Hanging Railway
Hanging Railway
The Hanging Railway in Wuppertal started operating in 1901 and is still in use today. In German it is called Wuppertal Schwebebahn or Einschienige Hangebahn System Eugen Langen. Schwebebahn means the floating railway but in English it is mostly called the Hanging Railway or the Suspension Railway.
The Hanging Railway in Wuppertal was designed
by Eugen Langen. He had already designed a hanging railway in Dresden. The
Hanging Railway Dresden is more of a funicular railway, the length is just 274
metres. The length of the Hanging Railway in Wuppertal is 13,3 kilometers. The train journey
takes about half an hour and has 20
stops.
Eugen Langen died in 1895, three years before work on the Hanging
Railway in Wuppertal started. Many cities considered the Hanging Railway but
most of them preferred the underground solution. During the 19th century Wuppertal was
a more important town than it is today. Wuppertal was one of the
first German industrial towns. Its neighbours, Barmen and Elberfeld, were also early industrial towns, they
were later integrated into Wuppertal.
Wuppertaler Schwebebahn or the Suspension Railway in Wuppertal
Very few accidents have during the more than 100 years it has been in use. It was damaged during
the war but was back in operation in 1946. The only fatal accident happened in
1999 when five people were killed. Workers working on upgrading the track during a weekend
had forgotten a piece of metal left on the track. The first train on Monday morning
hit the forgotten piece of metal and crashed into the river.
Another kind of accident happened in
1950, an elephant named Tuffi jumped into the river Wupper from the Hanging
Railway! Tuffi survived the fall into the river, the depth of the water was less
than half a meter. Some of the passengers in the train got minor injuries when
Tuffi panicked and ran through the wagon, before breaking through the wall and
falling into the river.
If you arrive
in Wuppertal by S-Bahn or train, you can take the Hanging Railway from
the train station. In 1901, the track was shorter, running between Kluse and Vohwinkel. The railway was
extended in 1903 from Ritterhausen/Oberbarmen to Kluse, thus creating
the track that is still used today.
Don't expect any grandiose views from the train, the Hanging Railway runs just eight meters above
the streets. It is more impressive to watch and many of the station buildings
are beautiful. The stations are a mix of new and old styles. The track looks a little bit like a giant steel centipede.
Just walking along the track and watch the trains pass by is fun and gives you the
chance to take great photos. And you can sneak into a pub to get a beer.
The Overland Track of the Suspension Railway
The trains swing a little
bit but not much, you quickly get used to it. Since it's just a few
minutes between the trains, you can jump of at the stations, have look
at the stations and then board the next train and continue your journey.
Just make sure that you buy a daily ticket.
Wuppertal
used to be a prosperous city but had trouble to keep up with its
neighbours, especially Dusseldorf, Cologne and the Ruhr-region. The
Hanging Railway is the main attraction in Wuppertal, you can find other
attractions but most tourists go to Wuppertal just to see the Hanging
Railway.
The length of
the trains is 24 metre and they have four doors. The Hanging Railway is operated
by Wuppertaler Stadtwerke (WSW) and is included in the VRR transport
system.
From Dusseldorf,
you can take a train to Wuppertal (about 20 minutes) From Cologne
it takes a little bit longer, about 30 minutes, depending if you take a normal
train (Regional Bahn) or express train (Regional Express) Note that ICE trains
are faster but also more expensive. For shorter journeys, it is not worth paying
the extra ICE surcharge.
The Suspension Railway above the Wupper river