Straßenbahnen

Trams: In 1824 F. A. von Gerstner, a Prague citizen, built a 228 m long trial track in the Vienna Prater for a horse-drawn train project, 1840-1842 the Brigittenau line connected the Augarten area of Vienna and the Colosseum music hall. The first regular horse-drawn trams in Vienna were operated from 1865 between Schottenring and Hernals; horse-drawn trams were also opened in Baden (1873), Graz (1878), Linz (1880), Klagenfurt (1891) and Salzburg (1892). The Neue Wiener Tramway-Gesellschaft (NWT, 1872-1902) took on the building and operation of trams in the outskirts. In Vienna the Dampftramwaygesellschaft Krauss & Co. built the Hietzing- Perchtoldsdorf line in 1883 and the Donaukanal- Groß Enzersdorf and Donaukanal- Stammersdorf lines in 1886. In 1880 the first electric tram was operated for demonstration purposes at the Rotunde exhibition centre. In 1883 the Mödling- Hinterbrühl line was opened as the first regular European tram service. It was followed by electric trams in Baden and Gmunden (1894), Vienna and Linz (1897), Graz (1899), Dornbirn (1902), Innsbruck (1905), Ybbs an der Donau (1906), Unterach (1907), Salzburg (1909), St. Pölten and Klagenfurt (1911). The Vienna Stadtbahn, designed by O. Wagner and opened in 1898, constitutes a major engineering and artistic achievement. In 1902 the Städtisches Wiener Straßenbahn-Unternehmen company was founded by mayor K. Lueger and all lines were electrified. Between World War I and II, and especially after World War II, an institution owned by the Vienna municipality, from 1942 called "Wiener Verkehrsbetriebe", since 1992 "Wiener Linien", considerably extended its services. In 1949 it was merged with the electricity and gas works (and in 1953 with the Städtische Bestattung funeral service) to form the Wiener Stadtwerke. Its development over the past decades has been marked by the construction of the Vienna Underground Railway and the expansion of the bus service, reducing the importance of trams. Since 1998 Ultra Low Floor trams (floor height 18 cm) have been in use in Vienna. Trams operate on 500-750 V D.C.; the Vienna and Graz tram lines use a gauge of 1,435 mm (standard gauge), which was also used for the former tram lines in Baden, Salzburg and St. Pölten; the tram lines in Innsbruck and Gmunden (formerly also Dornbirn, Klagenfurt and Unterach) use a gauge of 1,000 mm; the tram line in Ybbs had a gauge of 760 mm; the tram service in Linz runs at the rare gauge of 900 mm.