I V B

The tramway system was started on 1st June 1891, when a metre-gauge steam train service was instituted on the 12.43 km long tramway between Berg Isel, in Innsbruck, and the centre of Hall in Tirol. The line was operated initially by Actien-Gesellschaft Lokalbahn Innsbruck - Hall. Later route 4 in the Innsbruck area, the steam service, on what was effectively a light railway, lasted until the 6th January 1910, when the locomotives were replaced by electric trams. The line remained open, as tram route 4, until 7th June 1974, when the route was severed to build several new roads to the Olympic Village in connection with the 1976 Winter Games. The replacement bus service still runs as route 4, all other bus services in Innsbruck having route letters. The portion between Berg Isel and the Hungerburbahn terminus was retained, and today runs as Route 1.

The next route to open was the route to Igls, on 26 June 1900. Again starting life as a light railway, this line was not electrified until 28 June 1936, and then on a different voltage to the tramways. Eventually changed, through running to the Hauptbahnhof or the Hungerburgbahn has been a feature for some years in the Summer, although in Winter the line reverts to its original terminus at Bergisel, next to the original terminus of the Stubaitalbahn (below). The main tram routes in the city were opened to the public on 15th July 1905, and were electrically powered at 660v d.c. from the start. Now comprising routes 1 (between Bergisel and the Hungerburgbahn via the Westbahnhof and Marktplatz) and 3 (between Amras and Maria Therese-Straße / Hauptbahnhof via Sillpark and Marktplatz), the routes have been changed over the years, and sections of unused track litter the roads in the city centre. In 1995, new routes were built in the city centre following a pedestrianisation scheme. Following rebuilding of the Hauptbahnhof, tram routes will be changed again. All the tram and light railway routes in Innsbruck are now operated by InnsbruckerVerkehrsbetriebe und Stubaitalbahn GMBH - IVB.

Route 3 is to be extended to the Flughafen, and recently the route to Hall in Tirol has been surveyed with a view to reopening. The tram shed, at Pfannhausstraße 2 in Hall in Tirol, still stands, awaiting the next service.

Innsbruck has traditionally relied on second hand trams. The system currently uses much-modified trams originally built between 1957 and 1966 from Bielefeld in Germany. Some of the trams retain a central section, whilst others were reduced to a two-section unit, donating their central cabin to the trams on the Stubaitalbahn. One tram, built as a two-section unit, has even been extended to three. The two trams which usually work on route 6, the Igls line, have been adapted to carry cycles. Some of the original vehicles for the Igls line are kept by IVB and used on special services.

Innsbruck has recently tested a Bombardier City Runner five section tram, and may order up to 40 as replacements. In addition, the council is considering whether to replace the trolleybus services and two bus services with new tram routes.

Innsbrucker Mittelgebirgsbahn

This short train railway from Igls is now part of the IVB. See more details at the Mittelgebirgbahn page.

Stubaitalbahn

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck etc, it is a duck. But in Innsbruck the Stubaitalbahn looks like a tram, runs in the street like a tram, but we treat it is a minor railway.