The 13.4 km Stubaitalbahn was opened in 1904 from the depot and terminus at Bergisel to Fulmpes, in the Stubai Valley. The line was electrified using 3000v AC, and for this reason was electrically isolated from the Innsbruck tram network, with which it shares a metre gauge. The system was changed in 1983 to 850v DC, meaning that the trams could work under the 600 v DC tramways current. Connections were made, and the Stubaitalbahn commenced running into the city centre, to the Hauptbahnhof. The route length was thus extended to 20km. The old depot was closed, and virtually abandoned with the cars, later reopening as the Tiroler Museums-Bahnen.

Services run approximately hourly from Innsbruck, through the streets, before climbing steeply under the A13 Brenner autobahn, through a hairpin bend, and past the Olympic ski jump at Bergisel. Climbing away from the valley, the line passes through the hamlets of Natters and Mutters, using 180 degree bends to gain height. After reaching the highest point on the line, in the trees at Kerith (1006m) a tunnel and two curved viaducts bring the line to Kapfers and then runs downhill through two hairpin bends into Fulmpes, the terminus. Only in 1997 was the Stubaitalbahn incorporated within IVB, the local government undertaking running the trams, trolleybuses and buses.

Most of the Stubaitalbahn cars date from 1960-1968, and have been refurbished at least twice. They are made up of sections of two different trams, the ends being former 6 axle trams from Hagen in Germany. These were turned into 8 axle trams by inserting the central sections of 1957-1963 Duewag-built 8 axle trams built for Bielefeld in Germany, and which were converted into 6 axle trams for use on the Inssbruck Tramways. The odd one out, number 82, was converted from a similar Duewag car bought from Bochum. The original 82 had been damaged by being involved in a head-on collision with a school train on the single line outside Mutters on 21 April 1997. The donor vehicle was BOGESTRA’s No. 41. The cause of the collision was due to the driver of the regular train forgetting that an out of course crossing was to be made at Mutters and leaving that station without authority. All the sets are bi-directional, there being no turning circle at Fulmpes. The Stubaitalbahn vehicles are more powerful, at 200 kW, than the Innsbruck trams, and all of the power is needed to pull up the steep gradients.

Intending visitors to the Stubai glacier should be aware that the cable car Talstation is about 1 km from the station at Fulmpes, up a steep road.

The STB has some different the train control arrangements. From the line’s opening in 1902 trains were controlled by a Fahrdienstleiter [dispatcher] at Innsbruck Stubaitalbahnhof, using a telephone circuit which gave communication between Innsbruck and the crossing stations at . Trains were controlled by Zugleitbetrieb [train orders]. In 1977 the telephone was replaced by train radio but otherwise the train control arrangements remained the same. Following the accident on 21 April 1995 a new Zugleitbetrieb system was put in place, still relying on verbal train orders but supported by computer checking of the train orders and automatic reporting of train position by balises and radio transmission. The block sections between crossing stations were also subdivided into sub-sections approximately 800 metres long, thus allowing one train to follow another in the same direction between crossing loops. Any train which leaves a crossing loop without authority automatically generates a warning to both its driver and the Fahrdienstleiter.

For more and bigger photographs the ARG Stubaitalbahn Gallery