Vienna S-Bahn

Vienna S-Bahn
a Class 4024 EMU at Wien Leopoldau, 2008
Overview
Locale	Vienna, Austria
Transit type	S-Bahn
Number of lines	10
Number of stations	181 (52 of them in Vienna)
Daily ridership	300,000
Headquarters	Vienna
Website	Vienna S-Bahn
Operation
Began operation	17 January 1962 (1962-01-17)
Operator(s)	Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV 16.7 Hz AC Overhead lines
System map Schematic of the Vienna S-Bahn

The Vienna S-Bahn is a suburban metro railway network in Vienna, Austria. As opposed to the city-run urban metro network, the Vienna U-Bahn, it extends beyond the borders of the city, is operated by the Österreichische Bundesbahnen (Austrian federal railways), and consists of many branch lines. S-Bahn is short for Schnellbahn, which can be translated as "rapid railway".

Network

The Viennese S-Bahn consists of a multitude of branch lines extending beyond the city boundary, most of which converge at a central route segment called the Stammstrecke ("trunk line"). While many of the individual lines run at half-hourly or hourly intervals, they are able to offer combined frequencies of only a few minutes or less along the Stammstrecke. One line, the S45, operates entirely within Vienna's boundaries.

Unlike many S-Bahn networks in Germany, the S-Bahn system in Vienna is not a separate rail network. It is integrated with, and part of, the national railway system. As such, S-Bahn trains share tracks with regional trains (which travel further than the S-Bahn, some regional lines crossing into neighbouring countries) and other rail traffic, including freight trains.

The numbering of the lines have changed since the partial opening of the new Wien Hauptbahnhof on 9 December 2012.

Train services since 13th December, 2015
Line	Route and intervals	Lines used
	Vienna Meidling – 30′ – Gänserndorf	Trunk line – Northern railway
	S2: Mödling – 30′ – Vienna Rennweg – … S7: Wolfsthal – 60′/120′ – Vienna International Airport – 30′ – Vienna Rennweg – … … – Vienna Floridsdorf – 9′-30′ – Wolkersdorf – ≈60′ – Mistelbach (– Laa an der Thaya)	Southern Railway – Trunk line – … Bratislava railway – Danube Lands railway – Aspang railway – … … – Trunk line – Northern railway – Laa Eastern railway
	Wiener Neustadt Central – 60′ – Leobersdorf – 30′/60′ – Mödling – 30′ – Vienna Floridsdorf – 30′ – Stockerau – … S3: … – 60′ – Hollabrunn S4: … – ≈60′/120′ – Absdorf-Hippersdorf (– Tullnerfeld)	Southern railway – Trunk line – Northern railway – Northwestern railway S4: … – Railway Absdorf-Hippersdorf–Stockerau (– Franz Joseph railway – Tullnerfeld railway)
	Vienna Franz Joseph – 30′/60′ – Tulln – 60′/120′ – St. Pölten Central	Franz Joseph railway – Tullnerfeld railway
	Vienna Handelskai – 10′/15′ – Vienna Hütteldorf	Danube shore railway – Suburbane line
	Vienna West – 30′ – Unterpurkersdorf – 30′/60′ – Tullnerbach-Pressbaum – 60′ – Neulengbach	Western railway
	Bruck an der Leitha – 30′/60′ – Vienna Central – 60′/120′ – Ebenfurth – 60′/120′ – Wiener Neustadt Central	Eastern railway – Southern railway – Pottendorf line
	Vienna Hirschstetten – 60′ – Vienna Central – 30′/60′ – Vienna Hütteldorf (– 30′/60′ – Unterpurkersdorf)	Marchegg Eastern railway – Laa Eastern railway – Connection railway (– Western railway)

No lines except for S45 always have the same route and final station; most have trains that go further and ones that do not.

History

Planning for an S-Bahn network for Vienna was started in 1954, as a part of reconstruction of the Austrian Federal Railways. Concrete plans were completed by 1955, but financing was not secured until 1958. The collapse of the investment budget of the ÖBB led to a partial stop of construction in 1960, necessitating a postponing of the grand opening of the network by a little over a year.

The S-Bahn era in Austria began on January 17, 1962. After a day of testing the network with empty trains, passenger transport began at midnight the following day.

From 1962 until 2005, the term S-Bahn was rarely used, the full term Schnellbahn being preferred. Starting with the 2005/2006 timetable, however, S-Bahn has begun to appear in timetables and loudspeaker announcements. Announcements in Wiener Lokalbahn trains still use the Term Schnellbahn as of 2009.

The S-Bahn-Stammstrecke Wien Meidling – Wien Floridsdorf

S-Bahn train on the Stammstrecke bridge over the Alte Donau in Floridsdorf.

The Stammstrecke ("core route") of the Vienna S-Bahn has a length of 13,3 km (8.3 mi). From the south to the north, the following stations are served:

• Wien Meidling (Philadelphiabrücke)
• Wien Matzleinsdorfer Platz
• Wien Hauptbahnhof (former Südtiroler Platz)
• Wien Quartier Belvedere (former Wien Südbahnhof Tracks 21/22)
• Wien Rennweg
• Wien Mitte (Landstraße)
• Wien Praterstern
• Wien Traisengasse
• Wien Handelskai
• Wien Floridsdorf

All lines stop at all Stammstrecke stations except for S5 and S6 which do not stop at Matzleinsdorfer Platz.

The Wiener Vorortelinie

The most highly frequented single line in Vienna is the S45 Wiener Vorortelinie, which translates to "Vienna Suburban Line". The localities along this line all lie within the city proper, although they had been independent until the late nineteenth century, when they were incorporated, six years before this line opened. Originally part of Otto Wagner's federally operated Stadtbahn, this line was not taken over by the city with the rest of the network in 1925. The line was subsequently closed in 1932. Although still used for freight traffic for several decades afterwards, the line would not see passenger traffic until 1987, when it was reopened as part of the S-Bahn after extensive renovation.

Many of the original Otto Wagner stations are still standing and still in use. However, two of the present stations, Breitensee and Oberdöbling were demolished after the original line's closure and rebuilt in a different style by architects Alois Machatschek and Wilfried Schermann. One new station, Krottenbachstraße was added to the refurbished line, and two of the original line's stations, Baumgarten and Unterdöbling, which had also been demolished, were not replaced. Rebuilding Unterdöbling station is proposed for the near future, as is extending the line south to the Reichsbrücke. The line was extended from Heiligenstadt to Handelskai in 1996, to allow for an easy connection to line U6 of the Vienna U-Bahn.

Gallery

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External links

• Media related to Vienna S-Bahn at Wikimedia Commons