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The Austrian Railway Group : Tramways in Wien/Vienna |
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You can see old trams all over the city, converted to new uses. Read on for real Viennese tramways. | 
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The first tramway in Wien, the Glöckerlbahn, commenced work in the city on 4 October 1865 between Schottenring and Hernals. Horse-drawn, the first coaches held 26 people, of whom fourteen had to ride on the roof. Unlike later tramways, Wien used the standard railway gauge for its tramways, which later allowed interconnection .The number of routes soon spread, with the "WT - Viennese Tramway-Gesellschaft" being incorporated in 1868, and the "NWT - New Viennese Tramwaygesellschaft" 4 years later. . In 1883 the first steam tramway started running between Hietzing and Perchtoldsdor, operated by the "DT K&C - Dampftramway Krauss & Comp ". The NWT changed to steam locomotive power two years later. . In 1888, because competition between companies caused so many incidents, the city formed "Aktiengesellschaft der Wiener Lokalbahnen", and took over some services. . In 1897 the first electric tram service began operating, between Mariahilf and Vorgartenstraße. A year later, the first section of the K.k.-Staatsbahnen, operated with steam traction, opened as the Wiener Stadtbahn. Because of the narrowness of the streets inside the city centre, which had been walled, tram routes were not laid there. Even today the routes on the Ringstrasse are the closest to the Old City. By the beginning of the 20th century, the now-familiar routes radiating from the Ringstrasse were being built, and existing lines had been electrified. In 1902 the company "GW-St.Stb. - Gemeinde Wien-Städtische Straßenbahnen" was registered, and this firm took over the NWT in 1903, and many of the other lines in 1907. The last horse-drawn tram worked in 1903. Heaters were introduced in trams in 1910, as were glazed platforms with entrance doors. Four years later, in 1907, the line linking Wien and Baden, the Wiener Lokalbahn (WLB), was inaugurated. The line still operates today, arriving in central Wien (Oper) via the tram tracks. By 1914, the LWP - Lokalbahn Wien-Preßburg had opened, using a mixture of steam and electric trains, and linking Wien-Großmarkthalle and Preßburg, using some of the Wien tramway system to do so. The tramways started to employ conductresses from 1914 onwards. The last steam tram operated in 1922, and in 1929 combined tickets were introduced that could be used on buses, trams and trains. As a result of the increasing traffic in Wien, the first traffic lights were installed at Oper in 1930, giving precedence to trams, and trains of the WLB. By 1942 the city tramways had routes 294 km long. Siemens had proposed an electrified subway under the centre of the city in 1913, but work did not commence until the building of the U-bahn 63 years later. The city also built experimental low-floor double-deck electric trams at this time. Considered a failure because the double-deck within the loading gauge made the ceilings very low, the low floor concept was not repeated until 1999. Still with around 200 km of route for the trams, and twelve depots, the Wien tramways was once the largest tramway in Europe - a title now held by St. Petersberg. Over recent years sections have been closed or converted into U-bahn lines, notably route 6 which ran parallel to the U-bahn route U6. They have been compensated for by new sections of line opening, and in one case a new tram route has replaced a bus service. After many years service, the standard 6-axle articulated trams, some hauling trailers, are gradually being replaced by a new generation of Ultra Low Floor trams. The first prototypes were built in 1995 by Simmering Graz-Pauker, and proved troublesome. Supplied as both 3-section and 4-section articulated units, later batches were also supplied in 5-section models. One of the depots, at Erdberg, has been rebuilt on a different site, with the old depot becoming the Wiener Strassenbahnmuseum. Some of the older generation of trams run scheduled services occasionally, and at other times run special services on routes around the capital. It is also possible to hire a tram for a special occasion - "Rent-a-Bim" (after the notation associated with the tram) is run by Verband der Eisenbahnfreunde. In 2005 the cost of hiring a vehicle for a morning or evening started at just over Euro 255. There are seven working trams available, the earliest built in 1913, and trailers can also be hired. | 
Route U6 formerly part of the Wien Stadtbahn
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More better and bigger picture in our ARG Viennese Trams Photo Gallery
The city's official Tramway site
Click on the ARG logo to return to the home page or here to go back to the previous screen.
text by Stephen Ford
Sources: Http://www.vef.at/ ; Http://www.sabor.at/vef/Tramway/index.htm ; Http://www.wienerlinien.at/wl/wlinien/jsp/home/guestHome.jsp
updated 23rd March 2005