Type Tram Stations 8 Owner Austrian Federal Railways | Locale Gmunden, Austria Opened 13 August 1894 | |
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Termini Gmunden Bahnhof
Gmunden Seebahnhof Operator(s) Stern & Hafferl Verkehr | ||
Austria gmunden strassenbahn
The Gmunden Tramway (Straßenbahn Gmunden or Gmundner Straßenbahn), located in Gmunden, Austria, is the shortest and oldest remaining tram system in Austria. It is operated by Stern & Hafferl, which was founded in 1893. The tramway was opened on 13 August 1894. It is 2.3 km long. The line's maximum gradient of 9.6% makes it one of the world's steepest surviving adhesion-only tram lines.
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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.
There were several renovations in the late 90's and the following decade, including the renewal of "Keramik" station and of the Tennisplatz - Franz-Josef-Platz route. In February 2013, the municipal council of Gmunden decided to link the tram to the Traunseebahn. The route will be reactivated to Rathausplatz, and a new route will link to the new terminus of the Traunseebahn at Klosterplatz. The planned tram-train will have its terminus in Vorchdorf as part of a project named StadtRegioTram.
Route
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. A planned extension to the Seebahnhof, terminal station of the Traunsee Railway Gmunden-Vorchdorf has been partially built. It will count 3 stations and will use the route "Franz-Josef-Platz" - "Rathausplatz", closed in 1975. The reopening of Postgebäude is not planned.
Vehicles
List of all earlier trams, built between 1893 and 1907:
