Gmunden Tramway

The Gmunden Tramway (German: Straßenbahn Gmunden) is a tram line in the town of Gmunden in Upper Austria, Austria. The tramway opened in 1894 and since 2018 the line has been connected to the Traunseebahn as part of the Traunseetram tram-train service.^[5][4] It is operated by Stern & Hafferl.^[6] The line's maximum gradient of 10.0% makes it one of the world's steepest surviving adhesion-only tram lines.^[7][8]

Gmunden Tramway
Tramlink train on the Traun bridge
Overview
Line number	965 01[citation needed]
Locale	Gmunden, Upper Austria, Austria
Termini	Gmunden railway station Klosterplatz (connection to Traunseebahn)
Stations	9 [note 1]
Service
Type	Tram-train
Route number	161
Operator(s)	Stern & Hafferl[1]
Daily ridership	2,260 (in 2019)[note 2][2]: 40
History
Opened	13 August 1894[3]: 36
Technical
Line length	3.090 km (1.920 mi) [note 3]
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)[1]
Minimum radius	17 m (55 ft 9 in)[1]
Electrification	600 V DC overhead line[4]
Maximum incline	10.0%[1]
Route map Legend km m (AA) Salzkammergutbahn from Stainach-Irdning 0,00 Gmunden railway station 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 Depot 484 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

History

Vehicles at the tram depot in 2005

Construction work, directed by the engineers Josef Stern and Franz Hafferl, began on 25 February 1894. It took five months to build the entire tramway, depot and power plant. The single-track line ran 2.6 km (1.6 mi), from the railway station (called the Rudolfsbahnhof at the time) to Rathausplatz (Town Hall Square), with nine stops. The line opened on 13 August 1894 as the first electric tramway in Austria and was operated by three electric railcars built by Hofwagenfabrik Rohrbacher in Vienna.^[4][3]: 36

Although the line runs in the street it was originally built as a local railway (Lokalbahn) and only legally became a tramway on 28 September 1937. The only operational change was fitting indicators to the vehicles.^{[3]: 35, 193}

In 1975 the section of the line from Franz-Josef-Platz to Rathausplatz was closed to make more space for road traffic,^[9][10] leaving the tramway only 2.3 km (1.4 mi) long.^[6] The shortening of the route led to a drop in passenger numbers and the tramway was threatened with closure until in 1989 the Pro Gmundner Straßenbahn association was founded to financially support and lobby for the tramway.^[4]

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.^[11]

Until its extension and connection to the Traunseebahn the line was unusual in that all platforms were on the same side of the single-track line and the cars that ran on it only had doors on one side.^[12]

Connection to Traunseebahn

Map of the Gmunden tramway and the connection to the Traunseebahn

In February 2013, the municipal council of Gmunden decided to link the tram to the Traunseebahn, a metre-gauge railway running from Gmunden to Vorchdorf. This involved building 700 m of new track, including rebuilding a road bridge over the Traun, and replacing the rolling stock on both lines with new low-floor trams.^[13]

Construction of a new double-track line from Franz-Josef-Platz to Klosterplatz (via Rathausplatz, the original terminus) began in 2015, followed by reconstruction of the Traun bridge in 2017.^[4] 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.^[4][5] 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.^{[4][14]: 27}

Rolling stock

Tramlink

The Traunseetram is currently operated by a fleet of Tramlink low-floor trams. Stern & Hafferl ordered eleven of these vehicles, numbered ET 121–131, from Vossloh España (now part of Stadler Rail) in 2013. Eight are used on the Traunseetram and the other three on the Attergaubahn [de]. They are five-section 100% low-floor multi-articulated trams with a capacity of 175 passengers, including 60 seats and 15 folding seats. The first trams entered service on the Traunseebahn in 2016. One vehicle was brought to the Gmunden Tramway for tests on the 10% gradients, but the tram depot did not have space to store the new vehicles so they did not enter passenger service in the town until through services began running over the connection to the Traunseebahn.^[1][15]

No.	Image	Origin	Year built	Length	Weight	Maximum speed	Power output
ET 121–123, ET 127–131		Vossloh España / Stadler Rail Valencia	2016	32 m	41.3 t	70 km/h	4 × 100 kW	[1]

Former fleet

No.	Image	Origin	Year built	Length	Weight	Maximum speed	Power output	Remarks
1		Rohrbacher/AEG	1894	8 m	6.6 t	25 km/h	2 × 13 kW	Rebuilt in 1933; scrapped 1952	[3]: 36, 191
2		Rohrbacher/AEG	1894	8 m	6.6 t	25 km/h	2 × 13 kW	Rebuilt in 1935; scrapped 1962	[3]: 36, 191
3		Rohrbacher/AEG	1894	8 m	6.6 t	25 km/h	2 × 13 kW	Rebuilt in 1938; sold to Kärntner Eisenbahnfreunde in 1975	[3]: 36, 191
4 (I)		Rohrbacher/AEG	1895	8 m	6.6 t		2 × 13 kW	Transferred to Vorchdorf (Traunseebahn) in 1935 and scrapped in 1950	[3]: 37, 191
4 (II)		Ganz & Co.	1913	9.53 m	13 t		2 × 40.5 kW	From the Pressburger Bahn in 1941, rebuilt and entered service in 1951; sold to Mariazell Tramway Museum in 1983	[3]: 193
5		Grazer Waggonfabrik/SSW	1911	9.08 m	11.0 t	30 km/h	2 × 26 kW	Still in Gmunden, used for special services	[3]: 191 [12]
6		Grazer Waggonfabrik/Siemens	1907	8.7 m	10.3 t		2 × 25.5 kW	Transferred from Unterach–See Tramway in 1943; transferred to Atterseebahn (Vöcklamarkt – Attersee) and rebuilt to unpowered carriage	[3]: 193 [12]
7		Grazer Waggonfabrik/Siemens	1907	8.7 m	10.3 t		2 × 25.5 kW	Loaned to Florianerbahn museum tramway and regauged to 900 mm
8		Lohner/Kiepe	1961	13.4 m	17.0 t	60 km/h	2 × 100 kW	Fitted with full pantograph; built with doors on only one side; rebuilt in 1978 for one-man operation	[12]
9		Ex-Vestische Straßenbahnen 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;[6] fitted with full pantograph and magnetic track brakes, doors on the off side sealed
10		Ex-Vestische Straßenbahnen 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;[6] fitted with full pantograph and magnetic track brakes, doors on the off side sealed
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 in 1995[6]

See also

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

Notes

1. Not including Traunseebahn
2. Total including Traunseebahn
3. 2.315 km (1.438 mi) before the extension at 1.9.2018.

References

1. Knoll, Otfried. "Tramlink V3 – Das Fahrzeug für die Stadt – Regio-Tram Gmunden – Vorchdorf" [Tramlink V3 – The vehicle for the Stadt – Regio-Tram Gmunden – Vorchdorf]. Eisenbahn Österreich (in German). No. 9/2016. Minirex. pp. 440–452. ISSN 1421-2900.
2. Traunseetram – Bericht des Rechnungshofes [Traunseetram – Report of the Court of Audit] (PDF) (Report) (in German). Vienna: Rechnungshof Österreich. October 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
3. Marchetti, Heinrich (2003). Stern & Hafferl – Visionen mit Tradition [Stern & Hafferl – Visions with tradition] (in German) (1st ed.). Stern & Hafferl. ISBN 3-9501763-0-6.
4. Schrempf, Robert (November 2018). "Das „Wunder von Gmunden"" [The "Wonder of Gmunden"]. Straßenbahn Magazin (in German). GeraMond. pp. 30–36. ISSN 0340-7071.
5. "Metre-gauge lines in Gmunden connected at last". Railway Gazette International. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
6. Buckley, Richard (2000). Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria (2nd ed.). Gloucester, UK: Light Rail Transit Association. p. 129. ISBN 0-948106-27-1.
7. Taplin, Michael; Russell, Michael. Trams in Western Europe. Middlesex, UK: Capital Transport Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 1-85414-265-8.
8. "Gmunden - Salt, Spa & Stadtregiotram". Locomotives International. No. 109. August 2017. pp. 10–20.
9. "Die Straßenbahn in Gmunden" [The tram in Gmunden] (in German). Stern & Hafferl. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013.
10. Knoll, Otfried. "Gmunden: Zweigleisige Innenstadtstrecke erreicht den Rathausplatz" [Gmunden: Double-track city centre route reaches the Town Hall Square]. Eisenbahn Österreich (in German). No. 9/2016. Minirex. pp. 452–453. ISSN 1421-2900.
11. (in German) History of Gmunden Tramway Archived 15 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine (10 pages)
12. Reuther, Axel (April 2020). "Zweirichter mit türloser Seite" [Two-direction vehicle with doorless side]. Straßenbahn Magazin (in German). GeraMond. pp. 46–47. ISSN 0340-7071.
13. Reidinger, Erwin (12 March 2013). "Austrian tram-rail link approved". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
14. "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.
15. Schrempf, Robert (June 2016). "Zukunft gesichert im Salzkammergut" [Future secured in the Salzkammergut]. Straßenbahn Magazin (in German). GeraMond. pp. 28–33. ISSN 0340-7071.

External links

• Official website of Stern & Hafferl (in German)
• Verein Pro Gmundner Straßenbahn (in German)
• Track plan of the Gmunden tram system