Alstom Digital Train Control System Enters Service On Wuppertal Suspension Railway
The title of thiis post is the same as that of this article on Railways Africa.
It describes how Alstom have fitted digital signalling with ETCS to Wuppertal’s Schwebebahn.
Surely, if you can fit digital signalling to the city’s weird and wonderful railway, it can be applied to any other railway.
The Wuppertal Schwebebahn
The Schwebebahn is a unique railway in Wuppertal and is a real tribute to early twentieth century engineering. There are few railways built at that time, except ones that have been converted to modern standards, that survive. In the UK, the only thing we have in the UK is the Volk’s Electric Railway in Brighton, which is tiny and small by compsrison to the Schwebebahn. Sadly, our main entry into this group of quirky railways, the Liverpool Overhead Railway, closed in 1955.
This was my second visit. The last time in 2009, I took a video and the line has been upgraded since.
This Google Map shows how the line curves through the city above the River Wupper.
Wuppertal Stations
The Schwebebahn supports indicate where it runs and the main railway line between Cologne and Dortmund at the bottom.
Don’t go past Wuppertal, without investigating. Incidentally, it cost me €14.00 for my ticket from Wuppertal to Cologne.
At the moment though because of all the development around the station, it is not the easiest place to visit, but when it is finished Wuppertal might become a place worth visiting to ride on its unique railway, which is not a fairground ride, but a real commuter railway used by the inhabitants of Wuppertal and the surrounding area.
Long may it continue to serve Wuppertal! I shall return in 2017 or so, when the town centre is finished.
From Osnabruck To Wuppertal
This journey takes just ninety-five minutes and I paid thirty seven euros for the journey. This standard fare compares well with a similar length journey in the UK, but as we can use railcards here, the Germans also have their own system, so deals are available.
But wouldn’t it be good if all countries used the same system, so perhaps I could upgrade my Senior Railcard for selected countries for an appropriate fee. Judging by the success of the recently released Two Together railcard, a facility like this might even make money for the rail companies.
These pictures tell the story of the journey.
The train did start a few minutes late and we pulled into Wuppertal even later. But that seems to be the case on all Deutche Bahn trains, that I travel on.
The line too had been extensively graffitied and a lot of it was unfenced.
The Wuppertal Schwebebahn – A Video
The translation of Schwebebahn is the flying railway.
Watch the video to see why!
I filmed this when I visited Wuppertal in July 2008.
The Anonymous Widower 