abandonment of Freight Transport (1927)
Initially, the Vienna Electric Light Rail also carried out freight transport . Since most of the goods customers of the steam light railroad were on the non-communalized suburb line, the municipality of Vienna was only responsible for the delivery of the freight station with integrated market hall in Michelbeuern from 1925 onwards . This was somewhat dismantled in the course of electrification. Instead of originally several freight tracks connected on both sides, only one was available, which could only be reached from the direction of Heiligenstadt without changing the direction of travel. This siding led to a magazine and a loading ramp . The transport of goods only played a subordinate role. In 1926, for example, the electric light rail only carried 8,136 tonnes of freight, while the tram still carried 52,741 tonnes. When the municipality of Vienna therefore needed the site of the freight station in Michelbeuern for the third depot of the Stadtbahn in 1927, market traffic also ended.
Travel time reduction
Around 1930, the municipality of Vienna succeeded in speeding up the electric light rail on seven sections:
| Kettenbrückengasse <> Karlsplatz : | from three to two and a half minutes |
| City park <> main customs office: | from two to one and a half minutes |
| Schottenring <> Roßauer Lände : | from two to one and a half minutes |
| Roßauer Lände <> Friedensbrücke : | from two to one and a half minutes |
| Friedensbrücke <> Heiligenstadt: | from six to five minutes |
| Friedensbrücke <> Währinger Strasse : | from five to four minutes |
| Währinger Strasse <> Heiligenstadt: | from five to four minutes |
This reduced travel times on the DG / GD and WD lines by three minutes per direction and on the G and 18G lines by one minute per direction. As a special feature, the operator officially announced half-minute departure times for the stations at Karlsplatz, Stadtpark and Roßauer Lände. When it reopened after the Second World War, travel times were extended to the 1925 level, making half a minute of departure a thing of the past. There was essentially no change in this timetable until the changeover to subway operation or the introduction of modern articulated multiple units on the belt line in the 1970s and 1980s. Only the sections Friedensbrücke - Heiligenstadt and Währinger Straße - Heiligenstadt, which only reopened in 1954, retained their shortened travel times from the interwar period even after the Second World War.
Dissolution of the Commission for Transport Systems in Vienna (1934)
On July 1, 1934, after the early termination of the 1924 lease and liquidation of the Vienna Transport Commission, which was founded in 1892, the infrastructure of the electric tram finally became the property of the municipality of Vienna, while the state railway then took over the suburban line and the remaining vehicle material of the steam light rail took over. A possible return of the inner-city routes to the Austrian Federal Railways was no longer necessary and the municipality of Vienna gained the necessary planning security. In 1925, however, the dissolution of the commission failed because the federal government demanded that the municipality of Vienna should also electrify the Hütteldorf-Hacking-Purkersdorf and Heiligenstadt-Kritzendorf lines and include them in their new light rail system. According to the new concession, the electric light rail was henceforth only a small train for passenger traffic. This also meant that the license to transport goods - which had not been used by the municipality of Vienna since 1927 - expired.
“Anschluss” of Austria and World War II
Recession to the tram (1938)
After the " Anschluss " to the German Reich in March 1938, the ordinance introducing imperial regulations on trams in Austria of June 29, 1938, brought the tram construction and operating regulations (BOStrab) into effect from July 1, 1938 set (Reichsgesetzblatt I No. 100 of June 29, 1938, p. 705). At the same time, the existing regulations for small railways in Austria were also replaced; the regulations that had previously existed for them were replaced by the regulation on the construction and operation of small railways and the railways of 7 July 1942 (Reichsgesetzblatt II, No. 24 of 24 July 1942, p. 289) finally repealed. In the course of this change in law, the German Reich Ministry of Transport also classified the Viennese electric light rail as a “tram” in 1938 . A direct consequence of this was that her timetable was no longer listed in the official timetable. For example, it is no longer included in the 1939 summer course book valid from May 15.
The German BOStrab was in force in Austria for almost 20 years until it was suspended by Section 58 No. 32 of the Railway Act of 1957 (EisbG, Federal Law Gazette No. 17/1957, p. 467) announced on March 7, 1957 . It was followed by the ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Electricity from September 2, 1957 on trams (1957 Tram Ordinance ) (StrabVO, Federal Law Gazette 62/1957 of October 2 ) on the basis of Sections 19 (4), 21 and 23 of the Railway Act 1957, p. 1095), which was based largely on the BOStrab.
In turn, the 1957 Tram Ordinance , which has since been amended several times, was completely revised in 1999 and is now the ordinance of the Federal Minister for Science and Transport on the construction and operation of trams ( StrabVO ).
In practice, the re-concession to the tram had no consequences for the operation of the light rail. Above all, in 1938, like other railway lines in the now called Ostmark country, it was not converted to the right-hand traffic that would henceforth be used in road and tram traffic, but remained left-hand traffic. This was possible without any problems, as the entire tram ran on its own track, so there was no need for a changeover.
Introduction of stationary train dispatchers (1943)
In order to speed up the handling of light rail trains, the Vienna Transport Company introduced stationary train handlers on every platform on January 18, 1943, also known as platform handlers, platform conductors or colloquially known as "pillar whisperers". They had the latter nickname because they had to step up to certain pillars of the platform canopy to dispatch a train, which were located in the rear third of the platform and were marked with a white, green and white ring. There was one each microphone for announcements via loudspeaker system installed.
First restrictions due to the war
During the Second World War , the light rail fleet in particular was heavily used. In order to better distribute the passengers to the individual wagons, the smoking ban was introduced as early as April 17, 1944 , while the general smoking ban on all means of transport operated by the Vienna public transport company did not apply until October 25, 1948. From the summer of 1944 onwards, the air raids that began at that time severely affected the vehicles and the structures. In the following four periods of time, the tram network could only be used in partial sections, with trains without a line signal disc again running from January 1945 - for the first time since the opening year:
- July 16, 1944 to August 15, 1944
- September 11, 1944 to September 22, 1944
- October 18, 1944 to December 29, 1944
- January 15, 1945 to February 4, 1945
From February 18, 1945, operations were restricted again, and on February 19, line 18G ran for the last time.
Complete recruitment in 1945
_IMG_5645.jpg)
From February 22, 1945 to February 26, 1945, electric light rail traffic had to be completely stopped - for the first time in its history. In the final phase of the war, the northern sections of the belt line as well as the Danube Canal line and in particular the Heiligenstadt train station were badly damaged by the heavy air raid on March 12, 1945 , after which the light rail traffic was completely damaged for the second time from March 13, 1945 to April 4, 1945 rested. After the bombardment stopped at the end of March 1945, restoration began immediately. As a result, the WD line was able to start an island operation between Meidling-Hauptstrasse and the main customs office on April 5, 1945 with the trains that had stopped on the route, although the Red Army was already at the city limits. But the very next day, April 6, 1945, the artillery fire and the approaching fighting required the third complete shutdown of the light rail. The tram had previously ceased operations on April 1, 1945.
A total of eight iron bridges and ten iron roofs were completely destroyed by the war, nine more bridges and six more roofings as well as around 2,500 square meters of reinforced concrete roofing were partly badly damaged. In addition, the Hietzing court pavilion, once built for Emperor Franz Joseph I , lost its direct access to the platforms during the war.
Post-war period and first rationalization measures
reconstruction
While the first tram passed through occupied Vienna on April 28, 1945 , repair work on the light rail system only began at the end of April 1945. Before operations resumed, temporary iron auxiliary bridges had to be installed in four of the connecting arches and in one of the Alser Strasse station's vaults. They could only be dispensed with after the final repair of the relevant viaduct arches. In addition, the damaged iron concrete roofing of the Danube Canal line had to be makeshiftly pinned in five places and 1.2 kilometers of rails replaced. So operations could only be resumed as follows, with certain stations receiving severe damage from bombs and therefore initially having to be driven through without stopping:
| May 27, 1945: | Hietzing - Meidling-Hauptstrasse - main customs office | initially without stopping at Schönbrunn |
| June 27, 1945: | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Hietzing | initially without stopping in Unter St. Veit-Baumgarten and Braunschweiggasse |
| July 18, 1945: | Main customs office - Friedensbrücke - Nussdorfer Straße junction - Michelbeuern | |
| July 30, 1945: | Michelbeuern - Meidling main street | initially without stopping in Alser Strasse and Josefstädter Strasse |
| August 30, 1945: | Schönbrunn | |
| November 19, 1945: | Connecting tracks to the tram network on Gumpendorfer Straße | |
| November 21, 1945: | Josefstädter Strasse | |
| November 30, 1945: | Alser Strasse | |
| February 14, 1947: | Under St. Veit-Baumgarten , direction Meidling-Hauptstraße | |
| March 4, 1947: | Under St. Veit-Baumgarten, direction Hütteldorf-Hacking | |
| November 28, 1948: | Braunschweiggasse | |
| September 18, 1954: | Friedensbrücke - Heiligenstadt and junction Nussdorfer Straße - Heiligenstadt |
The mixed service line 18G no longer went into operation after the Second World War, its restored track connection on Gumpendorfer Strasse served only as an operating line from then on and ultimately ceased to exist with the abandonment of the Gumpendorfer Strasse signal box on August 2, 1965. As a further consequence of the war, the heating systems in the majority of the light rail vehicles were no longer operational and were no longer repaired.
On November 26, 1945, the Wiener Verkehrsbetriebe introduced the passenger flow principle on the Stadtbahn, known in Vienna as flow traffic . Passengers should only get into the car at the back and only get off at the front so as not to interfere with each other. But although the train dispatchers on the platforms pointed out the flow of traffic to the passengers via loudspeakers, nobody saw the purpose of this measure. The operator had to admit the failure of this attempt after just a few weeks.
As the first major modernization measure after the Second World War, the Mariahilfer Straße-Westbahnhof tram stop was completely covered and new underground entrances in 1951 in connection with the new construction of the neighboring terminus station . It was the first completely underground station in Vienna at all, a construction method that was not yet possible with the earlier steam light rail due to the smoke development. The second underground station of the electric light rail was finally the main customs office from 1961.
A special operational situation arose in 1951 when work was done on the lining wall between the Margaretengürtel and Pilgramgasse stations, as a result of which a track had to be temporarily laid there .
Because of the destroyed bridges, trains could not return to Heiligenstadt until September 18, 1954, although work on restoring the two lines leading there did not begin until 1952. Before that, the section from Nussdorfer Straße to Heiligenstadt was used in 1946 and 1947 to park damaged tram cars, including former steam tram sidecars. After almost ten years, the electric light rail was reactivated in full.
The slow delivery of the new sets acquired after the Second World War led from July 3, 1957, on all four lines to an interval extension of eight to ten minutes during rush hour. That means, there was now a uniform rhythm throughout the day, only in the evening the tram only ran every seven and a half minutes. Alternatively, four push-in trains ran from then on in the morning , but each made only one trip. This timetable restriction, which was announced temporarily at the time, was not revised even after the second generation of vehicles had been fully commissioned.
Introduction of automatic doors and door closing signals (1954)
.jpg)
With the conversion to the second generation of vehicles, which began in 1954, from 1961 only vehicles with automatic doors were in use. As a result, the previously very high number of accidents fell dramatically. As early as 1965, according to the accident statistics of the public transport company, the light rail was the safest means of public transport in Vienna, and that year there were only three accidents. The folding doors on the new cars were closed pneumatically by the driver, who had a swivel switch at his disposal. Before departure, the train dispatchers also had to operate a key switch for the then newly introduced door closing signal to the driver, which was attached above the exit signal . It had two positions, with a white vertical bar for "close doors" and a red horizontal bar for "reopen doors".
Modernization backlog in the first half of the 1960s
In 1959, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) opened the Vienna S-Bahn , at the time still called Schnellbahn . From March 27, 1961, there was a collective bargaining agreement between this and the means of transport of Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe. The Schnellbahn initially operated with steam locomotives, before the ultra-modern electric multiple units of the 4030 series took over operation in 1962 . In contrast, the light rail system was already considered technically obsolete back then. In particular, the low top speed of 40 km / h and the operation of long two-axle trains with no passage and with steps for getting in and out of the train have long been an anachronism . Only the inner-city routes, which were completely separated from individual traffic, were contemporary. Previously, the Alwegbahn plans pursued from 1957 to 1962 prevented any further development and modernization of the light rail. At times it was even planned to tear off the belt line and replace it with the Alwegbahn.
From 1963, the municipality of Vienna primarily focused on building the Vienna underground tram , both of which went into operation in 1966 and 1969. In both cases, these were routes that were already included in the urban railway planning at the end of the 19th century. A connection between the belt line and the underground tram tunnel on the southern belt between Eichenstrasse and Südtiroler Platz was planned at times, but was not implemented.
In exactly the opposite direction to the developments in the early 1920s, the State Railways offered the City of Vienna the repurchase of the Stadtbahn in 1964 in order to integrate it into their new rapid transit system. As early as 1955, a commission at the 1st Vienna Road Traffic Challenge recommended that the inclusion of light rail lines in the future rapid transit network should also be investigated in order to improve traffic conditions. But although a broad coalition of the Austrian Federal Railways, Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, the Social Democratic Party of Austria , the Austrian Trade Union Confederation , the Chamber of Labor and almost all newspapers supported the project, the Vienna City Council rejected it. In return, he decided on January 26, 1968 to include at least the Wiental line and the Danube Canal line of the Stadtbahn in the basic underground network that was built up from 1969 and to modernize them comprehensively in this context.
Safety driving circuits and track magnets (1965)
In a further rationalization step, the light rail railcars were equipped with dead man's devices in the form of safety driving circuits (Sifa) by August 16, 1965 , which automatically stopped the train if the driver could no longer react. The associated impulse pedal had to be lifted when the horn sounded and then pressed again; this also applied when the train came to a standstill. If this was not done, automatic braking and disconnection of the traction current took place after four seconds due to a voltage drop in the control current contactor .
The modifications in 1965 made the second-generation railcars even more complicated. This made them even more prone to failure, at times there were difficulties in being able to provide enough vehicles for the run.
In parallel with the introduction of the safety driving system, the mechanical travel locks used since electrification were replaced by a wear-free, point-like, magnetic train control system. Only when the signal was green was the permanent magnet made ineffective by counter-excitation and the train could pass. If, on the other hand, the signal showed red, the magnet was effective and the train received an emergency brake as it passed. This was also indicated to the driver by a red control lamp that could only be deleted with the Expeditor key. If the train had to deliberately run over a signal, the release button had to be pressed, which temporarily bypassed the safety driving circuit. As a result, the red signal in light rail operations, which was regarded as indispensable for the railways, was repeatedly watered down and often run over without a care. Since full braking was necessary for defective signals, this signal system was often very cumbersome in operational terms.
Elimination of the assistant in the driver's cab and the platform handler (1965)
With the introduction of the safety driving circuit, also from August 15, 1965, there was also no need for the driver to be present in the driver's cab. Instead, from now on, the previous assistant supervised the handling of the trains as a train driver from the second railcar and arranged for the doors to be closed from there alone. Here he announced the imminent departure over the platform loudspeaker, the clearance was carried out using the existing door closing signals and acoustically by means of a bell signal, which had to be repeated after the start for safety. In contrast to the former locomotive attendants, from 1965 the train drivers also no longer had to be trained train drivers, which saved training costs. From this point on, women were also permitted as train drivers.
In 1965, through the train driver clearance, a large part of the 90 platform handlers at that time could be saved, whereby the designation "column whisperer" passed from these to the train drivers. Only in a few stations, including Meidling-Hauptstrasse in the direction of Heiligenstadt, were additional platform handlers active during rush hour traffic.
A further rationalization measure of the 1960s was the abolition of the barrier guards in the stations, with which another relic from steam light rail times disappeared. They were from 11 January 1967, first in Meidling Main Street, Palace and Hietzing by AEG - canceling replaced before until 21 December 1968 all access points could be equipped.
Conversion to subway operation (1968–1989)
Preparation of the underground trial operation (1968)
In 1968, the year the decision was made to build the Vienna subway, the Friedensbrücke – Heiligenstadt light rail line was selected for the trial operation of the new type “U” subway cars . The renovation work began in November 1968 in Heiligenstadt, where parking and turning tracks as well as a maintenance hall were built for the test trains. The latter was completed in 1970 and was dismantled again between 1974 and 1977 after the Wasserleitungswiese depot was built .
From the summer of 1969, the embankment between the two stations mentioned, which had a cubature of 70,000 cubic meters, was removed. This was necessary in order to later be able to connect the Wasserleitungswiese depot at the same level to the Danube Canal line. From now on, the new route was one to two meters below the tracks of the neighboring Franz-Josefs-Bahn, which is why an additional 700-meter-long retaining wall had to be built. In return, the ramp lane had to be interrupted, and in its place the Franz-Ippisch-Steg was built for pedestrians . During the extensive earthworks there, the municipality of Vienna had to rent one of the four tracks of the Franz-Josefs-Bahn from the Austrian Federal Railways for light rail operations and adapt it accordingly.
On September 13, 1971, the Friedensbrücke turning facility was closed to the light rail system because it had to be converted for the underground test trains coming from the direction of Heiligenstadt. In this context, on December 2, 1972, the Friedensbrücke – Heiligenstadt section was converted to right-hand traffic; for the first time in its history, the Stadtbahn no longer ran everywhere on the left-hand side. This required appropriate track crossings on the light rail, the light rail trains changed their driving side shortly after the Friedensbrücke station. Coming from the belt line, another track crossing was built in front of the entrance to the Heiligenstadt station, whereupon the loop there was used by all light rail trains in a counterclockwise direction.
Trial operation of the subway started without passengers (1973)
For the parallel operation between old trams and new subway cars, which began on February 24, 1973, but which at that time did not yet carry passengers, the lower Friedensbrücke – Heiligenstadt section was temporarily equipped with both an overhead line and a lateral power rail . There were also two different signaling and safety systems: the conventional line block system for the light rail and the new linear train control system without main signals for the underground. In addition, a newly developed rail profile was used. In 1970/1971, the Xa rails previously used on the Stadtbahn were replaced in small construction sections with heavier S-48 U rails on the entire Friedensbrücke – Heiligenstadt route. The test trains initially only ran at night, and later also during the day between the regular light rail trains.
Start of the extended test run of the underground with passengers (1976)
In contrast to the new construction of the lines U1 (opened 1978) and U3 (opened 1991) as well as the complex conversion of the two-way line to the U2 (opened 1980), the adaptation of the light rail systems took place comparatively quickly. The U4 , which was officially released on May 8, 1976 for the "extended test operation with passengers", was ultimately the first Vienna underground line, from then on Vienna temporarily had three different urban rapid transit systems.
The conversion of the light rail lines to underground operation primarily required the replacement of the contact line by the conductor rail system. In addition, the tracks in the stations were moved away from the platforms and lowered by 15 centimeters, that is, to the original level from the steam city railway times. At the same time took place the increase of the old platforms from 50 to 95 centimeters above the running surface, a barrier-free to guarantee entry. The subway also took over the 115 meter standard platform length of the electric light rail.
The safety technology had to be completely replaced for standardized operation with linear train control. At the same time, the track changing operation was set up. The superstructure was partially rebuilt and upgraded for higher speeds, maintenance work was required on tunnels and bridges, and the power supply from the state network was also renewed. In the course of the construction work was switched to right-hand drive. The access points were rebuilt to varying degrees; this was particularly complex at the Landstrasse and Karlsplatz stations. Other modernization measures included the creation of additional entrances at the end of the station facing away from the reception building, the installation of lifts, the extension of the platform roofs to the full length of the station while at the same time dispensing with supports, the cladding of the walls with uniform panels in the standard design of the Vienna subway, the Installation of fall-leaf train destination displays as well as the complete replacement of ticket counters with machines.
In Heiligenstadt, the turning loop of the Stadtbahn was discontinued in May 1976, while the one in Hütteldorf-Hacking was still available until the local railroad operations there in 1981. In addition, during the renovation years, the light rail trains also had to turn at the stations Schottenring (April to August 1978) and Karlsplatz (August 1978 to October 1980) by changing the direction of travel; construction switches were required there. In order to make it as easy as possible to change at these temporary transfer points, there were temporary central platforms with a corresponding height difference. Because of the different boarding conditions, the Heiligenstadt train station received separate platform tracks for the G and U4 lines in 1976.
Decision to modernize the belt line (1977)
Even if the belt was not included in the metro core network as City of Vienna began in 1976 as a result of ausgelobten transport billion of the Federation, a large subsidy program for strengthening public transport, but to modernize. At the same time, it was already planned to link it with the new express tram line to the Erlaa and Siebenhirten districts , which went into operation in 1979 and 1980 and was initially served by tram line 64.
The renewal of the belt line began in 1977 with the construction of a second platform access at the Burggasse-Stadthalle station, which was available from February 16, 1978, and the start of construction for the new Thaliastraße station , which was given the abbreviation TH. This additional connection point to the tram could not go into operation until September 27, 1980, due to economic difficulties of the construction company originally commissioned with it.
At the waistline, the municipality of Vienna decided, also in 1977, against the conversion to busbar operation and the construction of elevated platforms. At the time of this decision, however, a later "full expansion" to the subway with busbars was still being considered, cars had to be purchased that could later have been used in tram operation - even if it never came to that.
For the third time in the history of the electric light rail, the Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, relied on classic tram vehicles in overhead line operation, which - as was common at the time - were high-floor. The new cars ordered in 1978 were only 2305 millimeters wide and were delivered from July 1979. The new trains could also be operated in one-man operation with fully automated handling, which means that the railcar driver himself was the train driver from then on. However, during the introductory period there was also a train attendant temporarily on board the new trains. In 1983, after the last old wagons were taken out of service, the conversion to the new vehicles was completed. Their better braking properties and the end of mixed operation made it possible to increase the maximum speed on the belt line from 40 to 60 km / h from January 2, 1984, which resulted in an attractive reduction in travel time.
Subsequent decision to integrate the belt line into the subway network (1980)
By resolution of the municipal council on August 29, 1980, the decision was finally made to subsequently integrate the belt line, including the planned expansion in the south, into the subway network. The name U6 was specified because the U5 had been in the planning stage since the 1960s.
The full expansion of the line was finally shelved. The official reasons given at the time not to use heavy standard subway trains on the belt line - especially with regard to the bridge over the line and the historic city railway arches - were given weight reasons and various restrictions on the clearance profile, but financial reasons were more likely to have been decisive. Ultimately, an examination of the old steel structures carried out in 1981 showed that they were still in good condition. At that time , the natural aging process of steel was less advanced than expected, so that a durability of at least a few decades could be expected. Ultimately, the elevation of the platforms at the high stations of the belt line would have been structurally much more complex, especially since they sometimes extend to the neighboring bridges. Another problem was the strongly curved Gumpendorfer Strasse station, the platforms of which would have led to a correspondingly large gap between the central vehicle doors and the edge of the platform in the case of the subway double railcars. According to another source, the first-generation subway cars would not have been able to drive over the Otto Wagner Bridge anyway because of the incline there.
At that time, the third generation of light rail vehicles purchased from the end of the 1970s remained in service. However, the non-barrier-free entry and exit via stairs later turned out to be problematic as the number of passengers increased, because it increased passenger switching times. In addition, until the end of the day, no bicycles were allowed in the narrow light rail vehicles, while this was not a problem in the more spacious subway vehicles.
Series of accidents from 1975 to 1978
During the changeover to underground operation, a series of serious rear-end collisions occurred within three years , mainly due to the numerous temporary construction works , which led to a negative image of the light rail system and strong criticism from the population:
- On November 4, 1975, a train on the GD line rammed one of the WD lines in the Schwedenplatz station , five cars derailed and 14 passengers were injured. The cause was a defect in the signal systems and thus also the dead man's equipment in the trains.
- On March 5, 1977, trains 14 and 20 collided in the tunnel at the Margaretengürtel station and derailed. Previously, one of the drivers had overlooked a signal, 15 passengers were injured.
- A particularly serious rear-end collision occurred on the evening of September 14, 1977 between Meidling-Hauptstrasse and Margaretengürtel, in which 44 - sometimes seriously - injured people were to be complained about due to inadequate safety equipment. At that time, after the UEFA Cup game SK Rapid Wien against FK Inter Bratislava Viennese hooligans indoor lighting unscrewed in a delayed train line WD bulbs, so they stopped the whole lighting circuit of the last railcar. Then the rioters deliberately pulled the emergency brake and the set stopped a few meters before leaving a block section . As a result of the short circuit that had previously occurred , the tail light also failed. The immediately following train on the WG line received a signal from the signalman in Meidling-Hauptstraße that it was going on in the direction of Wiental, although the block section was still occupied and the signal indicated the stop. Thereupon he rammed the completely unlit train in front of him in the tunnel almost unchecked, which was also standing in an arc. As an exception, there was a distant signal for the next block signal, which still showed an indication of the journey. When the following train reached this, the engine driver believed that the train in front was already far ahead of him and accelerated again. Only at the last moment did he notice the wrecked train, and the emergency braking that was initiated immediately remained almost ineffective. In the collision, ten out of 16 cars were lifted off the track, wedged together and piled up to a meter and a half high. Four railcars and six sidecars then had to be retired as total losses. Three young men aged 16, 19 and 27 were ultimately only found guilty of vandalism , the engine driver received six months conditional imprisonment for driving faster than the permitted 15 km / h in the occupied block section. This accident was the reason to retrofit a light rail vehicle on a trial basis with train radio via pot antenna , speed monitoring and low beam headlights in the same year . The facilities proved their worth, so that from May 1978 94 of the remaining old railcars - despite their foreseeable retirement - received appropriate equipment to reassure the public, while the others were only allowed to run as guided railcars . In addition, after passing a main signal indicating a stop, only 15 km / h were possible for the following 1200 meters, the so-called "V 15" drive.
- On November 13, 1977, five passengers suffered injuries when two cars derailed at the Braunschweiggasse station.
- On November 19, 1977, a train ran into a buffer stop at the terminus in Heiligenstadt as a result of a braking error , and a woman was injured.
- On December 5, 1977, an empty train at the Hietzing station collided with a buffer stop, and light rail operations were disrupted for five hours.
- On January 5, 1978, a railcar driver in Michelbeuern disregarded a signal indicating a stop, whereupon two trains collided and two passengers were injured.
- On January 9, 1978, eight passengers were injured in a rear-end collision at the Hütteldorf-Hacking terminus.
- on August 10, 1978, just two days before the changeover to underground service, there was another rear-end collision at Schwedenplatz station, with eleven injuries.
Further modernization of the belt line in the 1980s and conversion to right-hand traffic
After the decision to integrate it into the subway network in 1980, the modernization of the belt line, which began in the late 1970s, gradually continued. In 1981 the renovation of the aging depot at Michelbeuern began and was completed in 1989. In addition, as part of its modernization, the belt line also received a new overhead line, with central masts with arms on both sides replacing the transverse yokes from the 1920s.
On September 7, 1983, construction work finally began on the extension of the Gürtel light rail to the Vienna Meidling station, with the subway station there still being called the Philadelphiabrücke until 2013. In connection with this construction work, the trains on the belt line only ran to Gumpendorfer Strasse from April 13, 1985, the subsequent ramp between the bridge over the line and the Meidling-Hauptstrasse station was demolished and rebuilt with a greater incline. Thus, the fork of the Wiental and Gürtellinie in the station Meidling-Hauptstraße, which existed until 1985, could be replaced by a parallel route of U4 and U6 at the same level in the new Längenfeldgasse station. There are track connections there despite the different contact line systems. In 1984, the preliminary planning for the U6 north to Floridsdorf began .
On October 31, 1987, the Michelbeuern General Hospital station went into operation , making regular passenger trains stopping in Michelbeuern for the first time in 89 years. As with the Thaliastraße station and later also with the Längenfeldgasse and Spittelau stations , the large station spacing of the belt line, which originated from the steam city railway era, could be significantly reduced in several cases. In contrast to the historic light rail stations, these new buildings had the reduced platform length of 115 meters from the start.
From June 25, 1988, operations on the connecting bend were initially discontinued, before operations on the belt line were also temporarily suspended from July 2, 1988. This was necessary in order to be able to switch to signal-based track-changing operations with scheduled right-hand traffic by September 5, 1988, which required the installation of several switch connections. Apart from a standardization of the underground transport system, the change was forced by the structural situation in the new Längenfeldgasse transfer station.
Michelbeuern has also been a regular station for passenger traffic since 1987
Announcement of the changeover to right-hand traffic in 1988
Development after 1989
On October 7, 1989, the Gumpendorfer Strasse – Längenfeldgasse – Philadelphiabrücke section went into operation. At the same time, without any further technical changes, the last two tram lines G and GD were renamed to U6. This temporarily served two different endpoints under the same line signal. This ended - apart from the remaining infrastructure and the vehicles that were still in use - the history of the Viennese electric light rail system after more than 64 years.
On November 8, 1991, Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe opened the new Westbahnhof stop for the U6, a completely new building 53 meters east of the previous station. The old Otto Wagner station from 1898 was finally obsolete and was later filled in. The underground access routes themselves were retained in order to be able to use them as a road tunnel in the future if necessary.
Before that, traffic on the connecting arch between Friedensbrücke and the Nussdorfer Strasse junction ended on March 4, 1991, before the southern extension of the U6 between Philadelphiabrücke and the new Siebenhirten subway station went into operation on April 15, 1995 . On May 4, 1996, the last extension of the U6 followed for the time being between the Nussdorfer Strasse junction and Floridsdorf. This means that after five years of no traffic, an approximately 300 meter long section of the connecting arch between the junction from the belt line and the new Spittelau station went back into operation, while the connection to Heiligenstadt was shut down on May 1, 1996.
For the fallow part of the belt line, there are plans to make it usable for the population on the model of the New York High Line Park . The associated project name is High Line Park Vienna .
Line development
- June 4, 1925
The first electric light rail line started running on June 4, 1925, due to the lack of danger of confusion, still without a line signal, as follows:
| signal | Walkway | Stations | Travel time | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| none | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstrasse - Alser Strasse | 12 | Direction Alser Straße: 24 minutes Direction Hütteldorf-Hacking: 25 minutes |
Workdays: 11, Sundays and public holidays: 17 |
Operations began at 4:40 a.m. and ended at 11:50 p.m. The first line ran every six, eight or ten minutes, correspondingly more frequently on busy Sundays and public holidays. After reaching the Alser Straße station, the trains drove without passengers to the Michelbeuern freight station to turn around.
- July 22, 1925
When the belt line was fully operational, the first electric light rail line was extended to Heiligenstadt on July 22, 1925, although no line signal was still used.
| signal | Walkway | Stations | Travel time | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| none | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstrasse - Gürtel - Heiligenstadt | 15th | Direction Heiligenstadt: 32 minutes Direction Hütteldorf-Hacking: 33 minutes |
20th |
- September 7, 1925
The restart of the Untere Wientallinie led to the use of line signals for the first time on September 7, 1925, because from then on there was more than one electric light rail line. In contrast to the tram, the line signals on the light rail were not round, two-sided and arranged on the left, but rather rectangular and centered, that is, they could only be read from the front. In contrast to the tram, the sidecars of the light rail also had line signal displays.
Deviating from the tram standard, a very simple system was devised based on the abbreviations of the individual routes. The expressive line letters proved to be useful and were immediately understandable in any combination of two letters. The letters G for belt and W for Wiental were initially combined with one another as follows, and at the same time the Hietzing turning system also went into regular operation:
| signal | Walkway | Stations | Travel time | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W. | Working days: Hietzing - Meidling-Hauptstraße - main customs office. Sundays and public holidays: Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstraße - main customs office |
Workdays: 9 Sundays and public holidays: 13 |
Workdays: 18 minutes. Sundays and public holidays: 26 minutes |
Workdays: 10 Sundays and Holidays: 12 |
| Flat share | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstrasse - Gürtel - Heiligenstadt | 15th | 33 minutes | 13 |
Because of the heavy traffic, line W had to be extended to Hütteldorf-Hacking on Sundays and public holidays from September 20, 1925.
- October 20, 1925
With the start of full operation on October 20, 1925, the line letter D for Danube Canal and line 18G were added. The provisional line W was extended to create the new line WD, also known as the Wiental-Donaukanal line , while the new ring lines DG and GD together with the new line 18G replaced the likewise provisional line WG:
| signal | Walkway | Stations | Travel time | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DG | Weekdays: Hietzing - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Donaukanal - Gürtel - Meidling-Hauptstraße only in this direction Sundays and public holidays: Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Donaukanal - Gürtel - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Hütteldorf-Hacking only in this direction |
Workdays: 21 Sundays and public holidays: 31 |
Weekdays: 47 minutes. Sundays and public holidays: 67 minutes |
22nd |
| GD | Workdays: Meidling-Hauptstraße - Gürtel - Donaukanal - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Hietzing only in this direction. Sundays and public holidays: Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Gürtel - Donaukanal - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Hütteldorf-Hacking only in this direction |
Workdays: 21 Sundays and public holidays: 31 |
Weekdays: 47 minutes. Sundays and public holidays: 67 minutes |
|
| WD | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstrasse - Danube Canal - Heiligenstadt | 18th | 40 minutes | 20th |
| 18G | In the light rail network: Heiligenstadt - Gumpendorfer Straße junction In the tram network: Gumpendorfer Straße junction - Süd- and Ostbahnhof |
In the light rail network: 7 In the tram network: 9 |
35 minutes | 11 |
The designations of the DG and GD lines, which change depending on the direction of travel, were used primarily to avoid irritations in the stations of the Upper Wiental Line. From there, the trains on these two ring lines left the inner city platforms both in the direction of the belt and in the direction of the Danube Canal. With the help of the first letter, the passengers could see which of the two mentioned route sections the respective train reached first. Apart from that, the line letter D had been occupied by the tram line to Nussdorf since 1907 .
Lines DG and GD were operated jointly on weekdays, that is, in Meidling-Hauptstrasse a train on line DG became one on line GD, while it was exactly the other way around in Hietzing. If both lines were run to Hütteldorf-Hacking on busy Sundays and public holidays, there was only one line operation. The four tram lines from now on each operated at a fixed eight-minute cycle. The overlay resulted in an interval of only four minutes on large parts of the network, and on the Upper Wientallinie there was even a two-two-four-minute cycle.
- February 14, 1926
Due to the great success of the reactivated tram, a fifth line had to be introduced as early as February 14, 1926. This was line G between Hütteldorf-Hacking and Heiligenstadt on a direct route via the Gürtel, that is, analogous to the provisional WG line from the opening year 1925. The new line G initially only operated on excursions on Sundays and public holidays, which means on the For the first time, a clean two-minute cycle could be offered to Oberen Wientallinie. In return, line 18G had to be closed in the afternoons on these days due to the otherwise too high load on the belt. Only after the signaling system of the belt line was also rebuilt to a minimum train sequence of one and a half minutes could line 18G run again on all weekdays from October 3, 1926.
From July 5, 1927, the new line G also ran on weekdays during rush hour, with line 18G only going to the Alser Straße station and then to the depot during these times, due to a lack of capacity in the Heiligenstadt loop and also due to lack of capacity Michelbeuern switched to the tram network in order to finally turn back at Severingasse. For this purpose, a third link between the light rail and tram network was created in 1927 at the confluence of Schumanngasse with Währinger Gürtel. As a result, the light rail, as it did initially on the Upper Wientallinie, also ran between the Gumpendorfer Strasse junction and the Michelbeuern depot at two-two-four-minute intervals. Additional wagons were re-ordered for line G in August 1926; these went into operation between June and September 1927 and required the establishment of the third depot in Michelbeuern.
- 1945
As the first light rail connection after the Second World War, the WD line went back into operation on May 27, 1945. However, it only operated in island mode and was affected by the electricity quota at the time, which is why the trains only ran until 7.30 p.m. The sweeping tracks of the Meidling-Hauptstrasse station served as a temporary depot. The unusable wagons were pushed onto the main track in the direction of Braunschweiggasse. The first extension of the WD line to Hütteldorf-Hacking on Sunday, June 24, 1945 could only take place thanks to the courtesy of the electricity company, because that day there was a football game on Rapidplatz in Hütteldorf . It was not until June 27, 1945 that regular operations began on the Upper Wientallinie.
From July 18, 1945, the DG and GD ring lines returned, and from July 30, 1945 they were finally able to operate their entire route again.
- February 21, 1947
From February 21, 1947, the amplifier line G ran again, which had to go to the Friedensbrücke in the north instead of Heiligenstadt. For the first time, there was a four-minute cycle on the connecting arch. Operationally, a double line was created together with the WD line, with the trains changing clockwise from G to WD at the Nussdorfer Straße station , while the counterclockwise trains changed from WD to G at the Friedensbrücke. This link did not cease to exist until the two routes to Heiligenstadt were put back into operation in 1954.
- May 1976
The start of the “extended trial run of the underground with passengers” on the Heiligenstadt – Friedensbrücke section led to an extensive change in the light rail network. On Friday, May 7, 1976, the traditional WD line ran for the last time in the morning to Heiligenstadt, before it was replaced in the morning by two more ring lines with the line letters GW clockwise and WG counterclockwise. For the two new lines GW and WG with their nine-car trains, certain platforms on the belt line had to be extended; previously, a maximum of eight-car trains were possible there. At the same time, on the morning of May 7, 1976, for the first time in the history of the Stadtbahn, a replacement bus service with buses between Nussdorfer Strasse and Heiligenstadt (with signal G) and between Friedensbrücke and Heiligenstadt (with signal WD) began operations.
On Saturday, May 8th, 1976 - together with the U-Bahn - line G went into operation again, from now on it only commuted between Heiligenstadt and Währinger Straße. From there, the three-car trains used on this connection drove without passengers to the Michelbeuern depot to turn around. For this short tour of Line G, Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe used a crossed line signal , although there was no regular Line G at the time. In Heiligenstadt there was a blunt turn and again left-hand traffic. Thus, from May 8, 1976, the following light rail network was created:
| signal | route |
|---|---|
| DG | Hietzing - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Wiental - Donaukanal - Gürtel - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Hietzing - Hütteldorf-Hacking (only in this direction) |
| GD | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Hietzing - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Gürtel - Danube Canal - Wiental - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Hietzing (only in this direction) |
| GW | Meidling-Hauptstraße - Gürtel - Danube Canal - Wiental - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Hietzing - Hütteldorf-Hacking (only in this direction) |
| Flat share | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Hietzing - Meidling-Hauptstraße - Wiental - Danube Canal - Gürtel - Meidling-Hauptstraße (only in this direction) |
| G/ | Heiligenstadt - Währinger Strasse |
The canceled line G only ran until 8:00 p.m., so Heiligenstadt could only be reached in the evening with a detour and change via Friedensbrücke when coming from the Gürtel. The lines DG and GD took over as a result of the line change from 7./8. May 1976, instead of the shortened line G, the Meidling-Hauptstraße – Hütteldorf-Hacking section was strengthened during rush hour. This routing did not prove itself, because the GW and WG lines took over this task on Monday, May 31, 1976.
- April 1978
In connection with the commissioning of the second subway section between Friedensbrücke and Schottenring on April 3, 1978, the next extensive line change in the light rail network took place. As early as April 1, the DG, GD, GW and WG ring lines and the canceled line G were no longer available. Instead, the regular line G and - after an interruption of more than 52 years - a line W again operated.
From May 12, 1978 the line signal GD, now as a pendulum line, finally returned. Before that, on the one hand, a new iron ramp had to be built between the subway tracks at the Friedensbrücke and, on the other hand, the former subway test platform in the Friedensbrücke station had to be adapted as a butt track for the light rail following the new ramp. The connecting tracks there between the light rail and the subway were retained for work trains and were still spanned with a catenary. This resulted in the following route network:
| signal | Tact | route |
|---|---|---|
| G | every ten minutes | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstrasse - Gürtel - Heiligenstadt |
| GD | every ten minutes | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstrasse - Gürtel - Friedensbrücke |
| W. | every five minutes | Hütteldorf-Hacking - Meidling-Hauptstrasse - Schottenring |
The change between the light rail and the underground in the temporary Schottenring station was made via a wooden platform that lay over the unused tracks of the U2 and formed an incline due to the difference in height between the platforms.
- August 1978
In the third expansion stage of the U4, the Schottenring – Karlsplatz section went into operation on August 15, 1978, so from August 12, 1978, the W line only ran between Hütteldorf-Hacking and Karlsplatz. The changeover between light rail and subway was shifted to the temporarily adapted Karlsplatz station. A central platform was available there, which was designed with steps over the entire length because of the difference in level. During rush hour, chaotic scenes often took place there due to the limited space available.
From July 2, 1979, line G only ran between Heiligenstadt and Meidling-Hauptstrasse, while in return, line GD ran to Hietzing during rush hour.
On August 8, 1978, the light rail travels over the Zollamtsbrücke under overhead contact, and the busbars with yellow plastic covers are ready for the U-Bahn to start operating a week later
The tram and subway network valid from August 15, 1978
Connection situation at Karlsplatz station, December 1979: on the left an N 1 / n 2 train on line W to Hütteldorf-Hacking, on the right a type U train on the U4 to Heiligenstadt. The platform height is provisionally adjusted.
- October 1980
From October 26, 1980 the U4 ran beyond Karlsplatz to Meidling-Hauptstrasse, in return, the W line was shortened by the corresponding section from October 24, 1980. With the simultaneous shortening of lines G and GD to the Heiligenstadt – Meidling-Hauptstrasse and Friedensbrücke – Meidling-Hauptstrasse sections, the planned link between the belt line and the Upper Wiental line was no longer available after 82 years. In Meidling-Hauptstraße all light rail and underground traffic was temporarily broken .
- August 1981
From Monday, August 31, 1981, the U4 also began operating between Meidling-Hauptstrasse and Hietzing, while the remaining section of the W light rail line between Hietzing and Hütteldorf-Hacking was already served by buses in the rail replacement service from Friday, August 28, 1981 . These were already signposted as U4 and ran until the extension of the underground service to Hütteldorf-Hacking on December 20, 1981.
The belt line and the connecting arch were the last remaining light rail lines. Lines G between Meidling-Hauptstrasse and Heiligenstadt and GD between Meidling-Hauptstrasse and Friedensbrücke last operated on this trunk network, with only G being described in the southern direction.
Infrastructure
Catenary system
An overhead line with cross yokes and multiple or chain suspensions based on the long-distance railway model was used. This was automatically tightened with weights about every kilometer , so that the suspension wires of the contact wires were crooked in the end positions. This more complex long-distance overhead line was necessary in order to ensure a constant height of the contact wire even in the case of higher speeds. This was therefore a preliminary construction work for the later use of faster vehicles. The insulation of the entire contact line system was also designed for a higher operating voltage of 1500 volts, and the porcelain insulators used throughout could even have cope with 2000 volts. The only exceptions to this were the terminus Hütteldorf-Hacking and Heiligenstadt. Under the direction of the tram administration, they only received an ordinary overhead tram line with only one contact wire and triple insulation.
A total of 120,400 meters of contact wire , 2,000 meters of feed line , 37,400 meters of suspension cable , 900 catenary masts , 530 iron cross yokes, 300 iron brackets and 100 weight tensioning devices were installed. The distance between the yokes was 50 to 55 meters on the open stretch and 20 to 28 meters in the tunnel, the jibs were partly single and partly double.
The contact wire lay at least 4.80 meters above the top of the rails on the open stretches and at least 4.35 meters on the covered stretches . Spängler gives the standard height of 4.9 or 4.4 meters. The double grooved contact wires made of cadmium copper with a spacing of 150 millimeters had a cross section of 65 square millimeters, while the suspension cable made of the same material had a cross section of 70 square millimeters. The overhead line zigzag was ± 400 millimeters. The total cross-section of the line including the support cable was thus 200 square millimeters per direction track. The cadmium copper used with a cadmium content of 0.2 to 0.5 percent was considered to be a much stronger and tougher material than pure electrolytic copper , with only slightly lower conductivity compared to pure copper. The suspension wires, on the other hand, consisted partly of thin copper ropes or wires and partly of steel wires.
Before the overhead line was installed, extensive reinforcement work was required on the masonry of the tram arches , due to the fact that the structures were often no longer in perfect condition at the time. Among other things, moisture penetrated the vaults in many places, which first had to be costly refurbished and drained. On the elevated railway lines, lattice or buckle masts, constructed as light as possible, were used, which were clipped to the pillars. In the cuttings and on the off-road sections, however, with the exception of the anchoring and more heavily stressed masts, old rails were almost always used as masts or main girders. In the tunnel sections, the transverse yokes or brackets were attached directly to the wall brackets on the tunnel walls.
The catenary system was interrupted at the feed points and the mast disconnectors by section isolators. Three of the mast disconnectors could be electrically operated remotely, while the others were manually operated. Each section delimited by section insulators was secured by a lightning protection system .
In order to ensure a good return current , the rail joints had to be adjusted accordingly in the course of the electrification . Unless they were aluminothermally welded , they were bridged by copper cables with a cross-section of 100 square millimeters and ending in copper bolts. The latter were carefully pressed into the rail web bores with hand presses . At that time, copper track connectors were attached at intervals of 200 meters, which electrically connected the two main tracks .
Power supply
Substations and power plants
New rectifier systems were necessary for the power supply of the electric light rail , because the municipal power plants at that time only supplied three-phase current with a voltage of 5000 volts into the network, while the existing substations only supplied direct current for lighting purposes, i.e. two times 220 volts, as well as direct current for the Tram, that is, 600 volts, generated. In contrast, the new means of transport required direct current with a voltage of 750 volts. Although the substations could have been converted accordingly, they were not conveniently located for the light rail network. In order to avoid high renovation costs and expensive cable routes, the municipality of Vienna decided to build new converter systems. For economic reasons, it made sense to bring the three-phase current of five kilovolts supplied by the power plants as close as possible to the points of consumption and to convert this into direct current in the immediate vicinity of the tram routes. According to the expected distribution of loads on the individual tram routes, the decision was made to use the following four locations, with the Sechshaus substation being able to ensure the entire supply of the electric tram in exceptional cases:
| Surname | Location of the direct feeding points | Location of the substation | builder | power | Dining area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under St. Vitus | 2.200 kilometers of the Upper Wientallinie | Hietzinger Kai 105 | Austrian Brown, Boveri Works | 2 × 680 kW | From Hütteldorf-Hacking train station to kilometer 3.096 of the Upper Wiental line |
| Six house | 5.126 kilometers of the Upper Wientallinie and 5.500 kilometers of the Lower Wientallinie | at the Hollergasse / Rauchfangkehrergasse intersection | Austrian Siemens-Schuckertwerke | 3 × 725 kW | from kilometer 3.096 of the Upper Wientallinie to kilometer 2.790 of the belt line or to kilometer 7.466 of the lower Wientallinie |
| Main customs office | 10.731 kilometers of the Lower Wientallinie | in the basement of the wholesale market hall | Austrian Brown, Boveri Works | 2 × 680 kW | from kilometer 7.466 of the Lower Wiental line to kilometer 13.960 of the Danube Canal line |
| Thury | 5.527 kilometers of the belt line or 6.600 kilometers of the connecting arc | Inner Währinger Gürtel , opposite house 114 | AEG | 3 × 700 kW | from kilometer 2,790 of the belt line to Heiligenstadt train station or to kilometer 13,960 of the Danube Canal line |
After the positive experience with the mercury vapor rectifier system built for the Mauer - Mödling tram route in Rodaun , the municipality of Vienna also decided to use this technology for the electric light rail. A total of ten such rectifiers were installed, which were designed for a total of 6,995 kilowatts of power. Right from the start, the substations were intended to be expanded to 10,480 kilowatts without the need for new buildings. All four systems were connected by at least two three-phase high-voltage cables to the systems of the city's electricity works, so that the supply of the light rail was guaranteed even in the event of disruptions in individual main companies of the municipal power supply. For this alone, the electricity company laid 25.36 kilometers of new cables, which were manufactured by the Austrian Siemens-Schuckertwerke, Felten & Guilleaume AG and Kabelfabrik- und Drahtindustrie AG.
From the Sechshaus and Thury systems, three each and from the Unter St. Veit and Hauptzollamt systems, two feed lines each led to the contact wires as iron-band armored direct current lead cables . The simple length of the ten feeders was one and a half kilometers. Waagner-Biro AG had to build an iron cable bridge over the Wien River to shorten the route for the somewhat longer line from the Sechshaus substation to the 5,500 kilometer of the Untere Wientallinie . By 1929, the number of dining points was increased from ten to seventeen.
The four dividing points between the individual dining areas were originally arranged as follows:
- on the Upper Wientallinie: between the Braunschweiggasse and Hietzing stations
- on the Untere Wientallinie: between the stations Margaretengürtel and Pilgramgasse
- on the belt line: between the stations Burggasse and Josefstädter Straße
- on the Danube Canal line or the connecting arch: north of the Brigittabrücke / Friedensbrücke station, in the branching area of the two routes
In the literature it is occasionally claimed that the electrification of the Stadtbahn led to a significant increase in energy demand for the Austrian capital and that a 110-kilovolt high-voltage line between the Opponitz hydropower plant in Lower Austria and the City of Vienna started operations. A second new long-distance line from 1925, coming from the Gaming water power plant , was also integrated into the first-mentioned line from the transformer station in Gresten . The interconnector between Gresten and Vienna is the first Austrian 110 kilovolt overhead line . The reason for their establishment seems inaccurate and only seems to have been asserted decades after the electrification of the Vienna Stadtbahn, since the publications of 1925 on the electrification of the Stadtbahn expressly state that the implementation of special measures for the electrification of the Vienna Stadtbahn in the power stations " superfluous ”.
Similar to the overhead line itself, some of the substations were already prepared for later full-line operation. For example, the low-voltage winding of the rectifier transformers was arranged in such a way that the rectifier voltage could be changed from 750 volts to 1500 volts by means of a switch that was easily carried out under the cover. The converter systems could have continued to be used without any major changes.
Converter car
A special feature of the electric light rail was the four-axle converter car . These mobile substations were introduced on the occasion of the electrification of the tram, but were also used in the tram network from 1935. You should ensure the power supply during special operations and if a stationary rectifier or a supply cable fails.
For this purpose, connections to the 5000-volt three-phase current distribution network from 1901 were originally available at six points in the light rail network. Since such high voltages were not permitted in buildings that did not belong to the power plants , a breakthrough had to be created in the rear walls of the depots in Heiligenstadt and Hütteldorf-Hacking for a track that led to the outdoor power connection for the converter cars. At the other four installation locations, these were Meidling-Hauptstrasse, Hauptzollamt, Brigittabrücke / Friedensbrücke and Michelbeuern, a separate track connection was available as a siding for this purpose . In the end, only the connection in Michelbeuern existed in the light rail network, the other five were closed between 1961 and 1968.
The electrical connections to the converter wagons were housed in small brick buildings, the so-called “tower houses” at the time. The high-voltage cable to which the mobile converter could be safely connected ended in this. The 5000/500 volt transformers , each with an output of 20 kilo volt-amperes, for the lightning system of the light rail were installed in the houses.
Security systems
Signal boxes
With the end of steam light rail traffic, the originally existing safety systems were also dismantled and removed. For the electric light rail, the signal boxes and signaling systems had to meet conditions that could not be achieved with the old design. In particular, the many block posts occupied by a block attendant represented a considerable amount of personnel that could no longer be paid.
In the course of electrification, the old mechanical interlockings were replaced by electromechanical interlockings supplied by Siemens & Halske with an automatic section block , which also had electrical locks and automatic signaling . They corresponded to a design by Siemens Berlin and thus to those modern power control stations that, with a few changes, were built until the 1970s. A total of seven signal boxes had to be built or rebuilt in 1924 and 1927, whereby all the new systems were designed as so-called central signal boxes, i.e. they each covered the entire station:
| Hietzing: | new signal box for the new turning system, four points |
| Meidling main street: | new signal box in the old building, eleven points |
| Brigitta Bridge: | new signal box in the old building, six points |
| Heiligenstadt: | new signal box, two points |
| Gumpendorfer Straße junction: | new signal box to secure the new transition to the tram network, two points |
| Michelbeuern: | new signal box in a new building, eight points |
| Junction Nußdorfer Straße: | new signal box in the old building, two points |
In the area of the Heiligenstadt train station and for the most part in the area of the Hütteldorf-Hacking train station, the Stadtbahn operated - in contrast to its other standard - according to the regulations for tram operation, i.e. on sight instead of signal-covered. The first self-block signal was only given at the exit. Likewise, the points in the two end stations were manually set and not secured. This meant that only a small signal box was required in Heiligenstadt and no signal box at all in Hütteldorf-Hacking. In Michelbeuern, on the other hand, only the switches in the area of the continuous tracks were secured, in the rest of the station area, however, tram principles were also used.
Travel locks
In addition, 1925, in the form of traction lock a punctiform train control acting mechanical introduced to prevent overtravel of stop signals. The route stops were set up in particularly dangerous places on the left side of the track at the level of the respective main signal , in line with the left-hand traffic . The drives for the section stops corresponded to the typical design from Siemens & Halske with a holding magnet integrated into the motor, which was then used on many urban rapid transit systems. Initially, only entry and block signals that covered points were equipped with route stops.
The auto-block system worked with an automatic track vacancy detection through track circuits . The two runways were isolated from each other. At the end of each track section created in this way, an alternating voltage was fed in. At the end of the track section in the direction of travel, this AC voltage was tapped, stepped up and fed to a motor relay . If the track section covered by such a signal was free of vehicles, the alternating voltage flowed unhindered to the motor relay. The wheel sets of a vehicle in the block section brought the track relay to waste due to the axle shunt.
A system commissioned in 1913 for a stretch of the Hamburger Hochbahn served as a concrete model for the Viennese electric light rail . At the same time as Vienna, such systems were built on the Berlin subway and the Athens suburban railway.
Block places
In order to be able to offer shorter train distances in comparison to the steam light rail, the block distances also had to be reduced significantly in some cases. For this, the number of block positions that no longer had to be occupied was increased significantly. Basically there were block signals at every end of the platform and so far in front of every stop that the next train could approach without endangering the priority waiting in the station. If there were larger distances between stops, there were further intermediate block locations. With the measures mentioned, the headway times could be reduced accordingly:
| Steam light rail | electric light rail | |
|---|---|---|
| Signaling minimum sequence of moves: | two and a half minutes | one and a half minutes |
| Scheduled minimum train sequence: | three minutes | two minutes |
The so-called log cabins from the time of steam operation were preserved until the lines were converted to underground operation and were used as storage rooms after 1925.
Light signals
Due to the advances made in lighting and electrical engineering since the turn of the century, the electric light rail from 1925 only used light signals on sections above ground . They replaced the previous form signals of the steam light rail and were implemented on the underground sections as tunnel signals with small light point openings with Fresnel lenses without barriers , in the area of incisions and elevated railway lines as so-called daylight signals .
With the new signals, the light points for stopping and driving notices were equipped with double-filament lamps for protection against failure. Since they were reluctant to build contacts into the red circuit, which was considered particularly important, the red lamp was not switched off in the exemption, but shorted . With green for travel and yellow for caution, the signal terms that were only used on the other railways in Austria from 1934 onwards were applied on the Vienna Electric Light Rail. The three so-called transition signals in the entrance areas of the Heiligenstadt and Hütteldorf-Hacking stations as well as at the Gumpendorfer Strasse junction at the transition to the tram network were special. They only showed a blue light and each marked the change from signal-covered operation to driving on sight.
Tunnel and station lighting
The underground portions of the rail received in the course of electrification, an electrical emergency lighting , which to the municipal 220-volt power line was connected. It was based on watertight porcelain fittings with metal wire lamps with a luminosity of 32 Hefner candles , which were attached alternately at a distance of 15 meters. This lighting was switched on either as required with the help of the toggle switches mounted at intervals of around 100 meters or automatically when there was no traction power .
The tram stations themselves received electrical lighting systems in 1925, which were also completely fed by the city's 220-volt lighting network. The stations at Heiligenstadt, Hütteldorf-Hacking and Michelbeuern were connected to the three-phase network, while all other stations were connected to the direct current network. In the event of malfunctions in the three-phase network, part of the lighting systems at the three stations mentioned could also be switched to the direct current network. Lamps with an output of 40 to 75 watts were used for the platform lighting, while those with 100 watts were used in the car halls.
Another innovation concerned the old mechanical train destination indicators in the stations. In their place were glass panes with fluorescent tubes behind them on the electric light rail - with the current destination lit up in negative letters, while the other destination remained dark.
Telephone systems
For internal communication, the employees of the electric light rail had their own telephone networks , some of which were based on the old telephone and signal cables of the steam light rail :
- for telephone traffic between the stations and with the tram management building in Favoritenstrasse 9
- to secure the power supply between the rectifier systems and the management buildings of the electricity works and the tram
Another block telephone system, completely separate from the company telephone, ensured communication between the signal boxes and with the Hütteldorf-Hacking station and the signal workshop at Meidling-Hauptstrasse station.
Operational stations and main workshops
The new electric light rail vehicles were initially housed exclusively in the Hütteldorf-Hacking depot , before a second was available from October 20, 1925, the Heiligenstadt depot. In both cases , only wooden buildings could be built due to the unsuitable subsoil, which was only artificially raised embankments . Due to the great success of the new means of transport and the additional wagons ordered for the G line, which was subsequently introduced in 1926, these two systems were soon no longer sufficient. Therefore, by July 5, 1927, the municipality of Vienna converted the previous Michelbeuern freight station into a third depot for the electric light rail.
The Heiligenstadt depot remained closed from 1945 due to war damage, and the area then served as an open-air parking facility from 1954. As a result of the conversion of the Oberen Wientallinie to underground operation, from 1980 only the Michelbeuern depot was available to the Stadtbahn.
The main workshop responsible for the electric light rail was originally the main workshop of the tram in Rudolfsheim , which was attached to the local depot . Only in 1974 this was replaced by the main workshop in Simmering . The first and third generation of electric light rail vehicles were able to reach the respective main workshop under their own power, only the second had to be towed there and back from there, partly due to the lack of direction indicators .
A temporary peculiarity was the parking of surplus light rail sidecars in the Wasserleitungswiese underground railway station. This was practiced, for example, in the summer of 1977, for which the vehicles concerned had to be towed there with a diesel locomotive from the subway due to the lack of overhead lines.
Hütteldorf-Hacking depot
Heiligenstadt depot
Michelbeuern depot, on the left the old station building of the freight depot opened in 1898
Light rail car in the main workshop in Rudolfsheim, 1971
Light rail car in the main workshop in Simmering, 1979
vehicles
First generation (1925–1968)
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The initial equipment of the Wiener Elektrische Stadtbahn was the 180 type N multiple units, plus 150 structurally identical type n sidecars and 120 slightly lighter type n 1 sidecars . The total of 450 wagons were produced - especially for electric light rail operations - in the years 1924 to 1927 by the Simmeringer Waggonfabrik , the Grazer Waggonfabrik , the Enzesfeld wagon factory and the Lohner-Werke . The electrical equipment was supplied by AEG and the Austrian Siemens-Schuckertwerke.
In terms of design, it was a classic two-axle tram car with a wooden structure, which had some modern design features. These included, in particular, the multiple controls, the multi - release Kunze-Knorr compressed air brake typical of the railways, pantographs, heavy running frames for the maximum permitted speed of 40 km / h, mechanical travel locks with side release levers and automatic roof light switches. When entering tunnels, which generally had a lower contact wire height, the latter were pushed down by the lowered pantograph to switch on the car lights. This switched on the car lights until the train reached daylight again. In total, a nine-car train of the first generation could carry up to 856 people, 216 of them seated:
- 24 seated and 60 standing in the leading railcar
- 48 seated and 130 standing in the two guided railcars
- 144 seated and 450 standing in the six sidecars
From 1925, the first generation cars were only used on the tram itself and on the transition line 18G, and it was not until October 4, 1926 that they could also be found in pure tram traffic. From the opening of line 18G, some of the cars were also located outside of the light rail stations . The heavy n-sidecars did not prove themselves in tram operation, so their last day of use in the tram network was April 19, 1926. In the light rail network, the vehicles of the first generation had their last day of use on April 3, 1961, the last day of operation in the tram network was the 14th. June 1968.
Second generation (1954–1983)
After the war damage to the infrastructure had been repaired, the focus was on replacing the wagons that had been completely destroyed in the war and replacing the remaining stock of vehicles. For economic reasons, usable parts of the old wagons were reused. In addition to the wheelsets , this primarily affected the electrical equipment, i.e. traction motors, pantographs, travel switches, compressed air systems, parts of the braking system, the lobes , the windows and various small parts. The maximum possible speed was thus limited to 40 km / h.
Between 1954 and 1962 a total of 130 type N 1 railcars and 200 similar type n 2 trailer cars were rebuilt, i.e. 50 old railcars and 70 old trailer cars were completely destroyed in the war or were used for other purposes from now on. The second generation of electric light rail vehicles was completely manufactured by Simmering-Graz-Pauker (SGP) and was in use between July 12, 1954 and July 1, 1983, but was no longer used in the tram network. In addition, because of their automatic couplings, the new cars were not compatible with the first generation vehicles.
Apart from the electrical equipment and the missing train destination displays, the sidecars were identical to the railcars.
Third generation (1980–1989)
The last procured for the light rail vehicles were finally the 48 six-axle articulated railcars of type E 6 with the numbers 4901 to 4948, including 46 matching Gelenkbeiwagen of type c 6 existed with the numbers 1901 to 1946. The cars, known colloquially as Emil 6 , were built between 1979 and 1990, with the last batch of three railcars and seven sidecars not being delivered until the U6 opened.
The E 6 / c 6 were used as scheduled on the G and GD lines from November 29, 1980 and were based on the so-called Mannheim type , which was also available in the form of the E 2 and c 5 types for the Vienna tram network and as the 100 series for the Wiener Lokalbahnen (WLB). In contrast to their direct predecessors, with which they were not compatible, the E 6 / c 6 were again suitable for the transition to the tram network. Regular use was made of this, however, only for transfers to and from the main workshop.
The E 6 / c 6 trains were withdrawn from the stock until 2008, which means that they were in operation for 19 more years after the belt line had been switched to underground service.
Painting
The first light rail cars were delivered in the classic Viennese tram paint scheme, red with white ribbon windows, corresponding to the colors of the Vienna coat of arms . However, due to the lack of electrodynamic brakes , the abrasion of the gray cast iron brake blocks produced small amounts of brake dust with every braking . This could not evaporate because most of the light rail travels in the cut or in the tunnel. Instead, he leaned against the car, and when it rained, the resulting rust combined with the paint and the paint became unsightly over time.
Between April 1929 and 1934/1935 the N, n and n 1 cars were therefore painted red by the main workshop, which meant that the rusty dirt was no longer so noticeable. The completely red color scheme was applied to some trams in 1929, but they soon returned to the common red and white. The measure was only partially successful with the light rail, especially in the 1950s cars were in operation, the exterior of which had been turned into a dirty gray-brown by the brake dust. In spite of this, the municipality of Vienna kept the red paint scheme on the second generation of cars, and over the years it has become a trademark of the electric light rail.
Only the third generation of vehicles was painted red and white again in the classic Viennese city and tram colors. The combination of low-wear electrodynamic and disc brakes , supplemented by magnetic rail brakes as a friction-independent hazard brake , eliminated the problem of gray cast iron brake dust that is difficult to remove.
Railway service vehicles
The municipality of Vienna had to provide some service vehicles especially for the electric light rail . These included a petrol tower car built by Warchalowski in 1926 with the number TU 6121, which could also be used in the tram network and was paid for on December 20, 1979. It was mostly used with the 7107 steam tramway sidecar with a work platform. Later at Gräf & Stift, the slightly more modern TU1 6122 tower car, which was commissioned on October 5, 1955, had a diesel generator and was in use until July 15, 1999, was developed from the N-railcar 2854.
Other special vehicles were three type fd bicycle trolleys with the numbers 7291–7293 that were manufactured in the main workshop in 1935 and weighed 65 kilograms . They were used by the route keepers to check and maintain the safety systems on the viaduct and tunnel routes, which are difficult to reach from the road, especially during the nightly breaks and were in existence until 1966 and 1976 respectively. 1963 and 1969, they were vast two 100 kg petrol Handcars complements Type BD with the numbers 6119 and 6120, by the local STABEG Apparatebau GmbH originated and to 1987 and 1995 respectively were in operation.
The Viennese transport company did not begin clearing snow on the light rail until the early 1960s, the main motive for this was repeated snow drifts on the outer Viennese line. Initially, a snow plow that could be adjusted with compressed air and mounted on a railcar was available. This method did not work, however, because the plow had too great a deflection on the platforms and in the turning loops. Only a second attempt, in which the existing snow plow was attached to a narrow rail transport car, brought the desired success.
In 1968, based on earlier light rail vehicles, four NH type auxiliary vehicles with the numbers 6351–6354 were built, two of which were mutated from 1972 as a result of the underground railway operations to the UNH type with the numbers 6921 and 6922.
When Museumstramway Mariazell-Erlaufsee preserved railcar TU 6121, 2014
The TU1 6122 tower car, also preserved in a museum, 2011
Rail bike 7291
Gasoline Draisine 6120
UNH auxiliary power car 6921 with two ballast cars
Work train based on the second generation of vehicles in Heiligenstadt, 1989
Tower sidecar 7710
Train formation
Lengths
The changing passenger frequency made it necessary to change the composition of the train several times a day. Due to the well thought-out concept, the light rail trains could be increased or reduced very quickly and easily according to the respective needs. Operation began in 1925 with three-, five-, six- and seven-car trains, with a maximum of three railcars per train unit. Since 1927 there have also been eight-car trains, occasionally nine-car trains as early as 1929, but they did not run as scheduled until 1955. The first four-car trains ran in 1938 on the occasion of the test drives for the introduction of the Scharfenberg coupling.
From 1967 onwards, economy measures in the company led to a deterioration in the available space. During the day line G was only run with three, the round lines DG and GD only with four and the line WD with only five, which led to overcrowding in sections. The nine-car trains returned later; they were last used on the W line on July 4, 1981. After that, six-car trains were sufficient on all lines.
The articulated car trains introduced in 1980 consisted of a maximum of five units, but soon after their introduction, four-car trains were sufficient. Alternatively, only short three-car trains were used on school-free days.
Over the years, the trains used on the light rail routes have reached the following maximum lengths:
| Steam light rail train with a locomotive and ten light rail cars | 111.3 meters |
| Nine-car train consisting of N / n / n 1 vehicles | 104.4 meters |
| Nine-car train consisting of type N 1 / n 2 vehicles | 107.1 meters |
| Six-car train of type U vehicles | 110.4 meters |
| Five-car train made up of E 6 / c 6 vehicles | 98.5 meters |
| Four-car train consisting of type T vehicles | 109.2 meters |
| Four-car train made up of type T 1 vehicles | 107.2 meters |
| Type V / v six-car train | 111.2 meters |
Train composition
Until the Second World War, trains that ran between Hütteldorf-Hacking and Heiligenstadt often had a sidecar at the end of the train because of the loops there. It was not until 1945 that there were always railcars at the ends of the train. Otherwise, the railcars should only be distributed as evenly as possible in the train set, but there were also different compositions on special occasions. For example, when the Lower Wiental Line was put back into operation on September 7, 1925, the sequence of railcar-railcar-sidecar-sidecar-sidecar-sidecar-railcar and on April 25, 1926 the sequence of railcar-sidecar-sidecar-sidecar-railcar-sidecar . In 1963, as an exception, eight-car trains with four railcars were put into service, and solo railcars could also be observed on special occasions.
In the third generation of articulated cars, the five-car trains ran in the series of railcars - sidecars - railcars - sidecars - railcars, the four-car trains in the series of railcars - sidecars - sidecars - railcars, due to a lack of sidecars sometimes also in the series of railcars - railcars - sidecars - Railcar.
Couplings
In the beginning, the electric light rail trains were equipped with trumpet couplings, in which after a while the buffer plates were mounted with the handle pointing downwards in order not to damage the air hoses. Because the manual coupling process proved to be cumbersome and time-consuming with frequent strengths and weaknesses of the trains over the course of a day, and was also dangerous for the staff, the introduction of automatic couplings was investigated at an early stage . From 1927 onwards, the Swiss + GF + coupling , as well as the Van Doorn and the American Tomlinson coupling , were tested on five, six and seven -car trains. Between June 28, 1928 and 1939, cars with the Kneitschel coupling drove and for around eleven years, from January 10, 1929 to mid-1940, cars with Scharfenberg couplings were in use. The latter corresponded best to the operational requirements, so from 1930 to 1933 up to five trains were equipped with it at the same time. These had a length of four, five or seven cars and could not be reinforced by coupling further cars at this time. That is why they were always used in separate circuits. For financial reasons, however, there was no general conversion to automatic clutches before the Second World War. Only the second generation of vehicles procured from 1954 onwards received Scharfenberg couplings, the third and last generation also had them.
Vehicle signage
Train route signs
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Due to the frontal cable connections for the multiple control, the first generation of electric light rail vehicles could not use the chest wall panels under the windshield traditionally used on Viennese trams . Alternatively, the first light rail cars were given classic train route signs like those on the railroad. These were located on the left side of the leading car, to the left of the first entry door and on the last car, to the right of the last entry door. The destination was given in large letters and the route below it in small letters, for example Heiligenstadt over the belt line . However, the boards did not prove themselves and disappeared soon after the electrification of the light rail. They were only used in the light rail vehicles used in the tram network until they were decommissioned in 1968.
In addition, the rail cars possessed a so-called Innenbesteckung , this was in each case over the inner door between the platform and the passenger compartment, a route table with the start and finish of the train mounted.
Train number boards
The so-called train number boards on the leading railcar, which made operational identification easier, were characteristic of the scheduled electric light rail trains. These were rectangular boards analogous to the train route signs, on which the respective train number was noted in black letters on a white background. In the first generation of vehicles, they were initially installed under the central window pillar. After the train route signs were no longer available, the train number boards finally took their place, i.e. to the left of the first entrance door. In the second generation of vehicles, they could be found behind the first door, while in the third generation of vehicles they were no longer there.
In contrast to the usual practice in rail traffic, the train number on the electric light rail system remained the same throughout the day, so it was de facto a course number known from the tram to differentiate between the various journeys of a day. They ranged from 1 to a maximum of 83 over the years and were partially coded. For example, the even or odd train number could at times tell whether the Hütteldorf-Hacking depot or the Heiligenstadt depot was providing the train in question. The different lines were each assigned their own number blocks. In 1954, for example, the trains on line WD were numbered 1 to 16, those on lines DG and GD with numbers 18 to 32, and those on line G with numbers 41 to 48.
Blue and crossed courses
As of April 19, 1926, as has been the case with the tram since the 19th century, the operator also referred separately to the last train before the night-time closing of operations - the so-called blue one . Because of the lack of chest wall panels, so-called crescent panels could not be used. Alternatively, on the second car in the front and on the penultimate car in the rear, a blue glass cover pane was pushed in front of the line signal lighting , which was not required in this case. However, this special marking was so difficult to recognize on the tram that the operator quickly reversed the measure. In contrast, apart from a brief interruption between 1939 and 1951, the blue signal on the tram could last until 1995.
From 1927, again analogous to the tram, the Stadtbahn used so-called deleted line signals for trains that did not reach their regular terminus. The line letters were crossed out with a diagonal bar. In the case of the Stadtbahn, it was primarily used to identify those trains that entered the Michelbeuern wagon hall, which was also opened in 1927.
Line identification colors
During their entire operating time, the electric light rail lines had individual identification colors on the route network maps, which changed as follows over the years:
| Line: | WD | 18G | G and G / | DG / GD | GW / WG | W. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| from October 20, 1925: | black | dashed black | - | red | - | - |
| from February 14, 1926: | black | dashed black | dashed red | red | - | - |
| from December 1, 1933: | red | green | dashed yellow | blue | - | - |
| from May 27, 1945: | red | - | - | - | - | - |
| from July 18, 1945: | red | - | - | blue | - | - |
| from February 21, 1947: | red | - | dashed red | blue | - | - |
| from September 18, 1954: | red | - | green | blue | - | - |
| from May 8, 1976: | - | - | green | black | red | - |
| from May 31, 1976: | - | - | brown | black | red | - |
| from February 25, 1978: | - | - | brown | brown | brown | - |
| from April 1, 1978: | - | - | brown | brown | - | brown |
| from August 29, 1981: | - | - | brown | brown | - | - |
When it opened on May 8, 1976, the new U4 line was initially given the color violet, although the color green was still used for the painted light rail line G at the time. The U4 is already marked in green on the network plans published on May 31, 1976 as part of the changes to the tram network, while the deleted line G was given the new color brown as a replacement. In 1978, the color differentiation for the Stadtbahn finally ended, not least to avoid a duplication of colors with the new U1 line. From then on, all light rail lines were uniformly marked in brown. At the same time, the new U1 took over the red color previously reserved for the GW and WG tram lines. With the conversion of the light rail lines G and GD to the U6 in 1989, this finally also adopted the code color brown. Occasionally, the stop signs of the light rail were designed in white letters on a brown background.
Parallel to the Vienna subway symbol, the white U on a blue background, the graphic designers also developed a special light rail logo in the late 1970s, consisting of a white S on a brown background. Analogous to the so-called subway cubes, there were also corresponding light rail cubes at the Thaliastraße station. In addition, the logo was used on destination signs on tram lines that ended at a light rail station.
Tariff and ticket systems
Opening tariff
In order to avoid an immediate overload of the reopened sections of the route and to give the population the opportunity to gradually get used to the new, fast means of transport, the electric light rail system initially had its own tariff of 30 groschen per trip from the commissioning on June 3, 1925 . This was half more than a tram ticket, which at that time only cost 20 groschen. These tickets only allowed a one-time change to the tram and led to an initial failure, because the light rail trains were initially poorly frequented on weekdays.
The ticket validation was carried out by punches which the boarding place and date impressed upon . Edmondson cardboard tickets were still issued for inland traffic on the light rail . The punching and stamping pliers did not prove to be particularly effective, and for a short time there were also attempts with a ticket stamp. For this type of validation, the tickets had to be made from thicker paper, which increased the costs.
Regular tariff
Only when the last sections of the route were reactivated on October 20, 1925, a standard tariff of 24 groschen for light rail and tram came into force - as was already planned in the initial plans for the municipalized light rail system - which was valid for journeys of any length within the city, including any changes . The average fare was around 18.2 groschen, paper tickets were issued.
With the uniform tariff, the frequency of the light rail began to increase by leaps and bounds on working days, although this varied greatly. While certain stations had a daily frequency of 30,000 to 40,000 people, others only had such a frequency of 3,000 to 4,000.
The fare increased to 28 groschen on October 4, 1927 and to 32 groschen on July 2, 1929, before a zone tariff came into effect on December 1, 1933 - as with the earlier steam light rail system. The five ring zones were also divided into sectors.
The successful joint tariff between tram and light rail, which in 1929 was also extended to the city bus routes by means of special interim tickets , required a further modification of the platform barriers soon after operations began. This was carried out first in the high stations and then also in all the lower stations and was intended to further accelerate the handling of passengers. For this purpose, the municipality of Vienna put date stamp presses into service, which were then comparatively modern. With their help, the tills in the more heavily frequented tram stations issued so-called self - printing tickets or self - printing cards from May 26, 1930 , which were produced on the spot by the ticket vendor. All information important for the onward journey, i.e. the place of departure, the date and the time of boarding, were already printed on these. The pre-sale and transfer tickets were marked at the tram barriers with a one-off perforation using conductor pliers with differently shaped marking pins , including square, triangle, cross, semicircle, bars and right angles, which made the entry point recognizable when the ticket was punched . The various types of pincers used by the gate guard enabled the passengers to be processed quickly because the conductor only had to tweak twice compared to three times on the tram.
The pre-printed tickets, in turn, were composted using stamping machines, i.e. they were canceled. Later, the tram conductor only had to mark the appropriate line. After a slight change in the ticket image, almost all stations were equipped in this way from February 20, 1940, with the exception of Unter St. Veit-Baumgarten, Braunschweiggasse, Hauptzollamt, Roßauer Lände and Gumpendorfer Straße.
Also, ticket machines were introduced shortly after the electrification after those already existed in the steam rail around the turn of the century. In 1928, new devices were being tested in the Heiligenstadt, Hütteldorf-Hacking and Meidling-Hauptstraße stations, one of which sold day tickets in packets of five each, while the others issued individual weekly tickets.
With the opening of the subway in 1976, the short-distance tariff, which had been known for the tram and the bus since 1933, was finally introduced on the light rail . Every second light rail station was defined as a fixed short-distance limit. From June 3, 1984, the light rail system was also integrated into the Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region (VOR), which began operations on that day.
Exchange traffic with the state railway
Following on from the transport links established by the steam light rail system in the direction of the Vienna Woods and the bathing beaches on the Danube, there was a tariff cooperation between the municipality of Vienna and the Austrian Federal Railways until 1948 , which was part of the agreement on the electrification of the light rail system. The details of this were set out in point 8 of the "Preliminary formulation of the conditions under which the Austrian Federal Railways can agree to the transfer of the Vienna light rail lines with the exception of the suburban line". The tills of the electric light rail were equipped with special ticket cabinets for Edmondsonian tickets, so-called Ternions , and sold - in addition to the light rail tickets - up to 36 types of Austrian Federal Railways tickets.
The so-called exchange traffic or transitional traffic on the part of the state railway initially extended to the sections Hütteldorf-Hacking - Neulengbach of the Westbahn and Heiligenstadt - Tulln of the Franz-Josefs-Bahn. So-called combined tickets or transfer tickets for the third carriage class in passenger trains to all light rail stations could be purchased from all stations on the two sections mentioned. The tram counters also sold such tickets in the opposite direction. The fares were simply added up, but no children's tickets could be purchased. Initially, nine zones were planned, with only cardboard tickets being used in the first few months of operation.
In the course books of that time, it was expressly stated about exchange traffic:
“To avoid wasting time, bumping into and pushing at the Hütteldorf-Hacking and Heiligenstadt connecting stations, ask for the cards to be handed over to your destination station as early as the departure station. All of these tickets are also available in advance. These tickets must be marked with the doorman before the start of the journey, otherwise they are invalid for the journey. "
In Heiligenstadt and Hütteldorf-Hacking, the state railway and the municipality of Vienna also operated joint barrier systems as part of the exchange traffic, the capacity of which was designed primarily for the extremely heavy traffic on Sundays and public holidays at the time of electrification. The tickets were still withdrawn at the end of the journey, a contemporary newspaper report speaks of such a rush that "the guards were up to their calves in removed cards".
Even when the electric light rail went into operation, the passengers of the alternating traffic in the direction of Vienna were allowed to continue their journey on a tram line directly connected to the light rail. On the other hand, tickets in the opposite direction were initially not valid on the tram. With the start of full operation of the electric light rail on October 20, 1925, and the associated full integration between light rail and tram, changing traffic had to be temporarily completely abandoned. Only after the conclusion of new negotiations with the Austrian Federal Railways, in which the validity of the combined tickets on the tram was renegotiated, from July 1, 1926, continuous tickets between the light rail network and the local routes and vice versa could be issued again. These were ultimately valid in both directions on the tram. It was now normal paper tram tickets with a federal railway allonge at the bottom. In the direction of the Federal Railroad, they were marked with large red zone numbers and were only available at light rail ticket offices. In the direction of the Stadtbahn and further on the tram, they were available separately from each Bundesbahn station. Thus there were a total of 34 types of tickets. From March 15, 1929, there were only eight zones, but from April 17, 1932 an additional zone 5a. As early as May 17, 1931, the area of validity up to Tullnerbach - Pressbaum on the Westbahn or St. Andrä-Wierter on the Franz-Josefs-Bahn was shortened.
From December 16, 1934, the two rail operators then introduced new Sunday and public holiday return tickets, which were offered for five zones. The tickets for zones 1 to 5 were available at the tram ticket offices, those for zones 1 and 2 were also available from the tram conductors. The area of validity was significantly expanded, you could now go to Felixdorf an der Südbahn , Enzesfeld-Lindabrunn an der Leobersdorfer Bahn , Achau , Ebreichsdorf , Pottendorf-Landegg , Gramatneusiedl and Unterwaltersdorf an der Pottendorfer Linie , Neulengbach an der Westbahn, Höbersdorf an der Nordwestbahn , Gaisruck on the Absdorf-Hippersdorf – Stockerau railway , Karnabrunn on the Korneuburg – Hohenau local railway , Angern on the northern railway , Prottes on the Gänserndorf – Mistelbach local railway , stripfing on the Gänserndorf – Marchegg railway , Hautzendorf on the Laaer Ostbahn , Schönfeld-Lassee on the Marchegger Ostbahn , Breitstetten on the Siebenbrunn – Engelhartstetten local railway , Wilfleinsdorf on the Ostbahn and Wildungsmauer on the Pressburger Bahn . After the takeover of the Austrian Federal Railways on the Aspang Railway , Teesdorf was also added on October 31, 1937 .
These return tickets were still issued a short time after the Austrian Federal Railways were taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn on March 18, 1938, but were then removed from the range on June 15, 1938 - at the same time as rail connection tickets were sold at the Stadtbahn ticket offices. The single transfer tickets, which were valid every day, were hardly used after 1934 and were therefore abandoned on June 25, 1937.
After the Second World War, there was only a limited transitional tariff on the Western Railway. The Hadersdorf-Weidlingau and Weidlingau-Wurzbachtal stops sold a return ticket to tariff zone I of the Stadtbahn. Introduced on December 1, 1947, this offer was discontinued on June 30, 1948 due to insufficient demand.
Station list
The following table provides an overview of the total of 27 stations on the electric light rail system, which, however, were never all served by it at the same time. The designation valid at the start of electrical operation is given:
| station | Abbreviation | First day of operation | Last day of operation | route | District at opening | function | design type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alser Strasse | AS | 06/04/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 9. | bus stop | High altitude |
| Braunschweiggasse | BR | 06/04/1925 | 08/28/1981 | Upper Viennese line | 13. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Brigitta Bridge | BB | 10/20/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Danube Canal Line, connecting arch | 9. | railway station | Low altitude |
| Burggasse | BU | 06/04/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 14th | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Gumpendorfer Strasse | GS | 06/04/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 15th | bus stop | High altitude |
| Main customs office | HZ | 07.09.1925 | 08/11/1978 | Danube Canal Line, Lower Wiental Line | 3. | railway station | Low altitude |
| Heiligenstadt | HS | 07/22/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Danube Canal Line, Belt Line | 19th | railway station | High altitude |
| Hietzing | HI | 06/04/1925 | 08/28/1981 | Upper Viennese line | 13. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Hütteldorf hacking | HH | 06/04/1925 | 08/28/1981 | Upper Viennese line | 13. | railway station | High altitude |
| Josefstädter Strasse | JS | 06/04/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 8th. | bus stop | High altitude |
| Karlsplatz | KP | 07.09.1925 | 10/25/1980 | Lower Viennese line | 4th | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Kettenbrückengasse | KG | 07.09.1925 | 10/25/1980 | Lower Viennese line | 5. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Margaret Belt | MG | 07.09.1925 | 10/25/1980 | Lower Viennese line | 5. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Meidling main street | MH | 06/04/1925 | April 13, 1985 | Belt line, Upper Wiental line, Lower Wiental line | 12. | railway station | Low altitude |
| Michelbeuern | MB | 06/04/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 9. | railway station | Low altitude |
| Nussdorfer Strasse | NS | 07/22/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 18th | bus stop | High altitude |
| Upper St. Veit | OV | 06/04/1925 | 08/28/1981 | Upper Viennese line | 13. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Pilgram Alley | PG | 07.09.1925 | 10/25/1980 | Lower Viennese line | 5. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Roßauer Lände | RL | 10/20/1925 | March 31, 1978 | Danube Canal Line | 9. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Schottenring | SR | 10/20/1925 | 08/11/1978 | Danube Canal Line | 1. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Schönbrunn | SB | 06/04/1925 | 08/28/1981 | Upper Viennese line | 13. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Schwedenplatz | SP | 10/20/1925 | 08/11/1978 | Danube Canal Line | 1. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| city Park | ST | 07.09.1925 | 08/11/1978 | Lower Viennese line | 3. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Thaliastrasse | TH | 09/27/1980 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 16. | bus stop | High altitude |
| Under St. Veit-Baumgarten | UV | 06/04/1925 | 08/28/1981 | Upper Viennese line | 13. | bus stop | Low altitude |
| Währinger Strasse | WS | 07/22/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 18th | bus stop | High altitude |
| Westbahnhof stop | WB | 06/04/1925 | 10/06/1989 | Waistline | 15th | bus stop | Low altitude |
After the abandonment of electric light rail transport, all 27 stations were integrated into the subway network and are still in operation today without exception.
TV drama "Train drives Wiental"
The Viennese electric light rail system plays an important role in the 80-minute television drama "Train drives Wiental" by the director Günter Gräwert , a production by Austrian Broadcasting Company from 1970. The title plays on the typical direction announcements made by light rail personnel at the Meidling-Hauptstraße junction ( "Train goes to Wiental" or "Train goes to belt"), Nußdorfer Straße ("train goes to Danube Canal" or "train goes to Heiligenstadt") and Friedensbrücke ("train goes to Heiligenstadt" or "train goes to belt"). For the filming itself, the last available train with original vehicles of the first generation of electric light rail vehicles from the 1920s, in which the action takes place, was put together.
Trivia
After electrification in 1925, the Viennese publishing house of A. Pichler's widow and son also reissued his popular Wiener Stadtbahn game from 1910. To do this, he adapted it to the new line network and depicted an electric light rail train from the DG line instead of a class 30 steam locomotive on the cover .
literature
- Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X .
- Alfred Horn: 75 years of the Wiener Stadtbahn. Between the 30s and the Silver Arrow. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1974, ISBN 3-7002-0415-9 .
- Harald Marincig: The Vienna light rail. Publication: Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Public Relations Department, Tram Museum Department, 1998.
- Harald Marincig: 60 years of the Viennese electric light rail 1925–1985 , Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Vienna 1985.
- Harald Helml: Stadtbahn and U-Bahn in Vienna. On the history of a delayed means of mass transport. Diploma thesis, Vienna 2011, ( available online on the website of the University Library of the University of Vienna ).
- Erich Schlöss: The Vienna light rail. Wiental and Danube Canal Lines (= contributions to urban research, urban development and urban design. Vol. 19). Magistrat, Vienna 1987 ( online ).
- Hans Lehnhart, Peter Wegenstein: Bahn im Bild 22 - The Viennese electric light rail . Pospischil Publishing House, Vienna, 1981.
Web links
- The Wiener Stadtbahn in Stadtverkehr-Austria-Wiki.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Vienna local traffic map, October 1926
- ↑ a b c Line openings of the Vienna electric light rail. On: strassenbahnjournal.at. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Arthur Oelwein: The light rail. In: Vienna at the beginning of the XX. Century - a leader in a technical and artistic direction. published by the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects, edited by engineer Paul Kortz Stadtbaurat, first volume, Vienna 1905, published by Gerlach & Wiedling, Vienna, pp. 110–122.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa from chapter Stadtbahn in: Städtewerk: Das neue Wien , Elbemühl, Vienna, 1928, pp. 98–115 .
- ↑ a b c Harald Marincig: The Wiener Stadtbahn on eisenbahn.gerhard-obermayr.com, accessed on June 7, 2020
- ↑ In various specialist and popular articles, the term Wiener 'e'lektrische Stadtbahn is occasionally used, although this is grammatically understandable as a generic term, it does not exactly describe the means of transport and its official name.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 146.
- ^ Harald Helml: Stadtbahn and U-Bahn in Vienna. On the history of a delayed means of mass transport. Vienna 2011, p. 77 ( available online on the website of the University Library of the University of Vienna ).
- ↑ a b c d e Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 134.
- ↑ "The History of the Vienna Transport Company from 1903-1938". Diploma thesis by Markus Kaiser, Vienna, 2012, p. 74.
- ↑ Information from 1928, the schilling did not replace the Austrian crown until 1925.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Ludwig Spängler: Electrification of the Wiener Stadtbahn , Vienna 1925, pp. 5–10.
- ^ Carl Hochenegg, project on the electrification of the rapid transit system in Vienna, pp. 729–734, in: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau , Zeitschrift des Elektrotechnisches Verein in Wien, Volume 41, Issue 51, Vienna, December 23, 1923.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w The Viennese electric light rail by engineer Ludwig Spängler, director of the Viennese urban trams, special edition from the Elektrotechnische Zeitschrift, issue 39, 1927, Julius Springer, Berlin ( digitized on Commons ).
- ^ Vienna: Between Social Democracy and the Economic Crisis. In: tramway.at. Harald A. Jahn, accessed on November 2, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d e The electric light rail. By engineer Ludwig Spängler. Director of Vienna's urban trams. In: Neue Freie Presse of June 4, 1925, p. 7.
- ↑ a b Ceremonial opening of the light rail. The celebration at the Alserstraße tram station. Today it will be opened to traffic. In: Illustrierte Kronen Zeitung of June 4, 1925, pp. 4–5.
- ↑ a b Harald Marincig: 60 Years of the Vienna Electric City Railways 1925–1985 , Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Vienna 1985, p. 8
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 158.
- ^ A b Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 159.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 135.
- ↑ a b Harald Helml: Stadtbahn and U-Bahn in Vienna. On the history of a delayed means of mass transport. Vienna 2011, p. 79 ( available online on the website of the University Library of the University of Vienna ).
- ^ The creators of the electric light rail , In: Arbeiter-Zeitung number 151 of June 3, 1925, page 8.
- ^ Hans Peter Pawlik, Josef Otto Slezak: Wagner's work for Vienna. Total work of art Stadtbahn (= International Archive for Locomotive History. Volume 44). Slezak, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-85416-185-9 , p. 72
- ^ A b c d Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 142.
- ↑ a b c d e f Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 138.
- ↑ Die Lokomotive , illustrated monthly magazine for railway technicians, 22nd year, issue 1, January 1925, page 19.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 152.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 149.
- ^ A b c d Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 143.
- ^ Alfred Horn: 75 years of the Vienna light rail. "Between the 30s Bock and the Silver Arrow". Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1974, ISBN 3-7002-0415-9 , p. 73.
- ^ A b Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 157.
- ^ A b Hans Peter Pawlik, Josef Otto Slezak: Wagner's work for Vienna. Total work of art Stadtbahn (= International Archive for Locomotive History. Volume 44). Slezak, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-85416-185-9 , p. 12
- ^ Hans Peter Pawlik, Josef Otto Slezak: Wagner's work for Vienna. Total work of art Stadtbahn (= International Archive for Locomotive History. Volume 44). Slezak, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-85416-185-9 , p. 18
- ↑ Description of Type N (60) on strassenbahnjournal.at, accessed on October 8, 2018.
- ↑ "The History of the Vienna Transport Company from 1903-1938". Diploma thesis by Markus Kaiser, Vienna, 2012, p. 81.
- ↑ Harald Marincig: 60 Years of the Vienna Electric City Railways 1925–1985 , Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Vienna 1985, pp. 13–14
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 136.
- ^ A b c d Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 139.
- ↑ a b The Stadtbahn to Heiligenstadt In: Illustrierte Kronen Zeitung of July 23, 1925, p. 3.
- ↑ The whole tram in operation. The grand opening of the last sections. Today the 24 Groschen standard tariff comes into force. In: Illustrierte Kronen Zeitung of October 20, 1925, p. 5.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 153.
- ↑ a b c “The History of the Vienna Transport Company from 1903–1938”. Diploma thesis by Markus Kaiser, Vienna, 2012, p. 82.
- ↑ a b Städtewerk: Das neue Wien , Elbemühl, Vienna, 1928, p. 92.
- ^ History of the tram in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
- ↑ Operational equipment of the Wiener Stadtbahn (first part), in: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung , year 1899, number 11, pp. 64–66.
- ↑ a b The Wiener Schnellbahn. A contribution of the Austrian Federal Railways to the solution of the traffic problems in the federal capital. Brochure for the opening of the Wiener Schnellbahn, ÖBB (Ed.), Vienna 1962, p. 17.
- ^ Journal of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects. Year 1897, number 2, pages 17-26.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 150.
- ↑ "The History of the Vienna Transport Company from 1903-1938". Diploma thesis by Markus Kaiser, Vienna, 2012, p. 83.
- ^ Harald Helml: Stadtbahn and U-Bahn in Vienna. On the history of a delayed means of mass transport. Vienna 2011, p. 82 ( available online on the website of the University Library of the University of Vienna ).
- ↑ deutsches-kursbuch.de, accessed on October 16, 2018.
- ^ Text of the Railway Act 1957.
- ↑ Text of the Tram Ordinance 1957.
- ↑ Entire legal regulation for the Tram Ordinance 1999 - Federal law consolidated. In: www.ris.bka.gv.at. Federal Chancellery , accessed on July 12, 2016 .
- ↑ The history of the former Viennese Stadtbahn (1898–1989) on public-transport.at, accessed on February 26, 2018.
- ↑ a b c d e Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 141.
- ↑ a b c d e Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 140.
- ^ Tram in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
- ^ A b c d Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 154.
- ↑ a b Historical review of the year 1948. On: wien.gv.at. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
- ^ Wiener Linien on dasrotewien.at, accessed on March 7, 2019.
- ^ A b Walter Krobot, Josef Otto Slezak, Hans Sternhart: Tram in Vienna - the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow . 2nd, revised edition, Josef Otto Slezak, Vienna 1983. ISBN 3-85416-076-3 , p. 341.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 181.
- ↑ a b c d e f Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 155.
- ↑ Harald Marincig: 60 Years of the Vienna Electric City Railways 1925–1985 , Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Vienna 1985, p. 17
- ↑ a b c d e Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 145.
- ↑ Railway Austria , Issue 7/66
- ^ Dieter Klein, Martin Kupf, Robert Schediwy: Stadtbildverluste Wien. A look back over five decades. LIT-Verlag, Vienna 2005.
- ^ I. Wiener: Road Traffic Quete, Recommendations to the City of Vienna. 1955, p. 20.
- ^ Hans Peter Pawlik, Josef Otto Slezak: Wagner's work for Vienna. Total work of art Stadtbahn (= International Archive for Locomotive History. Volume 44). Slezak, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-85416-185-9 , p. 14
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 223.
- ↑ a b The subway in Vienna. On: werbeka.com. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- ^ A b Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 171.
- ↑ a b c Schlöss, pp. 125–131.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 243.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 245.
- ^ Harald Helml: Stadtbahn and U-Bahn in Vienna. On the history of a delayed means of mass transport. Vienna 2011, p. 138 ( available online on the website of the University Library of the University of Vienna ).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 156.
- ^ "Stadtbahn Wien" (U6): types E6 and c6 before the end. On: bahnbilder.warumdenn.net. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ A b c d Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 147.
- ↑ a b Harald Marincig: 60 Years of the Vienna Electric City Railroad 1925–1985 , Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Vienna 1985, p. 21
- ↑ The types E6 / c6 and T / T1. On: homepage.univie.ac.at. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
- ↑ Belt extension south - The problem of the Wiental crossing. Documentation by Wilhelm Danner and Peter Wünschmann, p. 255.
- ↑ Vienna - No “Silver Arrows” on the U6. In: Eisenbahnverkehr aktuell, June 1990, p. 29
- ↑ The history of the U6: Part 3. On: blog.wienerlinien.at. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
- ↑ Georg Rigele: What the Viennese use - trams and other public transport from 1945 to the present. P. 115, online at studienverlag.at, accessed on January 29, 2019.
- ↑ The long way to the place of worship , article in Der Standard from April 17, 2008, online at derstandard.at, accessed on October 28, 2019
- ^ Description of the Michelbeuern depot. ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) 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. On: isp-zt.at. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ↑ From light rail to underground: construction of the U6 began 30 years ago. On: derStandard.at. September 6, 2013, accessed October 16, 2017.
- ↑ Chronicle 1990–2000. On: wiener-untergrund.at. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ↑ What happened to the abandoned stations? Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ Andreas Tröscher: Vienna: Decommissioned Stadtbahn Viaduct as "Highline Park"? Article from November 2, 2012 on diepresse.com, accessed on December 27, 2017.
- ↑ a b Helmut Aigner: 100 Years of the Vienna Tramway. Festschrift on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Viennese tramway 1868–1968. Ed. And publisher Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Vienna 1968, p. 95.
- ^ A b Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 267.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 268.
- ↑ a b Chief Inspector Ing. E. Gebauer, Vienna: The power conversion systems of the municipal electricity works in Vienna for the operation of the Vienna electric light rail , pp. 769-780, in: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, Zeitschrift des Elektrotechnisches Verein in Wien, 43. Volume 39, Vienna, September 27, 1925 , here p. 769.
- ↑ a b Chief Inspector Ing. E. Gebauer, Vienna: The power conversion systems of the municipal electricity works in Vienna for the operation of the Vienna electric light rail , pp. 769-780, in: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, Zeitschrift des Elektrotechnisches Verein in Wien, 43. Volume 39, Vienna, September 27, 1925 , here pp. 770–771.
- ↑ Chief Inspector Ing. E. Gebauer, Vienna: The power conversion systems of the municipal electricity works in Vienna for the operation of the Viennese electric light rail , pp. 769–780, in: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, Zeitschrift des Elektrotechnisches Verein in Wien, 43rd year, Issue 39, Vienna, September 27, 1925 , here p. 772 minus the mobile converter included there.
- ↑ Chief Inspector Ing. E. Gebauer, Vienna: The power conversion systems of the municipal electricity works in Vienna for the operation of the Viennese electric light rail , pp. 769–780, in: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, Zeitschrift des Elektrotechnisches Verein in Wien, 43rd year, Issue 39, Vienna, September 27, 1925 , here p. 778.
- ↑ Manfred Wehdorrn and Ute Georgeacopol-Winischhofer: monuments of technology and industry in Austria. Part 1: Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland. Böhlau, Vienna 1984, p. 162.
- ↑ Chief Inspector Ing. E. Gebauer, Vienna: The power conversion systems of the municipal electricity works in Vienna for the operation of the Viennese electric light rail , pp. 769–780, in: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, Zeitschrift des Elektrotechnisches Verein in Wien, 43rd year, Issue 39, Vienna, September 27, 1925 , here p. 774.
- ↑ Chief Inspector Ing. E. Gebauer, Vienna: The power conversion systems of the municipal electricity works in Vienna for the operation of the Viennese electric light rail , pp. 769–780, in: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, Zeitschrift des Elektrotechnisches Verein in Wien, 43rd year, Issue 39, Vienna, September 27, 1925 , here pp. 778–780.
- ↑ Chief Inspector Ing. E. Gebauer, Vienna: The power conversion systems of the municipal electricity works in Vienna for the operation of the Viennese electric light rail , pp. 769–780, in: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, Zeitschrift des Elektrotechnisches Verein in Wien, 43rd year, Issue 39, Vienna, September 27, 1925 , here p. 780.
- ^ A b c Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 295.
- ^ The history of Siemens Austria. On: siemens.com. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 296.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 297.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 182.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 208.
- ^ Alfred Laula, Alfred Rosenkranz: Viennese streetcar - technology and photos . Josef Otto Slezak, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-85416-092-5 , p. 88.
- ↑ 1983: The last "red" light rail. At traminator.at, accessed on September 30, 2018.
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 203.
- ↑ The tower car TU1 6122 on pospichal.net , accessed on October 26, 2019
- ↑ Two draisines of the Vienna Stadtbahn. At fredriks.de, accessed on February 18, 2018.
- ↑ Historically valuable Viennese trams and light rail vehicles from the “Wiener Tramwaymuseum - WTM” collection, railcars & trolleybus motorcars on tram.at, accessed on October 28, 2019
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 205.
- ↑ a b Harald Marincig: 60 Years of the Vienna Electric City Railways 1925–1985 , Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Vienna 1985, p. 11
- ^ Hans Peter Pawlik, Josef Otto Slezak: Wagner's work for Vienna. Total work of art Stadtbahn (= International Archive for Locomotive History. Volume 44). Slezak, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-85416-185-9 , p. 154
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 174.
- ↑ Three-car train of the Vienna light rail. In: Eisenbahnverkehr aktuell, November 1990, pp. 27–28
- ↑ B for "The Blue One". At blog.wienerlinien.at, accessed on October 1, 2018.
- ↑ a b c d e Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 170.
- ^ Harald Helml: Stadtbahn and U-Bahn in Vienna. On the history of a delayed means of mass transport. Vienna 2011, p. 81 ( available online on the website of the University Library of the University of Vienna ).
- ↑ a b c Harald Marincig: 60 Years of the Vienna Electric City Railroad 1925–1985 , Wiener Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe, Vienna 1985, p. 12
- ^ Hans Peter Pawlik, Josef Otto Slezak: Wagner's work for Vienna. Total work of art Stadtbahn (= International Archive for Locomotive History. Volume 44). Slezak, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-85416-185-9 , p. 51
- ↑ Tickets for pincer marking. On: strassenbahnjournal.at. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 172.
- ↑ stations of the light rail. In: Lehmann's general housing indicator, edition 1914, vol. 1, Alfred Hölder, Vienna, December 1913, p. 92 (digitized: p. 132).
- ^ Alfred Horn: Wiener Stadtbahn. 90 years of light rail, 10 years of underground. Bohmann-Verlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-7002-0678-X , p. 204.
