Gmunden Tramway

The Gmunden Tramway is part of the tram-train-system Traunsee Tram, that opened in 2018 and is located in Upper Austria, Austria. The Traunsee Tram is connecting the shortest and oldest tram system in Austria with the Traunseebahn.[3] It is operated by Stern & Hafferl,[3] which was founded in 1893. The tramway was opened on 13 August 1894. It is 2.3 km long.[3] The line's maximum gradient of 9.6% makes it one of the world's steepest surviving adhesion-only tram lines.[4]

Traunsee Tram
Tramlink train of the Traunsee Tram
Overview
TypeTram-train
LocaleGmunden, Austria
TerminiGmunden Bahnhof
Vorchdorf[1][2]
Stations8[note 1]
Operation
Opened13 August 1894
OwnerAustrian Federal Railways (ÖBB)
Operator(s)Stern & Hafferl Verkehr
Technical
Line length3.090 km (1.920 mi)[note 2]
Number of tracksSingle track
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)
Electrification600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map
Vehicles in the tram depot

History

The works, directed by the engineers Josef Stern and Franz Hafferl, began on 25 February 1894. It took five months to build the entire tramway, one depot, one power plant and two buildings for employees. The original route ran from the railway station (named Rudolfsbahnhof at that time) to "Rathausplatz" (i.e. Town Hall Square). In 1975 the route was shortened to Franz-Josef-Platz.[5] 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.[6] In February 2013, the municipal council of Gmunden decided to link the tram to the Traunseebahn, which has been inaugurated in 2018.

Traunsee Tram

The tram-train system opened in 2018. Therefore, the route has been reactivated to Rathausplatz, and a new route links to the new terminus of the Traunseebahn at Klosterplatz. The tram-train has its terminus in Vorchdorf.[7][8][9] In Gmunden the tramway route runs entirely in the town, from the railway station to the central Franz-Josef-Platz on the Traunsee lake. It counts 8 stations, plus 2 closed and one substituted.[10] A planned extension to the Seebahnhof, terminal station of the Traunsee Railway Gmunden-Vorchdorf has been partially built. It counts 3 stations and uses the route "Franz-Josef-Platz" - "Rathausplatz". The reopening of Postgebäude is not planned.[1][2]

The line is unusual in that all platforms are on one side of this single track line. In view of this, the cars that run on it only have doors on one side but have driving positions at both ends.

Station Km Notes
Gmunden (Bahnhof)
0.00
 Station on the Salzkammergut Railway, tram depot planned
Gmunden Grüner Wald
0.35
 closed in 2014
Gmundner Keramik
0.60
 Built in 2005 to substitute the nearby "Gmunden Kraftstation", passing loop, tram depot
Gmunden Rosenkranz
1.00
Gmunden Tennisplatz
1.36
 passing loop
Gmunden Kuferzeile
1.60
Gmunden Parkstraße
1.77
 closed
Gmunden Bezirkshauptmannschaft
2.05
Gmunden Korso
2.22
 closed
Gmunden Franz-Josef-Platz
2.32
 Terminal 1975-2018
Gmunden Postgebäude
2.42
 closed in 1975
Gmunden Rathausplatz
2.54
 closed in 1975, reactivated 1.9.2018.
Gmunden Klosterplatz
2.84
 Terminus of the Traun railway since 2014, connection to the Traunseebahn since 1.9.2018.
Gmunden Seebahnhof
3.09
 New terminal station on the Traunsee Railway since 2014

Vehicles
No. Image Origin Year
built		 Length Weight V max Output Remarks
8 Lohner/Kiepe 1961 13.4 m 16.0 t 60 km/h 200 kW Fitted with full pantograph; rebuilt in 1978 for one-man operation; otherwise in original condition
9 Ex-Vestische Straßenbahnen GmbH (No. 347), built by Düwag/Kiepe 1952 14.3 m 17.0 t 70 km/h 200 kW Entered service on the Gmunden tramway in 1977;[3] fitted with full pantograph and magnetic track brakes, doors on the off side sealed
10 Ex-Vestische Straßenbahnen GmbH (No. 341), built by Düwag/Kiepe 1952 14.3 m 17.0 t 70 km/h 200 kW Entered service on the Gmunden tramway in 1983;[3] fitted with full pantograph and magnetic track brakes, doors on the off side sealed
5 Grazer Waggf./SSW 1911 9.1 m 11.0 t 30 km/h 52 kW
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 (Linz) in 1995[3]

List of all earlier trams, built between 1893 and 1907:

No. Year of construction Origin Output Weight Length
1 1894 Rohrbacher/AEG 2*13 kW 6.6 t 8 m
2 1894 Rohrbacher/AEG 2*13 kW 6.6 t 8 m
3 1894 Rohrbacher/AEG 2*13 kW 6.6 t 8 m
4 (I) 1895 Rohrbacher/AEG 2*13 kW 6.6 t 8 m
4 (II) 1913 Ganz & Co 2*40,5 kW 13 t 9.53 m
5 1911 Siemens/Grazer W. 2*26 kW 11.0 t 9.08 m
6 1907 Siemens/Grazer W. 2*25,5 kW 10.3 t 8.7 m
7 1907 Siemens/Grazer W. 2*25,5 kW 10.3 t 8.7 m

See also

Notes
  1. 11 stations in the future extension. Adding 3 closed stations (one in the line to Rathausplatz) the total is of 14
  2. 2.315 km (1.438 mi) before the extension at 1.9.2018.

References
  1. Extension under construction: Gmunden Tramway map (Stern & Hafferl website) Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "UrbanRail.Net > Europe > Austria > Gmunden Tram – Straßenbahn". www.urbanrail.net.
  3. Buckley, Richard (2000). Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria (2nd edition), p. 129. Gloucester, UK: Light Rail Transit Association. ISBN 0-948106-27-1.
  4. Taplin, Michael; and Russell, Michael (2002). Trams in Western Europe, p. 8. Harrow Weald, Middlesex (UK): Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 1-85414-265-8.
  5. (in German) Historical overview of Gmunden Tramway (Stern & Hafferl website) Archived 11 September 2013 at Archive.today
  6. (in German) History of Gmunden Tramway Archived 15 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine (10 pages)
  7. https://www.stern-verkehr.at/portfolio/traunseetram/
  8. (in German) "Gmunden lässt Straßenbahn bis Vorchdorf fahren" (Gmunden can take tram to Vorchdorf). Article on the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten
  9. (in German) StadtRegioTram Gmunden-Vorchdorf Project Archived 15 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Gmunden Tramway station: images and infos (Verein Pro Gmundner Straßenbahn)". stern.at. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014.

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