The ViennaS-Bahn is a suburban commuter rail 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 ÖBB , and consists of many branch lines. S-Bahn is short for Schnellbahn, which can be translated as "rapid railway".
Network
The Vienna 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. 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. Only line S45 operates entirely within Vienna's boundaries. Unlike many S-Bahn networks in Germany, the Vienna S-Bahn 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 and other rail traffic, including freight trains. The numbering of the lines has changed since the partial opening of the Wien Hauptbahnhof on 9 December 2012. No lines except for S45 always have the same route and final station; most have trains that go further and ones that do not run to the terminal.
History
Planning for an S-Bahn network for Vienna was started in 1954, as a part of reconstruction of the ÖBB. 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 Badner Bahn trains still use the term Schnellbahn as of 2009.
Main Route
The Main Route of the Vienna S-Bahn has a length of 13,3 km with trains running at headways comparable to those of the Vienna U-Bahn. It is shown on maps as a pink line. From the south to the north, the following stations are served:
The most highly frequented single line in Vienna is the S45 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. The Vorortelinie runs at headways of 10 minutes, and is shown on maps as a light green line.
