WIEN (Vienna) U-Bahn & Tram

I had been to Vienna on several occasions to explore its excellent public transport system, but I wanted to go back in preparation for the new edition of my 'Tram Atlas Schweiz & Österreich' to check the latest extensions and see how new projects are progressing. So I stopped there for a couple of days (7-10 April 2014).

 

I actually wanted to visit Vienna last October to see the last U2 extension from Aspernstraße to Seestadt right after its opening, but for some reasons I had to postpone my trip, then I preferred to wait for spring when the weather would be nicer, and it was. This extension was much criticised as it runs virtually through nowhere. There is a project to create a new neighbourhood on what was previously an airfield, but that redevelopment scheme is advancing slower than planned, and so the U-Bahn mostly serves construction workers, I suppose. At Hausfeldstraße, people can transfer to the also extended tram line 26, but at Aspern Nord hardly anyone is visible in the station, although some buses terminate there. The route is mostly elevated, although just east of Hausfeldstraße it is actually at grade for a few hundred metres. The stations are in the style of those on the previous extension to Aspernstraße, which means they are o.k., but nothing exciting. As opposed to line U1, an architecture contest was held for the surface U2 stations, but the result could have been more interesting, as we basically get square boxes without much decoration, and unlike the other lines, also the purple line colour is not as present. But being elevated, the line provides nice views, especially between Donaumarina and Donaustadtbrücke as it crosses the Danube River. From a photographic point-of-view the elevated section is not a perfect shot as the viaduct is flanked by sound-absorbing walls which cover at least half the train. For neighbours along the line, this is, of course, good as you can hardly hear the trains roll by. Let's hope that in the near future, all construction projects in the area will get done so that also this extension gets the ridership it deserves.

Caption should say 'southern side of the station'-Sorry!

Maybe inspired by the criticism received for the eastern U2 (or northern as they say), the city government has recently cancelled or at least postponed the line's southern extension which was planned and even funded to run from Karlsplatz to Gudrunstraße, also serving some new developments which may get finished later than expected. Instead, the money is to be transferred to the long-planned but never realised U5, or at least its first stage, together with a new extension for U2. The plan is to split the present U2 at Rathaus, transfer the original section which was once an underground tram to the new U5 from Karlsplatz to Rathaus and build a new section north towards Altes AKH, now a university campus. Later U5 would head northeast to Hernals. In return, line U2 would get a southwestern route from Rathaus via Neubaugasse (U3), Pilgrimgasse (U4) to Matzleinsdorfer Platz, a major hub with S-Bahn and trams. In a later stage it could continue to Wienerberg, an area with some high-rise office buildings.

Although, like Munich, Vienna had long stuck to its initial metro project which it gradually developed over various decades without many modifications being added along the way, this is now the second major change in such a project. The first was only a few years ago, when the current U1 south extension was modified, when construction had already started. But the change only affects the surface section which was started later anyway. The initial idea was a rather straight route towards the south to Rothneusiedl, where a new football stadium was planned. But as this project was cancelled, an U-Bahn extension wasn't justified either, at least not now, so instead of just shortening the extension, the city decided to bend the route towards the east to Oberlaa, basically replacing the former tram 67 (which was curtailed at Alaudagasse in March 2014 so that construction for the U-Bahn can begin). A branch to Rothneusiedl is an option for the future. Any tram closure in favour of the U-Bahn is, of course, always met with criticism from some people, but in the end, residents in the area will be happy to get a through and fast ride into the city centre instead of having to change from tram to U-Bahn, as they used to do at Reumannplatz, as line 67 has always been just a metro feeder line, and will continue to be one on its western leg. From the beginning of the U1 extension project there has been talk about a new tram 67 route further east via Laaerberg, but the future will show whether this route gets classified with the necessary priority, as other tram extensions are also on the wish list.

With the new U5, a busy corridor will be served by the U-Bahn, and it will certainly speed up journeys on the western tram lines, some of which may then, of course, disappear or be diverted not to double the new U-Bahn line.

Generally what I like about the Vienna U-Bahn is its speediness. Trains seem to accelerate much more than any such system in Germany, and station dwelling time is rather short, too. After having introduced a Berlin-style 'Zurückbleiben, bitte!' only a few years ago, trains now simply have an accoustic signal that doors are closing and off they go (some of the German systems – even the driverless metro in Nuremberg! – have now also understood that this is less dangerous than a stupid long announcement ignored by everyone). The headways are quite good, too, and despite a standard station design, each line has its own character. Normally I prefer individual station designs, but I think that Vienna's original design is still nice today, sort of timeless. This is most visible on line U1, which had seen various extensions but maintained its original design, though slightly modified, and the new stations on the Leopoldau extension still look modern with their 1970s design. U4 and U6, with their old Stadtbahn heritage, have some architectural treasures, especially with their entrance pavillions or buildings designed by Otto Wagner. Line U3, besides U1 the only one built from scratch as an U-Bahn line, has a less appealing basic design, but many of its stations are enhanced with artwork, mostly notably Volkstheater with its gigantic wall mosaic. One thing, however, I don't like about the basic approach in Vienna is the dark wall behind the track. The architects tried to intentionally separate the illuminated space of the platform from the technical side, but now we know from many other cities, like the refurbished stations on line M2 in Budapest, that clad walls behind the tracks improve the overall appearance of a station enormously, whereas with just a few advert boards, the uncovered walls, mostly painted black, produce a rather filthy atmosphere. So Wiener Linien's responsible should go on a day trip to Budapest to see the difference (which is also apparent there between lines M2 and M3!).

Talking about refurbishment, all the underground tram stops along the Gürtel have recently been refurbished. Generally this was a good approach, the stations look much friendlier now, but I heard some people criticise that the walls, now covered in small mosaic tiles which from top to bottom go from white to black, look dirty this way, because these people perceive the black part as dirt. I, personally, did not have that impression, but I can understand their point. My criticism would rather be why they didn't choose a different colour scheme for each station, an approach made by many metro systems, as this helps passengers to identify their station without looking for a name sign. 

One station is and has always been different, the one at Südtiroler Platz, now Hauptbahnhof, only served by line 18. And I was sad seeing it completely refurbished. Having opened in 1958, it was different from those built later. And I think I was not the only one who loved its 1950s design. Its new design is not bad, it blends in with the overall design of the new railway station complex, but I think they should have left some features of its original look, especially the ceiling, however, just the wall mosaic was rescued and placed on a different wall, though well visible.

And talking about name signs, a very confusing issue in Vienna! Several stations use a double name, like Schottentor-Universität or Messe-Prater, but this is not shown like this on station signs, instead each sign only shows one part of the combined name alternatingly, but too far from each other to perceive it as a combined name. So you may look for a sign saying Schottentor, but all you can see is Universität which may lead to some confusion, especially for visitors. The respective tram hub, however, which is geographically actually closer to the university, is just called Schottentor. So, if the station is called Messe-Prater, then all signs should say 'Messe-Prater' (most of these illuminated signs are big enough to include the full name!).

Is this station called Südtiroler Platz or Hauptbahnhof as the next photo would suggest?

Although I didn't like them so much in the beginning, I now enjoy riding the new U-Bahn rolling stock (V stock). Just like their brothers in Oslo, Siemens delivered a good train, and I don't understand why they now offer that crappy Inspiro (probably it's cheaper and thus more affordable for not so wealthy cities). I'm not a fan of the red plastic seats, but they are o.k. Like in Munich, the new trains look especially modern compared to the older stock, which although partly refurbished, looks quite dated now. On line U6 (which some would argue is not a real metro, but for me it fulfills all criteria) the low-floor trains are nice, but a bit loud as you can hear the wheelsets too much. It is always amazing how many passengers this line carries being a tangential line, and one of the reasons given for the decision to build line U5 is to relieve U6 in the area of the AKH, Vienna's largest hospital complex. Unfortunately all the cables and wires necessary to operate this line were placed between the tracks, thus acting as a barrier to prevent people from crossing the tracks, but for train-spotters they prevent us from taking a good shot of the station with a train on the other side. So the best locations for train photos are the surface stations on the southern section, especially Alterlaa where every other train terminates during off-peak times.

 

Despite many line closures, often to be replaced by the U-Bahn, and despite all complaints from tram enthusiasts, Vienna still ranks among the Top 5 worldwide when it comes to tram network length (after Melbourne, Berlin, St. Petersburg and Moscow, although the latter two cannot be confirmed). And together with the latest U2 extension also the tram network was expanded in the eastern district of Donaustadt, thus giving frustrated tram fans hope for future development, which is likely to happen. Being such a big and old system it is certainly not comparable to a modern French tramway. New sections are mostly built on a dedicated right-of-way, but not necessarily as unlike in Germany funding is also available for street-running sections. Generally, the share of street-running sections is rather high, and so is the share of stops with street-level boarding. Wiener Linien together with Siemens developed ULF, the ultra-low-floor tram with the lowest floor height worldwide, some 19 cm, of which there are now some 300 vehicles, short ones and long ones (35 m). This is compensated by very dense headways, most lines operating every 7-8 minutes. Like the U-Bahn, also trams accelerate fast, and you'd better hold on to a pole on an ULF! From a passenger's point-of-view, I'm not a big fan, I don't like the sections between the modules, and in fact, Siemens did not sell this tram to any other city but Vienna, just a few to Oradea in Romania. As maintenance of these cars is also too expensive, Wiener Linien finally decided to launch a new tendering process to replace the still numerous high-floor trams. So while at many stops boarding is still from street level, several stops now have raised road lanes that act as platforms to allow level boarding. The new line 26 to Hausfeldstraße features full modern tram platforms, of course. On the long viaduct, which takes the tram across a railway and a motorway, there is an elevated station. Apparently it was not allowed or desired to have passengers cross the tracks on this signalled section in case one of the lifts wouldn't work, so an island platform was built and to allow the single-ended trams to open their doors, they need to switch sides on the ramp to that viaduct, similar to what is done in the tram tunnel in Zurich. This is Vienna's first elevated tram stop since the tram viaduct to Alterlaa had been rebuilt for line U6. 

A weak point of Vienna's tram system is the fact that many lines are radial, i.e. all lines coming into the city centre from the western suburbs, except line 2, terminate at the Ring, which forces people to transfer to other lines. Given the long sections of street-running which is likely to produce delays, Wiener Linien prefers to operate short lines instead of long through lines, hence the elevated number of lines, when several of them could be combined to form cross-city lines. The forced transfer is partly compensated by short headways and convenient interchanges also with the U-Bahn system. The transfer spectacle is most visible at Schottentor where no less than five tram lines terminate in the underground loop known as 'Jonas-Reindl' and two more in the surface loop. Passengers can continue their journey on three passing tram lines (1-D-71) or on line U2, or walk into the city centre or take one of the minibuses.

I already mentioned the lack of warning annoucements on the U-Bahn, which I appreciate, but with the introduction of a new speaker they also introduced bad language, when they announce 'Umsteigen zu: 2, 49', for example. This hurts in my ears! What does it cost to say 'Umsteigen zu den Linien: 2, 49'?? Even a pre-recorded system should be able to do that. And even better would be 'Umsteigen zu den Straßenbahnlinien 2 und 49, sowie zu den Buslinen 14 A!' etc. We should not wonder why immigrants speak bad German if this is what they hear on the trains and trams!

As long as you travel within Vienna, the fare system is simple. The entire city is Kernzone of the VOR fare structure, which covers large parts of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), too. A 24-hour tickets costs 7.10 €, and there are also 48-hour and 72-hour tickets. For frequent visitors to Vienna, there is a stripcard with 8 individial 24-hour tickets. For longer stays, a weekly pass may be an option. This can be bought from any machine, but curiously it is not a 7-day ticket but always runs from Monday to Sunday! Something I hadn't seen for a long time in any other city. But it may still be a good choice for your stay. It was for mine, but on Saturday and Sunday before, when I just needed to go to and from Meidling railway station, I had to buy single tickets. Like in Linz, things get very complicated if not impossible if you want to go on a day excursion outside Vienna and don't want to go just from A to B and back. There is no practical excursion ticket like a day pass for the entire area or for certain zones. So here they should really consider introducing some sort of attractive leisure ticket, easy to use like DB's Schönes-Wochend-Ticket or the different Ländertickets, with which you don't have to bother whether you have chosen the correct ticket. And in Germany these sort of tickets are not just popular with railway enthusiasts. A Munich-style XXL ticket might also be a good addition to the ticket offer.

Maps for the U-Bahn and S-Bahn (by locals mostly referred to as Schnellbahn) are available in one of the numerous Wiener Linien customer centres. But unfortunately there is no tram map. I think it is the only city in the western world with a tram system but with no proper tram map! Whereas in eastern countries it is often difficult to get hold of a printed map, at least they have them posted inside the trams, but Vienna's trams just show the line diagram with connections. If you want to find out where tram service is actually available you'll need to visit my website, buy my atlas or buy VOR's city map for 3 €. It is a nice map, but you have to fold it out fully to be able to read it. The complexity of the network and its length cannot be the reason why there is no tram map, because Berlin also has one, and not a bad one. The one in Melbourne, the world's largest tram system, is more of a simplified diagram which doesn't show all the stops. Vienna has also the only tram system with uncoloured lines, all lines are actually black (which may have been the reason why the underground stops were designed with a black & white colour scheme). A heritage from times gone by, a few lettered lines have survived in Vienna, namely D and O, whereas others disappeared a couple of years ago when the ring lines 1 and 2 were linked with radial routes. In my opinion, the two remaining lettered lines should be renamed to make them coherent with the rest of the network, but apparently along the north D there was much resistence as people identify with their D tram. There is, however, a new red logo outside these underground stations as well as at Gewerbepark Stadlau, the elevated stop on line 26. Some stops like at Kagraner Platz have a new logo for testing using the green H on a yellow circle which you can find at all tram and bus stops in Germany, but also in many Austrian cities.

LINKS

Wiener Linien

Vienna at UrbanRail.Net

LINZ Tram

My Austrian tour in preparation of the new edition of my 'Tram Atlas Schweiz & Österreich' also took me to Linz for a few hours on 15 April 2014 to take some new photos, but there was nothing new to explore as I had visited this city in the summer of 2011, shortly after the extension to Doblerholz had opened.

With this extension, Linz now has a more spider-like network, whereas previously the system had consisted of a north-south trunk route with short branches. Still today, all three lines run along the same corridor through the city centre, which is an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. The good thing is that all lines go directly into Landstraße, the main shopping street, the bad thing is that the journey through this pedestrianised street is rather slow and that there is no alternative route in case of disruptions. A second more easterly cross-city route has long been planned (even with long underground sections that I would consider a bit exaggerated for a city that size – about 200,000 inhabitants).

So while the journey through the city centre is slow, outer sections are almost always laid on a separate right-of-way with grass-covered track allowing higher speeds. I think all stops have proper platforms and all trams in service are low-floor (two generations of Bombardier's Cityrunner/Flexity Outlook). Like in Graz, the width of the vehicles is rather narrow, and trams do get packed frequently.

The tram tunnel under the railway station has now been in service for 10 years. The underground stop at Hauptbahnhof is well integrated into the railway station complex, one escalator (or lift, of course) brings passengers into the distribution level from where all rail platforms are accessible. The route then continues south serving another fully underground station at Unionkreuzung, followed by an open subsurface station at Herz-Jesu-Kirche. From there, the trams reach the surface via a ramp just north of one of the city's busiest crossroads at Bulgariplatz, where trams need to wait for their turn to cross. I cannot understand why the subsurface route was not extended beneath this crossroads to a ramp south of it, from where a dedicated right-of-way is available. If it was for the money, they could have built a ramp south of Unionkreuzung, a normal stop at Herz-Jesu-Kirche (saving the construction and maintenance of 4! lifts), and then a simple underpass under Bulgariplatz.

The line 3 extension which opened in 2011 includes another tunnel, which diverges just south of Hauptbahnhof station from the loop previously used by line 3 to reverse. This tunnel takes the trams quickly to Gaumberg and then to Harter Plateau, which actually lies in the neighbouring municipality of Leonding (although the centre of that town is a few km away). This tunnel was excavated by mining techniques, and I would have suggested to make it slightly longer to serve the area around Landesnervenklinik Wagner-Jauregg, a psychiatric hospital.

Linz has a very simple fare system, with vending machines basically offering only three types of tickets, Mini (short trip), Midi (single fare) and Maxi (24-hour ticket for 4 EUR). As of now, all tram and also all the trolleybus routes are covered by a Maxi ticket (things may change with the forthcoming line 3 extension to Traun).

But if you want to leave the central area of what is the OÖVV (Upper Austrian fare system), you may be lost. I have seen lots of websites by those transport agencies, but www.ooevv.at is one of the least useful to find out fares for more complicated journeys. Similar German systems offer an all-included day pass, so you don't have to worry anymore about fares, but OÖVV does not cater at all for daytrippers, it is all designed for commuters only. So here is a lot that needs to be improved. They just need to look around to see how other agencies do it and copy the positive things. It is no surprise then, that Upper Austria is now the only region in Austria that has made no effort to develop its regional rail system into an S-Bahn, a step all other regions have made, although in some cases it has just been a rebranding, but in almost all a very successful one. So all in all, Linz deserves a good mark (although I would prefer a dedicated website independent from other city services), while the rest of Upper Austria just gets a 'suficient'.

LINKS

Linz Linien

Linz Tram at UrbanRail.Net

INNSBRUCK Tram

The final stop on my Austrian tour 2014 in preparation for the new edition of my 'Tram Atlas Schweiz & Österreich' was Innsbruck. I only stayed for one day (21 April 2014), which is more than enough to explore its modest tram network and do a little sightseeing (including the Bergisel ski jump with its funicular-style lift). I had travelled on the entire Stubaitalbahn (STB) already last time in 2010, so this time I only used it from the city up to Sonnenburgerhof, a section included in the Innsbruck day ticket available for 4.50 EUR.

This already takes us to the first point, buying a ticket. At the tram stop outside the railway station, there are two ticket vending machines, but both resisted for a while to accept my banknotes and my debit card, eventually one of them kept the 10-euro note and issued a ticket and the change. So you'd better have some coins ready, especially as at many of the other stops there are only small ticket machines which only accept coins and cards. Single tickets can also be bought from the driver.

The Innsbruck tram system is primarily cute. Its urban sections are mostly in mixed traffic with cars and almost always, even when the track is marked off, buses share the same right-of-way. Even the recently opened extensions on line 3 were laid out this way (in Germany, by current regulations, these extensions wouldn't get any federal money). Having visited on a holiday, I cannot really judge whether car traffic interferes a lot with regular tram traffic on a normal weekday. In the urban area, there are still some stops without proper platforms, although I think that line 3 is now fully accessible, whereas on line 1 even the most central stop (at least for tourists), Maria-Theresien-Straße as well as the two stops east of it, have street-level boarding. This is remarkable as Innsbruck invested a lot of money to replace all older trams with new low-floor Flexity Outlook trams from Bombardier within a very short period of time. The lack of proper platforms is especially noticeable at Fritz-Konzert-Straße, where the boarding area is actually fenced off from road traffic, so laying raised platforms couldn't be easier.

The overall length of the tram system of approx. 38 km may give a wrong impression as a large part of it corresponds to line 6 and, of course, to the STB (18 km), so the proper urban system is still very small and only plays a minor role in the city's urban transport system. This may be the reason why tram lines are not shown in any special way on system maps, although at least the lower numbers are reserved for them, whereas bus lines actually carry letter designations. Line 3 got a new western leg not too long ago, but this only makes sense so far to reach a shopping mall at its western terminus. This was, however, meant as the first segment of a larger extension now under construction to replace bus route O (until a few years ago a trolleybus line) by trams. Line 1 has not changed much over the decades and is not likely to change in the future either. The major flaw with these two urban lines is that interchanges are virtually not available. At Bürgerstraße, the two lines cross, line 1 has a proper stop, but for line 3 only an eastbound stop was added without a platform, and further away from the intersection than necessary, but easily walkable, though. Near the railway station, the two lines actually meet and use the same tracks for some metres, but without an interchange stop. The bad thing here is that even a walk from the nearest stop to the other is a tough thing as you need to cross several streets finding your way across major road intersections and under the mainline railway. In fact this interchange is not even shown as such on the maps. The route of line 1 and its stop locations also makes it very unpractical for those passengers to reach the railway station. There is no easy solution to this, but maybe a completely new line arrangement with the introduction of new lines for the forthcoming extensions may help. Otherwise a city circle line might help, too. On the other hand, many destinations in the city are easily accessible on foot, too, and a change of lines may be nicer between Anichstraße/Rathausgalerien (line 3) and Maria-Theresien-Straße (line 1) with a walk along the pedestrian street.

In most other cities, line 6 would no longer exist. It is what makes the Innsbruck tram system 'cute'. Even on weekdays, the line only runs hourly. It is a relic of times gone by when no cars or buses existed and railways were the best way to reach remote villages on a plateau high above the city, but nowadays the line is more of a fun ride as it does not really serve any places of importance, because those areas with some houses are too far from the respectives stops for today's standards, so buses have to be operated anyway to reach these places. But even on a holiday with weather nice enough for a walk, the single tram required for that service was far from full. One weak point is, of course, its separate operation instead of running a through service into the city centre as part of line 1. In this way it would also be more visible for tourists who will enjoy the ride up the mountain. The line is steep and with many bends, but as has been done in the past, is manageble by normal trams, so maybe a kind of heritage service would attract more passengers (although this may again raise the problem with full accessibility as with the Pöstlingbergbahn in Linz).

The much longer Stubaitalbahn, however, seems to deliver its services as an interurban rural tram line, with half-hourly trains to Kreith and hourly all the way to Fulpmes. Whereas line 6 is completely within the Innsbruck urban fare zone, different fare zones apply for the STB. Certainly, running trains directly into the city centre over tram tracks has contributed to the line's survival.

The Flexity Outlook trams are quite comfortable to ride, and given the steep and winding routes on line 6 and the STB, they do a good job from a passenger's point-of-view, no irritating shaking or wobbling even at reasonable speeds. Also within the city, drivers take curves at relatively high speeds compared to many newly-built tram systems, and the Flexitys perform well there, too. What I don't like so much is the irregular arrangement of the seats, but that may be a result of the intention to place a maximum of seats and may be required by the double-ended trams with doors on either side.

Inside the trams, network maps were readily available. These are large fold-out maps, on one side on a city map and on the other a diagrammatic map. While the first is easy to use, I find the latter rather problematic. As said before, tram lines are shown just like bus lines and the colours used for the trams are pretty difficult to distinguish and identify, with three different shades of malve, basically. The STB has some sort of purple-brown and is therefore hard to tell from the brown of the major east-west bus line O (which may become tram lines 2 and 4). Hardly any bus line acts as a feeder to the tram system and all buses go into the city centre too. As a result, too many lines need to be shown in the central area, making that map even more cramped. So hopefully, the tram lines will be given stronger colours and thicker lines to highlight them on the map, which might deserve a complete redesign anyway.

LINKS

IVB

Innsbruck at UrbanRail.Net  

GRAZ Tram

In preparation for the new edition of my 'Tram Atlas Schweiz & Österreich' I made a short visit to Graz on 6 April 2014 primarily to see the subsurface tram route in the railway station area. My last visit was in summer 2010, and since then not much had changed, except that the new Stadler Variobahn trams are in service after some teething problems.

Generally, the Graz tram system is a rather classic streetcar system with a high share of street-running sections, although most of the car traffic is diverted through parallel streets. Although at most stops there are platforms, these are mostly not high enough to provide proper stepfree access, not even with the low-floor trams, of which besides the newer Variobahn vehicles also Bombardier Flexity Outlook (Cityrunners) are in service. Although Graz maintains a large number of older vehicles, too, most journeys outside the peak hours are operated either with these two types or with older Duewag high-floor trams which have an added low-floor middle section.

When I was in Graz last time, several sections were out of service for track work, like line 7 to Wetzelsdorf and line 1 to Mariatrost. I was very surprised this time, that nothing much was done on line 1, which has a long single-track section with several passing loops at stops, making the overall journey with a Flexity Outlook extremely uncomfortable, as the trams switch from single-track to double-track on a badly aligned track too often. But I was told that this painful section is about to be upgraded properly this summer, with longer double-track sections and thus fewer switches which force the trams to slow down.

The necessity of the tram tunnel at Hauptbahnhof can be doubted, but now it is built anyway. But a solution similar to that realised in Linz or now being started in Augsburg would have been more convincing, i.e. with a tram tunnel right beneath the railway tracks. In Graz, the tram underpass primarily avoids a major road junction at Eggenberger Gürtel (but at the same time also eliminated a tram stop in that area). The underground stop at Hauptbahnhof, however, results in a longer walk for passengers to reach any of the trains than before, when trams stopped just outside the station. Whereas in Linz the tram stop is directly integrated into the station building, in Graz passengers need to walk across the station square and then, inside the building, go down to the subterranean passageway to reach the rail platforms. Once the trams from the city centre have stopped at Hauptbahnhof, they need to take a very tight curve to return to their original east-west alignment. All in all, the advantages for passengers are not really evident, at least not to the extent of the investment that was required to build that semi-underground diversion.

One thing I don't really like about the Graz tram network is the use of different line designations in the evenings and at weekends, when only lines 1, 5 and 7 continue to run, whereas the other legs are combined into lines 13 and 26. But at least this is clearly depicted and also explained on network maps. When these lines are in operation, trams wait for each other at Jakominiplatz to guarantee connections. But what may be ideal for transferring passengers, results in rather long waits for those passengers staying on the same tram.

A second city centre route is indeed missing in Graz. This has long been planned but this plan has not come to fruition yet. At present, all lines run along the single corridor from Hauptplatz to the major hub at Jakominiplatz along Herrengasse. The entire network may suffer disruptions in case of any disruption along this bottleneck. Trams from the southern branches can turn back at Jakominiplatz, but there are no such facilities for trams from the west or north. Trams from Hauptbahnhof run through the narrow Murgasse to reach Hauptplatz and therefore the width even for new trams is restricted to just 2.2 m, quite narrow for modern low-floor trams.

The entire tram network is within the city fare zone and any ticket for the tram is also valid on buses and regional trains (S-Bahn Steiermark) within the city boundaries. A 24-hour-ticket is available at 4.70 EUR from ticket machines.

Trams are now operated by 'Holding Graz Linien', a rather clumsy name for a transport operator, which used to be GVB (Grazer Verkehrsbetriebe). Their website is integrated into the general website dealing with services provided by the same holding (owned by the city). I would prefer a dedicated website that is easier to handle for visitors, while other services like water or garbage are mainly of interest for locals. So similar to Vienna, they should just present themselves as 'Grazer Linien', for example.

Having visited on a Sunday, I didn't manage to grab a network map, but those posted are quite nice and legible, with the trams clearly shown as something superior to buses, but I would suggest to use a better set of colours, not red (1/7), purple (3/6) and malve (4/5). By the way, riding trams in the old town is currently free, but this is just on a trial basis and may not be valid in the future.

LINKS

Holding Graz Linien

Graz Tram at UrbanRail.Net

BUDAPEST Metro & Tram

I hadn't been to Budapest in more than 15 years. I always told myself that I would go back as soon as the fourth metro line was open, and so I did (2-5 April2014), but 15 years ago, noone would have thought that it might take so long, but now it's open and running and at least it didn't disappoint me and Budapest locals who will have to use it every day, certainly like it, too. One week after its inauguration, many people were still exploring and admiring.

Anyway, let's start from the beginning, as usual, and look at the Metro later. Budapest has, no doubt, a good transport system, and with metro, trams, two types of suburban railways (MAV and HEV), a funicular, trolleybuses, a rack railway, a children's railway and even a chairlift, there is enough to explore for any urban transport enthusiast. To find out what goes where, can be a tricky thing, as only small fold-out maps are available, which are more like an enhanced metro map, i.e they show all tram lines but only with major stops, as well as some trunk bus lines. And these were updated with the new line M4. Some material was also available that shows the changes that have taken place in conjunction with the M4 opening, but these only affect bus routes in the southwestern area, whereas tram lines have remained basically unchanged (quite notable as some lines double the metro on the surface), except that a weekend line 48 was introduced. I was hoping to get a full city map with all lines as are posted in some places, but probably they haven't updated it yet.

When I arrived at Ferihegy Airport, there was a BKV office right next to the exit point in the main arrival hall, easily visible and staffed with an English-speaking lady. They don't accept euros but a cash machine was nearby to get some Forint. I got a 72-hour-ticket, exactly the period I needed for my stay, but there are also 24- and 48-hour tickets, and they give you unlimited travel on almost anything within the Budapest city boundaries (and the city is pretty large), except the funicular up to the Buda castle hill and the Children's Railway. At 4150 Forint (that's some 13 EUR), it is not exceptionally cheap compared to other prices in Hungary, but a good deal. And keep your ticket at hand at all times because you'll need to show it frequently!

Although certainly quite smaller than it used to be, the tram system (Villamos in Hungarian) is still rather large and a useful means of transport also for ordinary tourists. Especially line 2 provides a nice sightseeing tour along the Danube River on the Pest (eastern) side, but also on the right (west/Buda) bank you can ride the tram along the river (19/41). Line 2 is actually close to being a light rail line if it wasn't for the old trams in service not only on this line, as well as the sometimes very basic stops, but otherwise it is mostly fenced off and even has an underground stop at Fövam ter, now integrated into the M4 station complex. On other lines (I didn't ride all of them) the standard was varying a lot from extremely bad track on some sections of line 1 or the northern end of line 3 to recently upgraded sections with new track and proper platforms to match new low-floor trams. As far as I have observed, these (as of now only Siemens extra-long Combinos) are only in service on lines 4/6, which run along the körut, the ring road on the Pest side. There are posters at many stops announcing the introduction of CAF Urbos trams in 2015, but I wonder if they manage to get the track into proper condition, as now even the robust Tatras have problems and need to go very slowly on some sections of line 1, for example. So, the system is in a long process of being modernised. Next-tram indicators are still rather rare and often undergoing testing. In the central area, some announcements like transfers to the Metro are also made in English. Quite unusual for such an old system, all the trams are double-ended and doors often open on the left side. On line 2 at Vigandó ter in the city centre, there was obviously no room for a southbound platform, so you step down onto the northbound track. In general, stops are quite far apart in many cases, which may give you the impression of a higher travel speed, and in fact, they do travel very fast as opposed to many new tram systems. I was surprised how the long Combinos can handle those speeds on not always perfect track. Most of the routes I have seen are on a dedicated lane or right-of-way, which is at least separated from car traffic by concrete „balls“, so cars are unlikely to invade the tram route. A bit like in Vienna, to avoid too long lines, many of them act as feeders to the metro or to other tram lines. But apparently, this approach has changed with line M4, as the surface trams lines were maintained to cater for short trips (a good idea as many M4 stations lie very deep and would require too much time to ride just between two stations).

Budapest now has four METRO lines, and they are all rather different. M1, the oldest underground railway on the European continent, is of course more of a fun ride than a real metro, but it does get busy and trains travel very frequently and make only very brief stops. With only three short carriages making a full train, their capacity is rather limited and the stations are placed at short distances. All in all, more like an underground tram than a metro.

After having been completely refurbished, line M2 now looks like a modern, recently opened line, especially as the new Alstom Metropolis trains are in service here, too. In some places, some marble walls were integrated into the otherwise complete redesign, which I think was done very well. The stations look bright, and, what I found very interesting, the often ugly dirty wall behind the track was also decorated, resulting in a much more pleasant overall look. These images mostly depict scenes from the area where the station lies.

With line M2 refurbished and despite being newer, line M3 looks like the old and dark line. No doubt, the station designs have a certain 1970s Eastern appeal, but something needs to be done to bring it up to the standard of lines M2 and M4. Maybe improved illumination would already do a lot, and maybe a similar approach can be made with the design of the wall behind the tracks. Especially as the ceilings are very low, and there is mostly a row of columns close to the platform edge, this area is very dark and unattractive. The old Moscow-type trains add to the nostalgia feeling of days gone by. The southern terminus at Köbanya-Kispest has already been refurbished and made fully accessible.

And now to the new M4. Wikipedia actually has a list of dates that had been announced in the past for its scheduled opening... Anyway, I was already quite excited when I saw some construction photos and some photos of the finished stations, and I was not disappointed when I saw them in real life. Although like almost anywhere nowadays, bare concrete is also present here, each station has received its individual style, some more interesting than others, but almost all have something to discover. But above all, the stations are very spacious, well illuminated, good signage and good ventilation. Lots of escalators as well as lifts link the different levels, as most of the stations lie rather deep. Interchanges with other modes like trams and railways, but also the other metro lines were well planned and logically laid out. I think in most cases passengers can reach tram stops without crossing any streets. What I am missing, but maybe this is in the making, is a proper logo on a pole outside the stations. Previously, the other lines had a sort of logo, different for each line and not really visible either. A new M-logo is actually used to prefix the line number, similar to the Paris Metro, and I hope they will place it in a strong colour at road intersections etc. to make it visible from the distance.

Back to the station designs, it was funny to get a certain deja-vu experience in some of them: Moricz Zsigmond körter certainly reminds me of Georg-Brauchle-Ring in Munich, the terminus at Kelenföldi with its concrete walls painted in red is also reminiscent of Munich's U2 along its eastern leg where this was a main theme, again in Munich, the entrance bubble at Bikás park is similar to that at St.-Quirin-Platz on line U1. So I wonder if the same architects were involved here. At Kelenföldi, the railway station was rebuilt together with the metro, and from a wide mezzanine which spans the entire station and connects bus terminals at either side, you can reach all the railway platforms directly, making it a perfect hub. So I guess, it was worth the wait and the line is already pretty busy. See photos of all M4 stations here. Let's hope that the once envisaged eastern extension to Bosnyak ter will follow soon.

The Alstom Metropolis trains used on lines M2 and M4 are quite o.k., maybe a bit loud, but not as much as in Warsaw. On the new line they run rather smoothly, although compared to Vienna's U-Bahn the speed is (still) modest. Apparently, they are ready for driverless operation on line M4, but for the initial period a driver is on board and operates them in ATO mode. Inside they had a pleasant temperature and all sorts of announcements, visual and accoustic.

During my stay, there were ticket inspectors at almost all metro entrances, something I did not quite understand. The cost to have at least two people at every entrance must be horrendous. At the same time you don't really catch people without tickets as you would turn back if you don't have a ticket and buy one before trying to get in. I remember that last time I was there, ticket inspectors were waiting at the end of upgoing escalators to catch people without a ticket and fine them, but now they were all placed at entrances. Can anyone explain what the intention of this is?

Today I also got the chance to ride a HEV train to Szentendre, a nice town north of Budapest (with a BKV transport museum next to the station). This line (and I guess the others are similar) reminded me of the Roslagsbana or Saltsjöbana in Stockholm. The trains must be carrying thousands of people every day, but I don't understand why these people don't deserve proper platforms. You need to take a very good step or jump to get into or off the train. Unless they plan to get new low-floor trains soon, they should do something about this. And on some sections the trains really shake too much! Hopefully they will soon connect the northern with the two southern lines, what has been planned for a long time, creating a sort of M5. In a first stage, they should at least bring the southern lines further into the city, for example to the Kalvin ter hub, where people can change to a higher capacity vehicle, whereas now, people coming on busy and long suburban trains need to continue their journey on crowded trams, which has never made sense to me. From the eastern line, people can change to M2 or several tram lines, the same with the northern line that terminates at Batthyany ter. Another option would be to convert them into a sort of tram-train using new vehicles that can also run on the urban tram tracks, most of which are on dedicated lanes anyway.

LINKS

BKV

Budapest Metro & Tram at UrbanRail.Net

MARSEILLE Métro & Tram

During my short holiday in Nice I took one day (6 March 2014) to visit Marseille where I had already been once back in the 1990s. While the metro system hasn't changed much since then, Marseille now also boasts a modern tramway.

All in all, and especially when compared to the similarly sized Lyon metropolitan area and other European cities of that size (i.e. between 1 and 1.5 million inhabitants), the urban rail system in Marseille appears rather modest and insufficient. The metro, like in Lyon, uses short trains, here the 4-car trains only reach 65 m in length, not too bad when compared to the also short trains in Paris, but other European metros designed in the 1970s were laid out for longer rolling stock. This fact makes the stations, which could not take longer trains, look very small; this impression is confirmed especially in the city centre where they are often also very narrow. In recent years, just line 1 has been extended by four stations, and compared to all the older stations, these appear like huge and bright spaces, almost oversized, given the lower patronage compared to the busy stations in the centre. 

Having used tunnel boring machines on most sections, stations end up lying very deep. Mostly they have only one entrance, which unless you know exactly where it is, may be difficult to find. There is a large cube-shaped logo, but being black, it is not properly visible from the distance, some red like in Italy would help.

What is most annoying on the Marseille Métro is the extremely bad design of the two interchanges between lines 1 and 2. The interchange at Saint-Charles stroke me already during my first visit, because what I consider simply a severe planning mistake (otherwise it would be hard to believe), does not make sense at all. Often when I complain about such situations, someone points out one reason or another which may be acceptable for a certain compromise, but I think noone can give a plausible reason why they bothered to drill those tunnels in a way that all tracks lie parallel to each other – a good idea up to here – but in the end placed an island platform between the line 1 tracks in the middle, and side platforms for line 2 on the outer tracks. So there is absolutely no point in having all tracks on the same level from a passenger's point of view, in fact it would be better to have a two-level station instead, T-Centralen in Stockholm would have been a model for this station.

But the second interchange between the two lines, Castellane, is not much better. When two lines intersect perpendicularly, the only option is that one line is on the upper level, and the other below, with one flight of stairs and escalators enough to change trains. This is normally easily done when the two lines are planned and built at the same time, as was the case here more or less. But instead you get a completely inadequate station with narrow side platforms and exits only at one end via stairs only, after an acceptable walk you come to the system's major bottleneck: M1 also has side platforms with exits only at their western ends, but here with upgoing escalators and stairs that are not even one metre wide. It reminded me of some of those super-narrow staircases on the Brussels metro. In a few months, Castellane will also become the terminus of the city's third tram line, so passenger numbers and overcrowding will even increase here.

Otherwise, signage and general operation looks good. The trains, with their Brussels-style orange interior, could have standard poles and rails to hold on to, instead you can hold on to the seats and in the middle of the area next to the doors there is a half-high pole where you can hold on to, but this is somehow actually obstructing people when getting on and off. The trains run on rubber tyres, which I find funny and I like the smell of the tyres, somewhat roasted, but I actually don't see the point, especially as those systems like in Paris actually have normal steel wheels, too. But compared to well-maintained conventional metros like in Berlin, which I'm always surprised how quietly it runs, I don't see the advantages of rubber-tyred metros, especially if there are no significant gradients. Whereas line 1 now seems to have reached its natural length, i.e. the boundaries of the densely built-up area, line 2 is far from reaching its full extension. From the elevated Sainte-Marguerite Dromel terminus you can see huge high-rise neighbourhoods some kilometres away where the metro could go. An extension to St-Loup was high on the agenda some 10 years ago, was later postponed again and again while the tram was given priority. In the north, a 1-station extension is now being built, basically on depot access tracks, but this will simply move the bus/metro interchange a few hundreds metres further north.

In 2007, Marseille joined the general French tramway boom, although it was actually one of only a few cities which had never completely given up its tram system. But the only line, 68, was rather short and played only a minor role in the city's transport system. This line was rebuilt and became part of line 1, which was extended east from the former terminus St-Pierre, thus almost doubling its length. This extension, however, runs through some either undeveloped land or not too dense areas, and given the fact that Marseille still has several high-density districts neither served by metro nor the tram, I started to wonder whether this was really the area with the highest priority for a rail-based system. In the city centre it uses an old tram tunnel and therefore terminates underground at Noailles. Tram line 2 seems to be busier as it actually traverses the city centre and also serves the new developments to the north of it, the Euroméditerranée. The third line, now under construction, will give more coverage to the city centre, as it will run along Rue de Rome, right between the two metro lines, but will not reach any areas still lacking urban rail service.

Marseille's tram was much acclaimed when it opened for its modern design of the vehicles, although I have to admit that without being pointed at it, I would not directly associate the front of the trams with the bow of a vessel as was suggested, but it looks quite good anyway. They also look quite nice inside with a lot of wood used instead of the otherwise typical plastic. But the seats hardly deserve being called seats, the least comfortable I have ever seen on any tram or train. Not because they are hard, that's fine for a ride of limited time, but their shape is simply absurd. I guess that it was one of those incompetent designers who suggested to incompetent decision-makers to use an 'ergonomic' design! Ergonomy is a nice feature, but it only works if you can adjust the seat to the person who sits on it. And being tall and with a long-suffered back problem, I could write books about stupid people who design seats for public transport. I actually feel pity for Bombardier, as they normally deliver acceptable to good seats, but as said before, some incompetent designer must have imposed his/her will here. Aren't regular passengers in Marseille complaining about this? They should come to Nice for a day to see the difference! Another thing I was disappointed about was the quality of ride in curves and over switches. I had long believed that this is mostly a Citadis problem, and had not observed it that much on Flexitys elsewhere, but in Marseille they slow down for curves to 5-10 km/h, so the overall impression of speed is rather modest. Through the city centre, notably around Noailles on line 2, the trams continuously ring their bells as people keep crossing tracks or even walk on them to avoid the crowded pavement. All the stops are well-equipped with all sorts of information you would expect, electronic next-tram indicators, and, what I appreciate, with stop name signs at a height only about half a metre from the platform, which is much easier to read from inside the tram (despite the super-large windows...).

All in all, the public transport system is well integrated, costs only 5 € for 24 hours, and season ticket holders can even use local trains within Marseille. Tickets are all of the contactless smart-card type and are supposed to be validated at each boarding on the tram. For the metro you have to hold them against the reader anyway to open the gates/turnstiles. I was surprised how many manned information points there are, mostly small offices which provide maps and timetables. At the railway station's metro station Saint-Charles, a long escalator down, there is even a proper RTM ticket window, otherwise tickets have to be bought from vending machines. At some stations I observed single vigilants.

LINKS

Marseille at UrbanRail.Net

RTM (Metro & Tram Operator)

NICE Tram

A few days before our "Tram Atlas France" will be published, I decided to take a spontaneous, but deserved break and escaped to Nice on the Côte d'Azur for a few days. So today (5 March 2014), I combined sightseeing with tram spotting, both easily manageable in one day as Nice only has a single tram line.

The overall impression of this system is pretty good. The trams are frequent, they run every 4-5 minutes, but are almost always rather busy. In fact, the system was so successful from the start that soon they had to order more trams and extend the original ones from 5 to 7 modules (although there are some 5-section trams left, which is annouced on next-tram indicators as 'tram court' as opposed to 'tram long' for the others, so people know they shouldn't wait in the rear area of the platform). The Citadis 302 trams appear comfortably wide, allowing 2+2 transveral seating, although some sections are have only a few longitudinal seats to allow for prams and wheelchairs and more standees. There are TV screens which annouce the next stop, which is also announced accoustically, with varying music and sometimes with an added 'next stop' in English.

All sections of the line are on some kind of reservation, sometimes only separated from the road by a curb, although the tram tracks are mostly on a slightly raised trackbed. This is also true for the pedestrianised Avenue Jean Médecin, but still many people cross the tracks at any point. The trams therefore almost continously ring their bell to alert distracted pedestrians.

The stops are all up to the level one would expect of a modern tramway, with proper platforms, small shelters, ticket machines, all sorts of information and even a neighbourhood map. What I also appreciate very much is the T-logo on a high pole. Some stops like the central Jean Médecin could actually be wider, because despite being in a pedestrianised street, the platform has a kind of railing that separates it from the rest of the street.

The overall travel speed is modest. Trams run fluidly, although at some intersections I observed that they actually had to wait while cars were moving first in the same direction. But due to the integration of the tram tracks in busy areas, there are hardly any sections where they can speed up a bit, and being Citadis, they have to go into curves quite slowly anyway.

Although the line goes pretty directly to where it has to go, it does not serve the railway station directly, which is certainly a major drawback. From the stop Gare Thiers, people need to walk some 400-500 m to get their trains. The same is true for the CP (Chemin de Fer de Provence) station from Liberation; next to that stop, in fact, the old station building of that line had nicely been restored, but the station itself had been moved west by a few hundred metres a while ago. 

Similarly inconvenient interchanges will be provided once the second line is in service in a few years, as this line will run underground through the city centre, and at both future interchanges, people will need to walk a bit as the respective surface stops on the existing line will not be right outside the underground stations at Garibaldi and Jean Médecin. In the latter case, that stop could be moved further south, while another stop could be added between there and Gare Thiers as distances between stops on the central route are actually quite long. I guess this wouldn't really increase the overall speed as passengers would distribute better among 4 instead of 3 stops and alighting and boarding would thus be accelerated. 

But the second line is also planned to serve both airport terminals, a good perspective after the overcrowded airport 98 bus yesterday, for which (just like bus 99) they charge 6 € (including one transfer to a normal urban line, such as the tram), whereas normal fares in Nice are rather low, 1.50 € for a single ticket (including transfer) or 5 € for one day or a mere 15 € for seven days! These are sold as magnetic cards from ticket vending machines (they accept normal European debit cards!) and you are supposed to put them into the validating machine at each boarding. Regular passengers use electronic contactless tickets they hold against the same machines.

The local transport authority 'Lignes d'Azur' has an information office, but it was hard to find, although it is shown on the transport maps. It is located between Garibaldi and Cathédrale-Vieille Ville tram stops, but you need to look carefully to identify it among many other colourful shops. They have those typical French maps which I find quite good, with all bus lines in different colours, all stops shown properly and named, and the tram clearly shown as something superior. What I don't like much in this case is the city centre inset, neither how it is shown (just stops but no lines) nor what is covered.  

LINKS

Nice at UrbanRail.Net

Lignes d'Azur