Tram in reverse: Wuppertal Cableway January 9th, 2015
The Wuppertal Cable Car opened in 1901 in the city of Wuppertal, Germany. It is one of the oldest monorails in the world, still in operation today. What is more interesting is that Wuppertal has not been copied anywhere else in the world as a public transport model. This is the first and only suspended tram monorail in the world
Let's find out more about it...
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At the end of the 19th century, Wunderthal experienced the peak of industrialization. The population reached 400,000 people and grew further. And even before the start of industrialization, it was a prosperous city, larger than Cologne. The roads here were intended for carriages and pedestrians, and there was simply no room for laying tram tracks. Underground construction of the metro was also ruled out as the area was very rocky, with a large number groundwater. German engineers decided that the only way maybe just launch the tram by air
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Construction of the Wuppertal cableway (Schwebebahn) began in 1898, and its first test was carried out in the same year. In 1900, one of the first official visitors was Kaiser Wilhelm II, who took a ride on the monorail, and already in 1901 the transport was opened to the public. The tram line has become one of the most prominent, in every sense of the word, attractions of Wuppertal. Even after 100 years it is still the lightest and most quick way move around the city
Of course, the cableway did not begin to operate fully immediately. Most of its stations were not opened immediately, but within 3 years after opening. During the war, from 1943 to 1946, the cableway stopped working due to damage.
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Cableway with a route of 13.3 kilometers mostly stretches along the Wapper River at an altitude of 12 meters, and only a three-kilometer part passes over the streets at an altitude of 8 meters - it is called the overland route. It was due to its location above the river that Schwebeban was able to avoid serious destruction during the Second World War
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The monorail lasted for 98 years before the first fatal accident occurred. fatal, thus being the safest public transport system in the world. The only accident occurred in April 1999, when a train derailed and fell into the river. 5 people died and 49 were injured
The two previous accidents were non-fatal. After one of them, when a truck crashed into the anchor reinforcement of the suspended railway, all the load-bearing supports had to be strengthened with concrete shafts, which still “decorate” the city.
The most unusual incident in the history of the road occurred on July 21, 1950. On this day, circus director Althoff decided to take Tuffy the elephant on a monorail for promotional purposes. The elephant was put into a carriage at the Alter Markt station.
However, the elephant didn't like the idea of riding the monorail and began to get restless. Shortly after departure, Tuffy broke the wall and fell out of the carriage. Fortunately, at that time the train was passing over the river. Tuffy fell into the water from a height of five meters and was not seriously injured. During the incident, or rather during the panic that followed the elephant's fall, several passengers were also slightly injured.
Now, near the scene of the incident (between the Alter Markt Adlerbrücke stations), a falling elephant is painted on the wall of a house.
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The Wuppertal Cableway (German: Wuppertaler Schwebebahn) is one of the types of public transport in the city of Wuppertal, which is a monorail double-track suspension system on overpasses, with 20 stations, a total length of 13.3 km, 10 kilometers of tracks pass over the bed of the Wupper River at an altitude of about 12 meters, the remaining 3.3 km above the city streets at an altitude of about 8 meters. Maximum speed train road - 60 km/h.
The road was built in 1900 and put into operation in 1901. Official name roads - German Einschienige Hängebahn System Eugen Langen (Monorail cableway of the Eugen Langen system).
Specifications
Length: 13.2 km
Electrification: 600 V DC
Maximum slope: 40 thousandths
Maximum speed: 60 km/h
Average operating speed: 27 km/h
Travel time: 30 min
Construction of the road began in 1898, and on March 1, 1901, the monorail was put into operation.
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About the Wuppertal Cableway in numbers
- The Wuppertal Cableway has a double-track monorail suspension design, thanks to which two trains can travel on the tracks at once, in different directions.
- Total length The cableway is 13.3 km long, of which 10 km are above the bed of the Wupper River at an altitude of 12 meters, and the remaining 3.3 km are above the city streets at an altitude of about 5 meters.
- The Wuppertal Cableway has 20 stations.
- About 25 million passengers are transported on monorails annually, and the daily flow is about 80 thousand people.
- Trains travel at speeds of about 60 km/h.
- Each train is 24 meters long. All train carriages were designed by MAN, which present moment produces Ikarus buses. Each carriage is designed to accommodate 178 passengers (48 seats and 130 standing).
- During the entire period of work on the cableway, only one accident was recorded, which occurred in 1997. It turns out that this is one of the safest cableways in the world.
Of course, there is a lot to see in Wuppertal. But it is the Wuppertal Cable Car that is worth seeing at least once in your life.
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An unusual type of convenient urban transport - suspended railway became a symbol and landmark of the German city of Wuppertale. The suspended railway is part of the city's public transport and is a two-track monorail suspended system on overpasses on which carriages for passengers are "suspended".
The cableway in Wuppertal (Germany) is the oldest in Europe. It should be noted that it is older than the city itself. Wuppertal is 80 years old, and the suspension railway is already 110 years old. This public transport Wuppertal carries about 25 million passengers a year. The cable car is very popular among local residents and tourists.
This suspended railway was invented by the inventor and owner of sugar factories, Karl Eugen Langen. For a densely populated city, this idea turned out to be very successful, although at first it was viewed with distrust. Construction took place from 1898 to 1901. In its current configuration, the entire track opened on June 27, 1903. The cableway operated without any problems until 1943, when it was damaged by bombing during the war. But already in 1945, the movement of the cableway was restored in full. The total length of the route is 13.3 km. There are 10 kilometers of track above the Wupper River, and only 3.3 kilometers above the city. The height of the road above the river is 12 m, and above the city 8 m. Trains reach speeds of up to 60 km/h. A one-way ride on the cable car takes about 40 minutes. The rolling stock is of the same type - single-sided three-section cars manufactured by MAN in 1972-74. In addition to the standard ones, there is one historical carriage built in 1901, which is used for excursions.
A suspended monorail may appear in the capital region. Representatives of one of the construction companies that is building housing in the Moscow region really want to lay it. The idea is new for Russia, perhaps that’s why it’s covered in a certain romantic flair. Who doesn’t want to sail smoothly and silently over forests, fields, and at the same time traffic jams? It seems to be convenient and environmentally friendly. But this idea also has opponents.
It became very crowded to move around on the ground. In the morning and evening, passenger flows run in directions from Moscow to the region and back. And so every day. While underground and above-ground spaces are used to their fullest, what is above the ground, the air, is not used by anyone and, it seems, is worth nothing. The first kilometers of the Strela ground transport system in the Moscow region are promised to be built by 2018.
" This is not futuristic at all, let’s just say it’s just the future. This is approximately the same strategy as was used in the United States in the 30s and 40s. When everyone realized that it was thick populated cities and the suburbs no longer have the opportunity to expand in width", - says Maxim Dyakov, managing partner of the company producing the Strela elevated transport system.
Such" air trains", moving at a height of up to four and a half meters, can connect Odintsovo and Butovo, as well as the final metro station "Myakinino" with the new microdistrict on Novorizhskoe highway. The idea to send carriages by air came to the owners of a large construction company that is building these microdistricts. The construction of tracks for overhead transport is six times cheaper than laying a metro and one and a half times cheaper than a high-speed tram, according to the project developers. According to their calculations, the cost of travel in a suspended carriage could be 45 rubles.
"Our route will be approximately 13 kilometers long; it will take 15-18 minutes to cover. And people from the microdistrict will already be at the metro station. We all understand perfectly well that the presence of off-street transport to the microdistrict in itself improves this housing and makes it more attractive. And due to the fact that sales will go better, this is how this project will pay off.", - explained the director for coordination of regional programs of the construction company Mikhail Bikovitsky.
The Moscow Department of Transport considers the aboveground transport project promising. However, there are a number of open questions, the first and most important is how the introduction of a new type of transport will affect the existing infrastructure of the city. At the same terminal metro stations where suspended trains will arrive and depart from. In any case, the project requires careful study with the participation of all parties - the government of Moscow and the region, the investor, the contractor and experts.
"Even if such transport is launched, there will most likely be a very big crush. People simply won't be able to leave. Because an unlimited train of 10-20 cars cannot be attached to this beam. It can hold a maximum of five carriages. It is effective only if you need to transport a very small number of people, short distance, where it is impossible to use a bus. For example, at the airport", - considers the co-chairman of the interregional public organization"City and Transport" Alexander Morozov.
By the way, it was at Dusseldorf airport that the world’s first suspended transport system. There it successfully transports passengers between terminals and around the surrounding area. Another operates on the small campus of the University of Dortmund. After the construction of an unprofitable monorail in the north-east of Moscow, this will be the second attempt to develop the above-ground space of the Moscow region.
Kristina Odinochenko, Marina Glebova, Alexander Savin, Andrey Kostrov. "TV Center".
IN German city Wuppertal has a railway that is over 100 years old. One day an elephant fell off her.
The full name of the road is “Eugen Langen Electric Suspension Railway”. The road is a suspended monorail, built back in the 1900s. The first carriage traveled on the Wuppertal railway in 1901, and the last... the last carriage has not yet arrived - the railway in Wuppertal is still functioning properly.A miracle of German engineering
The monorail is laid at a height of 12 meters above the ground, its total length is more than 13 kilometers. The construction of the railway cost 16 million gold German marks; about 20 thousand tons of steel were used in its construction. The Wuppertal railway was closed only once - after the bombing at the end of the Second World War. Already in 1946 it was launched again.
Incidents
On July 21, 1950, Circus Althoff decided to hold a promotional event and ride a baby elephant on the Wuppertal Monorail. The baby elephant didn’t like the idea, so several journalists traveling with him in the carriage received minor injuries, and the baby elephant itself fell out of the carriage. Fortunately, at that time the carriage was passing over the river and the baby elephant fell into the water, so it was almost unharmed. The circus director had to compensate for losses.
After this incident, the baby elephant (by the way, it was a girl) was given the name “Tuffy,” which means “diver” in Italian. In memory of the Tuffy incident, a falling elephant was painted on the wall of one of the houses in Wuppertal. A local dairy also uses the Tuffi brand.
For the whole hundred year history The Wuppertal Railway had only seven accidents on it. Only one of them was serious, when in 1999 a carriage ran over a metal tool forgotten by workers on the monorail. The carriage fell into the river, killing 5 people and injuring 49 more. The court ruled that the cause of the accident was not the condition of the railway, but the negligence of the workers.
