Wiener Stadtbahn

The Wiener Stadtbahn (German for "Vienna Metropolitan Railway") was a public transportation system operated under this name from 1898 to 1989. Today, the Vienna U-Bahn lines U4 and U6 and the Vienna S-Bahn (rapid transit) run on its former lines.

The name derives from the usage of the term around the turn of the 19th/20th century to denote a full-scale railway in an urban area, separated from all other forms of traffic. It is not related to the usage of the term Stadtbahn in post-World War II Germany.

The Stadtbahn is one of Vienna's better-known examples of early Art Nouveau architecture. Its most famous buildings are the two former station entrances on Karlsplatz, now used as a café and a museum respectively, and the Hofpavillon, a station built specifically for Emperor Franz Joseph, located at the eastern end of Hietzing station. Other preserved historical stations are the elevated stations along the Gürtel and in some of the suburbs.

The Stadtbahn was built between 1894 and 1901 along with the regulation of the Wien River and the Danube Canal. Only five lines of a much larger planned network were actually constructed:

In addition, a brief section of elevated track was built connecting the Gürtel and Danube Canal lines between Nussdorfer Strasse and Friedensbrücke stations.

Of the lines that were not built, two lines should have crossed the inner city, and one would have extended the Gürtel line along the southern Gürtel road to Südbahnhof railway station. These would have helped the Stadtbahn be a more appealing and useful transportation system, but financial constraints prevented their construction.

The layout of the Vienna railway network was also influenced by its uses for the military which demanded full compliance with mainline railroad rules, steam propulsion and integration with ordinary rail service; this increased costs compared to electrical light rail option. When the lines opened, in four stages between 1898 and 1901, they failed to attract mass riders due to high costs; affluent passengers were discouraged by dirt from engine smokestacks and slow speed. While primarily an urban railway line, some trains continued on the mainlines to the north and west of the city.

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