Gmunden Tramway

The Gmunden Tramway is part of the tram-train-system Traunsee Tram, that opened in 2018 and is located in Upper Austria, Austria. The Traunsee Tram connects the shortest and oldest tram system in Austria with the Traunseebahn.^[3] It is operated by Stern & Hafferl,^[3] which was founded in 1893. The tramway was opened on 13 August 1894. It is 2.3 km long.^[3] The line's maximum gradient of 9.6% makes it one of the world's steepest surviving adhesion-only tram lines.^[4][5]

Traunsee Tram
Tramlink train of the Traunsee Tram
Overview
Owner	ÖBB
Line number	965 01
Locale	Gmunden, Austria
Termini	Gmunden Bahnhof Vorchdorf[1][2]
Stations	9 [note 1]
Service
Type	Tram-train
Route number	161
Operator(s)	Stern & Hafferl
History
Opened	13 August 1894
Technical
Line length	3.090 km (1.920 mi) [note 2]
Number of tracks	Single track with Passing loops, Double track
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
Minimum radius	40 m (131 ft 3 in)
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Maximum incline	100 ‰
Route map Legend km m (AA) Salzkammergutbahn from Stainach-Irdning 0,00 Bahnhof Gmunden tram depot planned 479 Salzkammergutbahn to Attnang-Puchheim 0,35 Grüner Wald closed 2014 480 B 145 Salzkammergutstraße 483 0,60 Keramik since 2005 485 0,70 Kraftstation closed 2005 484 0,70 Remise 484 0,80 Remise until 2005 1,00 Rosenkranz/OKA-Siedlung 477 1,36 Tennisplatz 458 1,60 Kuferzeile 430 1,77 Parkstraße closed 2,05 Bezirkshauptmannschaft Traunsee 424 2,22 Korso closed 2,26 double track segment since 2018 2,32 Franz-Josef-Platz 423 2,32 Terminus 1975-2014 423 2,42 Postgebäude closed 1975 2,54 Rathausplatz closed 1975 - 2018 424 2,54 Terminus until 1975 424 Trauntor Traun gate (10 m) 425 Traun 2,84 Klosterplatz since 2014 2,84 Transition to Traunseebahn 428 Track switch Gmunden Seebahnhof closed 2014 424 3,09 Gmunden Seebahnhof since 2014 427 end of double track Traunseebahn

Vehicles in the tram depot

History

The works, directed by the engineers Josef Stern and Franz Hafferl, began on 25 February 1894. It took five months to build the entire tramway, one depot, one power plant and two buildings for employees. The original route ran from the railway station (named Rudolfsbahnhof at that time) to "Rathausplatz" (i.e. Town Hall Square). In 1975 the route was shortened to Franz-Josef-Platz.^[6] There were several renovations in the late 1990s and the following decade, including the renewal of "Keramik" station and of the Tennisplatz – Franz-Josef-Platz route.^[7] In February 2013, the municipal council of Gmunden decided to link the tram to the Traunseebahn and this opened in 2018.

Traunsee Tram

The tram-train system opened in 2018. The former route to Rathausplatz has been reactivated and a new route links to the new terminus of the Traunseebahn at Klosterplatz. The tram-train has its terminus in Vorchdorf.^[8][9][10] In Gmunden the tramway route runs entirely in the town, from the railway station to the central Franz-Josef-Platz on the Traunsee lake. It includes eight stations, with two closed and one replaced.^[11] A planned extension to the Seebahnhof, terminal station of the Traunsee Railway Gmunden-Vorchdorf has been partially built. This includes three stations and uses the route "Franz-Josef-Platz" - "Rathausplatz". The reopening of Postgebäude is not planned.^[1][2]

The line is unusual in that all platforms are on one side of this single track line. In view of this, the cars that run on it only have doors on one side but have driving positions at both ends.

Rolling stock

No.	Image	Origin	Year built	Length	Weight	V max	Output	Remarks
8		Lohner/Kiepe	1961	13.4 m	16.0 t	60 km/h	200 kW	Fitted with full pantograph; rebuilt in 1978 for one-man operation; otherwise in original condition
9		Ex-Vestische Straßenbahnen GmbH (No. 347), built by Duewag/Kiepe	1952	14.3 m	17.0 t	70 km/h	200 kW	Entered service on the Gmunden tramway in 1977;[3] fitted with full pantograph and magnetic track brakes, doors on the off side sealed
10		Ex-Vestische Straßenbahnen GmbH (No. 341), built by Duewag/Kiepe	1952	14.3 m	17.0 t	70 km/h	200 kW	Entered service on the Gmunden tramway in 1983;[3] fitted with full pantograph and magnetic track brakes, doors on the off side sealed
5		Grazer Waggonfabrik/SSW	1911	9.1 m	11.0 t	30 km/h	52 kW
100		Ex-Pöstlingbergbahn car IV; built by Grazer Waggonfabrik	1898	6.8 m	8.8 t	14 km/h	40.8 kW	Open-sided; fitted with a bow collector. Acquired from the Pöstlingbergbahn (Linz) in 1995[3]

List of all earlier trams, built between 1893 and 1907:

No.	Year of construction	Origin	Output	Weight	Length
1	1894	Rohrbacher/AEG	2*13 kW	6.6 t	8 m
2	1894	Rohrbacher/AEG	2*13 kW	6.6 t	8 m
3	1894	Rohrbacher/AEG	2*13 kW	6.6 t	8 m
4 (I)	1895	Rohrbacher/AEG	2*13 kW	6.6 t	8 m
4 (II)	1913	Ganz & Co	2*40,5 kW	13 t	9.53 m
5	1911	Siemens/Grazer W.	2*26 kW	11.0 t	9.08 m
6	1907	Siemens/Grazer W.	2*25,5 kW	10.3 t	8.7 m
7	1907	Siemens/Grazer W.	2*25,5 kW	10.3 t	8.7 m

See also

• Trams in Europe
• List of town tramway systems in Austria

Notes

1. 11 stations in the future extension. Adding 3 closed stations (one in the line to Rathausplatz) the total is of 14
2. 2.315 km (1.438 mi) before the extension at 1.9.2018.

References

1. Extension under construction: Gmunden Tramway map (Stern & Hafferl website) Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
2. "UrbanRail.Net > Europe > Austria > Gmunden Tram – Straßenbahn". www.urbanrail.net.
3. Buckley, Richard (2000). Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria (2nd edition), p. 129. Gloucester, UK: Light Rail Transit Association. ISBN 0-948106-27-1.
4. Taplin, Michael; and Russell, Michael (2002). Trams in Western Europe, p. 8. Harrow Weald, Middlesex (UK): Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 1-85414-265-8.
5. Gmunden - Salt, Spa & Stadregiotram Locomotives International issue 109 August 2017 pages 10-20
6. (in German) Historical overview of Gmunden Tramway (Stern & Hafferl website) Archived 11 September 2013 at archive.today
7. (in German) History of Gmunden Tramway Archived 15 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine (10 pages)
8. "Traunseetram".
9. (in German) "Gmunden lässt Straßenbahn bis Vorchdorf fahren" (Gmunden can take tram to Vorchdorf). Article on the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten
10. (in German) StadtRegioTram Gmunden-Vorchdorf Project Archived 15 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
11. "Gmunden Tramway station: images and infos (Verein Pro Gmundner Straßenbahn)". stern.at. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014.

External links

• Track plan of the Gmunden tram system
• Verein Pro Gmundner Straßenbahn
• Stern&Hafferl
• Tram Travels: Verein Pro Gmundner Straßenbahn