The Traunseebahn is an electrified metre-gauge railway running from Vorchdorf to Gmunden in Upper Austria, Austria. The line is 17.9 km (11.1 mi) long and is owned and operated by Stern & Hafferl.[1]: 26 The railway opened on 21 March 1912[2]: 59 and since 2018 it has been connected to the Gmunden Tramway as part of the Traunseetram tram-train service.[4][3]
| Traunseebahn | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Tramlink train on the Traunseebahn | |||
| Overview | |||
| Locale | Upper Austria, Austria | ||
| Termini | |||
| Service | |||
| Type | Tram-train | ||
| Operator(s) | Stern & Hafferl | ||
| Daily ridership | 2,000 (in 2019, including Gmunden tramway)[1]: 27 | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 21 March 1912[2]: 59 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Number of tracks | Single track | ||
| Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)[1]: 26 | ||
| Electrification | |||
| |||
History
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Plans for a railway linking Gmunden - then a successful spa resort - to the agricultural area around Vorchdorf had been made as early as the 1890s, when the Gmunden Tramway opened, but it was not until 1911 that the town of Gmunden was issued a concession to build and operate a line for a period of 90 years. The concession was taken over by Stern & Hafferl and construction began in May 1911. The railway was 15 km (9.3 mi) long and opened on 21 March 1912.[2]: 58–59 A connection to the Gmunden Tramway had also been planned, but could not be constructed because the road bridge over the Traun was not suitable.[2]: 59 Early investment in electrification allowed the railway to remain viable where a steam railway would not.[5]
For a short section in Gmunden the Traunseebahn shared the route of the standard-gauge line from Lambach operated by ÖBB], requiring dual-gauge track.[2]: 59 The two lines originally each had their own station in Gmunden, the metre-gauge at Gmunden Traundorf and the standard-gauge at Gmunden See. In 1990 the terminus of the Traunseebahn was moved to share Gmunden See station, although the standard-gauge passenger service had already ended in 1988.[6][7]
Connection to Gmunden Tramway
editIn February 2013, the municipal council of Gmunden decided to link the Traunseebahn to the Gmunden Tramway. This involved moving the terminus in Gmunden to Klosterplatz, to connect with the extended tram line, and replacing the rolling stock on both lines with new low-floor trams.[8]
The new section of the Traunseebahn to Klosterplatz opened on 13 December 2014[9] and the extension of the tram line began in 2015.[3] The first test trains ran over the new track in August 2018 and the Traunseetram from Gmunden to Vorchdorf began operation on 1 September 2018.[3][4] The town section of the line (from Gmunden railway station to Engelhof station on the Traunseebahn) is served by four trams per hour on weekdays and two on weekends, with half of these continuing to Vorchdorf.[3][1]: 27
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Investitionsoffensive Privatbahninfrastruktur – 9. MIP [Mittelfristigen Investitionsprogramme]" [Investment offensive private railway infrastructure – 9th medium-term investment programme] (PDF) (in German). Bundesministerium für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie, Mobilität, Innovation und Technologie. 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Marchetti, Heinrich (2003). Stern & Hafferl – Visionen mit Tradition [Stern & Hafferl – Visions with tradition] (in German) (1st ed.). Stern & Hafferl. ISBN 3-9501763-0-6.
- ^ a b c d e Schrempf, Robert (November 2018). "Das „Wunder von Gmunden"" [The "Wonder of Gmunden"]. Straßenbahn Magazin (in German). GeraMond. pp. 30–36. ISSN 0340-7071.
- ^ a b "Metre-gauge lines in Gmunden connected at last". Railway Gazette International. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ "Die Lokalbahn von Gmunden nach Vorchdorf".
- ^ "Mit Stern & Hafferl zum Traunsee" [With Stern & Hafferl to the Traunsee]. MIBA-Spezial (in German). No. 14. December 1992. pp. 40–44.
- ^ Brandner, Edmund (6 November 2014). "Bald Lokalbahn zwischen Gmunden und Laakirchen?" [Local railway soon between Gmunden and Laakirchen?]. Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ Reidinger, Erwin (12 March 2013). "Austrian tram-rail link approved". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
- ^ "Klosterplatz neu in Gmunden - Eröffnung" [Klosterplatz new in Gmunden - Opening] (in German). Stern & Hafferl. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014.
External links
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