The Gmunden Tramway () is a tram line in the town of Gmunden in Upper Austria, Austria. The tramway opened in 1894 and since 2018 the line has been connected to the Traunseebahn as part of the Traunseetram tram-train service. It is operated by Stern & Hafferl. The line's maximum gradient of 10.0% makes it one of the world's steepest surviving adhesion-only tram lines.
History
In 1875 when the Salzkammergutbahn was under construction there was a local campaign in Gmunden against a railway being built too close to the town centre. This led to Gmunden station (called the Rudolfsbahnhof at the time) being a considerable distance from the town centre and considerably higher. The inconvenience of this led to proposals for a tramway linking the railway station to the town centre. Gmunden's mayor also wanted electric lighting in the town and a combining this electricity supply project with an electric tramway was considered financially more worthwhile.
Construction work, directed by the engineers Josef Stern and Franz Hafferl, began in 1894. It took eight months to build the entire tramway, depot and power plant. The single-track line ran , from the railway station to Rathausplatz (Town Hall Square), with nine stops. The line opened on 13 August 1894 as the first electric tramway in Austria and was operated by three electric railcars built by Hofwagenfabrik Rohrbacher in Vienna.
Although the line runs in the street it was originally built as a local railway (Lokalbahn) and only legally became a tramway on 28 September 1937. The only operational change was fitting indicators to the vehicles.
In 1975 the section of the line from Franz-Josef-Platz to Rathausplatz was closed to make more space for road traffic, leaving the tramway only long. The shortening of the route led to a drop in passenger numbers and the tramway was threatened with closure until in 1989 the association was founded to financially support and lobby for the tramway.
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. History of Gmunden Tramway (10 pages)
Until its extension and connection to the Traunseebahn the line was unusual in that all platforms were on the same side of the single-track line and the cars that ran on it only had doors on one side.
Connection to Traunseebahn
In February 2013, the municipal council of Gmunden decided to link the tram to the Traunseebahn, a metre-gauge railway running from Gmunden to Vorchdorf. This involved building 700m of new track, including rebuilding a road bridge over the Traun, and replacing the rolling stock on both lines with new low-floor trams.
Construction of a new double-track line from Franz-Josef-Platz to Klosterplatz (via Rathausplatz, the original terminus) began in 2015, followed by reconstruction of the Traun bridge in 2017. The first test trains ran over the new track in August 2018 and the Traunseetram from Gmunden to Vorchdorf began operation on 1 September 2018. The town section of the line (from Gmunden railway station to Engelhof station on the Traunseebahn) is served by four trams per hour on weekdays and two on weekends, with half of these continuing to Vorchdorf.
Rolling stock
Tramlink The Traunseetram is currently operated by a fleet of Tramlink low-floor trams. Stern & Hafferl ordered eleven of these vehicles, numbered ET 121–131, from Vossloh España (now part of Stadler Rail) in 2013. Eight are used on the Traunseetram and the other three on the . They are five-section 100% low-floor multi-articulated trams with a capacity of 175 passengers, including 60 seats and 15 folding seats. The first trams entered service on the Traunseebahn in 2016. One vehicle was brought to the Gmunden Tramway for tests on the 10% gradients, but the tram depot did not have space to store the new vehicles so they did not enter passenger service in the town until through services began running over the connection to the Traunseebahn. Of the eight Tramlink vehicles, seven are needed to operate the planned timetable and the other serves as a reserve.
No. Image Origin Yearbuilt Length Weight Maximum speed Power output ET121–123, ET127–131 Vossloh España / Stadler Rail Valencia 2016 32 m 41.3 t 70km/h 4100kW
Former fleet No. Image Origin Year built Length Weight Maximum speed Power output Remarks 1 Rohrbacher/AEG 1894 8 m 6.6 t 25km/h 213kW Rebuilt in 1933; scrapped 1952 2 Rohrbacher/AEG 1894 8 m 6.6 t 25km/h 213kW Rebuilt in 1935; scrapped 1962 3 Rohrbacher/AEG 1894 8 m 6.6 t 25km/h 213kW Rebuilt in 1938; sold to Kärntner Eisenbahnfreunde in 1975 4 (I) Rohrbacher/AEG 1895 8 m 6.6 t 213kW Transferred to Vorchdorf (Traunseebahn) in 1935 and scrapped in 1950 4 (II) Ganz & Co. 1913 9.53 m 13 t 240.5kW From the Pressburger Bahn in 1941, rebuilt and entered service in 1951; sold to Mariazell Tramway Museum in 1983 5 Grazer Waggonfabrik/SSW 1911 9.08 m 11.0 t 30 km/h 226kW 6 Grazer Waggonfabrik/Siemens 1907 8.7 m 10.3 t 222.5kW Transferred from Unterach–See Tramway in 1943; transferred to Atterseebahn (Vöcklamarkt – Attersee) and rebuilt to unpowered carriage 7 Grazer Waggonfabrik/Siemens 1907 8.7 m 10.3 t 222.5kW Transferred from Unterach–See Tramway; loaned to Florianerbahn museum tramway and regauged to 900 mm 8 Lohner/Kiepe 1961 13.4m 17.0t 60 km/h 2100kW Fitted with full pantograph; built with doors on only one side; rebuilt in 1978 for one-man operation 9 Ex-Vestische Straßenbahnen 347, built by Duewag/Kiepe 1952 14.3 m 17.0 t 70 km/h 200kW Entered service in Gmunden in 1977; doors on the off side sealed 10 Ex-Vestische Straßenbahnen 341, built by Duewag/Kiepe 1952 14.3 m 17.0 t 70 km/h 200kW Entered service in Gmunden in 1983; doors on the off side sealed 100 Ex-Pöstlingbergbahn car IV; built by Grazer Waggonfabrik 1898 6.8 m 8.8 t 14 km/h 40.8kW Open-sided; fitted with a bow collector. Acquired from the Pöstlingbergbahn in 1995
Trams 5, 8 and 100 are still in operational condition in Gmunden, kept in the line's original depot, and used for special services. They have been modified to comply with railway (as well as tramway) regulations in order to run as far as Engelhof on the Traunseebahn.
See also Trams in Europe List of town tramway systems in Austria
Notes
References
External links
Official website of Stern & Hafferl Verein Pro Gmundner Straßenbahn Track plan of the Gmunden tram system