![Shema U-Bahn S-Bahn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Shema_U-Bahn_S-Bahn.PNG)
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
-
suburban rail systems serving a
metropolitan region
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
systems, while smaller ones often resemble
commuter or even
regional rail
Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...
. The term derives from ''Schnellbahn'', ''Stadtbahn'' or ''Stadtschnellbahn''.
Similar systems in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
are known as S-Bahn as well. In
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
it is known as S-Trein (Flemish) or Train S (French). In Belgium there are S-Trains in the five largest cities:
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, ,
Liège,
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
and
Charleroi. In
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, they are known as S-tog , in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
as Esko or S-lines.
Characteristics
There is no complete definition of an S-Bahn system. S-Bahn are, where they exist, the most local type of railway stopping at all existing stations inside and around a city, while other mainline trains only call at major stations. They are slower than mainline railways but usually serve as fast crosstown services within the city. The
Copenhagen S-tog for example goes up to , faster than most urban heavy rail and mass transit. S-Bahn trains generally serve the hinterland of a certain city, rather than connecting different cities, although in high population density areas a few exceptions from this exist. A good example of such an exception is the
Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn
The Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr) is a polycentric and electrically driven S-train network covering the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region in the German federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This includes most of the Ruhr (and ...
, which interconnects the cities, towns and suburbs of the
Ruhr, a large
urban agglomeration
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
, not unlike the large network of regional trains which also serve the area. Most S-Bahn systems are entirely built on older local railways, or in some cases parallel to an existing dual track railway. Most use existing local mainline railway trackage, but a few branches and lines can be purpose-built S-Bahn lines. S-Bahn trains typically use overhead lines or a third rail for traction power. In Hamburg both methods are used, depending on which line is powered.
In smaller S-Bahn systems and suburban sections of larger ones, trains typically share tracks with other rail traffic, with the
Berlin S-Bahn
The Berlin S-Bahn () is a rapid transit railway system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It has been in operation under this name since December 1930, having been previously called the special tariff area ''Berliner Stadt-, Ring ...
,
Hamburg S-Bahn and
Copenhagen S-train
The Copenhagen S-train ( da, S-tog), the S-train of Copenhagen, Denmark is a key part of public transport in the city. It is a hybrid urban-suburban rail serving most of the Copenhagen urban area, and is analogous to S-Bahn systems of Berlin, Vi ...
being notable exceptions. Busy S-Bahn corridors sometimes have sections of exclusive trackage of their own but parallel to mainline railways. Many of the larger S-Bahn systems will also have central corridors of exclusive trackage that individual suburban branches feed into, creating a high frequency trunk corridor. In many cases, the central corridor is a dedicated underground line in the city centre with close stop spacing and a high frequency, similar to metro systems, created from the combined interlining of the multiple branches. A good example of this is the
Berliner Stadtbahn
The Berlin Stadtbahn ("city railway") is a major railway thoroughfare in the German capital Berlin, which runs through Berlin from east to west. It connects the eastern district of Friedrichshain with Charlottenburg in the west via 11 intermedi ...
in the Berlin's S-Bahn, which is regarded as a tourist attraction.
However, in more lightly used sections outside the city centre, S-Bahn services commonly share tracks with other trains.
Further out from the central parts of a city the individual services branch off into lines where the distances between stations can exceed 5 km, similar to commuter rail. This allows the S-Bahn to serve a dual transport purpose: local transport within a city centre and suburban transport between central boroughs of larger cities, and to suburbs. Frequencies vary wildly between systems with short headways in the core sections of large networks to headways of over 20 minutes in remote sections of the network, late at night and/or on Sundays and in smaller systems. The rolling stock typically used for S-Bahn systems reflects its hybrid purpose. The interior is designed for short journeys with provision for standing passengers but may have more space allocated to larger and more numerous seats. Integration with other local transport for ticketing, connectivity and easy interchange between lines or other system like metros is typical for the S-Bahn. Where both S-Bahn and metro exist, the number of interchange stations between the two systems is substantial with metro tickets being valid on S-Bahn services, and vice versa. The
S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland
S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland represents an enlargement of the previous Leipzig-Halle S-Bahn. It is an electric rail public transit system operating in the metropolitan area of Leipzig-Halle, Germany. This S-Bahn (German abbreviation for ''Stadtschnel ...
constitutes the main local railway system for
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
but also connects to
Halle, where a few stations are located. The
Rostock S-Bahn
The Rostock S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Rostock) is a S-Bahn (suburban railway) network in Rostock in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It consists of three lines with a total length of about 90 km. Line S1 runs from Rostock Hauptbahnhof ...
is an example of a smaller S-Bahn system.
Etymology
Germany, Austria and Switzerland
The name ''S-Bahn'' is an abbreviation for the German "Stadtschnellbahn" (meaning "city rapid railway") and was introduced in December 1930 in Berlin. The name was introduced at the time of the reconstruction of the suburban commuter train tracks— the first section to be electrified was a section of the
Berlin–Stettin railway from
Berlin Nordbahnhof
Berlin Nordbahnhof (until 1950 Stettiner Bahnhof) is a railway station in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn and local bus and tram lines.
History First station
In 1842, the ''Stettiner Bahnhof'' opened as t ...
to
Bernau bei Berlin station
Bernau bei Berlin (in German ''Bahnhof Bernau bei Berlin'', simply known as Bernau) is a railway station in the city of Bernau bei Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn
The Berlin S-Bahn () is a rapid transit railway system in and ...
in 1924, leading to the formation of the Berlin S-Bahn.
The main line
Berliner Stadtbahn
The Berlin Stadtbahn ("city railway") is a major railway thoroughfare in the German capital Berlin, which runs through Berlin from east to west. It connects the eastern district of Friedrichshain with Charlottenburg in the west via 11 intermedi ...
(English: ''City railway of Berlin'') was electrified with a 750 volt
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
in 1928 (some steam trains ran until 1929) and the circle line
Berliner Ringbahn
The Ringbahn (German for circle railway) is a long circle route around Berlin's inner city area, on the Berlin S-Bahn network. Its course is made up of a double-tracked S-Bahn ring and a parallel freight ring. The S-Bahn lines S41 and S42 prov ...
was electrified in 1929. The electrification continued on the radial suburban railway tracks along with changing the timetable of the train system into a rapid transit model with no more than 20 minutes headway per line where a number of lines overlapped on the main line. The system peaked during the
1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin to a train schedule below 2 minutes.
The idea of heavy rail rapid transit was not unique to Berlin. Hamburg had an electric railway between the central station ("Hauptbahnhof") and Altona which opened in 1906 and in 1934 the system adopted the S-Bahn label from Berlin. The same year in Denmark, Copenhagen's
S-tog
The Copenhagen S-train ( da, S-tog), the S-train of Copenhagen, Denmark is a key part of public transport in the city. It is a hybrid urban- suburban rail serving most of the Copenhagen urban area, and is analogous to S-Bahn systems of Berlin, Vi ...
opened its first line. In Austria, Vienna had its ''Stadtbahn'' main line electrified in 1908 and also introduced the term ''Schnellbahn'' ("rapid railway") in 1954 for its planned commuter railway network (which started operations in 1962). The S-Bahn label was sometimes used as well, but the name was only switched to
S-Bahn Wien in 2005. As for
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, a first breaking ground for an S-Bahn-like rapid transport system, executed by the Nazi government of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, took place in 1938 in Lindwurmstrasse near what is now Goetheplatz underground station (line U6). Said system was supposed to run through tunnels in downtown areas. The planning process mainly consisted of the bundling and interconnecting of existing suburban and local railways, plus the construction of a few new lines. Plans and construction work - including the building shell of Goetheplatz station - came to a very early halt during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and were not pursued in its aftermath. Very extensive nowadays, Munich's existing S-Bahn-System, together with the first two
U-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
lines, began to operate prior to the
1972 Summer Olympics only.
The term ''S-Bahn'' was until 14 March 2012 a registered
wordmark
__notoc__
A wordmark, word mark, or logotype, is usually a distinct text-only typographic treatment of the name of a company, institution, or product name used for purposes of identification and branding. Examples can be found in the graphic iden ...
of
Deutsche Bahn, where at the request of a transportation association the
Federal Patent Court of Germany
The Federal Patent Court (german: Bundespatentgericht, abbreviation: ''BPatG'') is a German federal court competent for particular legal matters, such as patent and trademark cases. It has its seat in Munich, Germany, and was established on July 1 ...
ordered the wordmark to be removed from the records of the
German Patent and Trade Mark Office
The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (german: Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt; abbreviation: DPMA) is the German national patent office, with headquarters in Munich, and offices in Berlin and Jena. In 2006 it employed 2556 people, of which ab ...
. Prior to the said event Deutsche Bahn collected a royalty of 0.4 cents per train kilometer for the usage of the said term.
Denmark
![Svanemøllen Station 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Svanem%C3%B8llen_Station_01.jpg)
The "S" stood for "station". Just before the opening of the first line in the
Copenhagen S-train
The Copenhagen S-train ( da, S-tog), the S-train of Copenhagen, Denmark is a key part of public transport in the city. It is a hybrid urban-suburban rail serving most of the Copenhagen urban area, and is analogous to S-Bahn systems of Berlin, Vi ...
network, the newspaper ''
Politiken
''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been independe ...
'' on 17 February 1934 held a competition about the name, which in Danish became known as ''Den elektriske enquete'' or "The electrical survey" (as the Copenhagen S-trains would become the first electrical railways in Denmark). But since an "S" already was put up at all the stations, weeks before the survey, the result became ''S-tog'' which means "S-train".
[John Poulsen: S-bane 1934-2009 side 47] This was also just a few years after the S-trains had opened in Berlin and Hamburg. Today the Copenhagen S-trains uses six lines and serves 86 stations, 32 of them are located inside the (quite tiny) municipality borders. Each line uses 6 t.p.h (trains per hour) in each direction, with exception of the (yellow) F-line. The F-line has departures in each direction every five minutes, or 12 t.p.h. service .
History
Germany
Early steam services
In 1882, the growing number of
steam-powered
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...
trains around Berlin prompted the Prussian State Railway to construct separate rail tracks for suburban traffic. The ''Berliner Stadtbahn'' connected Berlin's eight intercity rail stations which were spread throughout the city (all but the ''Stettiner Bahnhof'' which today is a pure S-Bahn station known as
Berlin Nordbahnhof
Berlin Nordbahnhof (until 1950 Stettiner Bahnhof) is a railway station in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn and local bus and tram lines.
History First station
In 1842, the ''Stettiner Bahnhof'' opened as t ...
; as the city ''Stettin'' today is Polish city
Szczecin). A lower rate for the newly founded ''Berliner Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn'' (Berlin City, Circular and Suburban Rail) was introduced on 1 October 1891. This rate and the growing succession of trains made the short-distance service stand out from other railways.
The second suburban railway was the ''
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
-Altonaer Stadt- und Vorortbahn'' connecting Hamburg with
Altona and
Blankenese
Blankenese () is a suburban quarter in the borough of Altona in the western part of Hamburg, Germany; until 1938 it was an independent municipality in Holstein. It is located on the right bank of the Elbe river. With a population of 13,637 as of ...
. The Altona office of the Prussian State Railway established the electric powered railway in 1906.
[See picture of Berliner Stadtbahn by Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station, the third rail is clearly seen between the two S-Bahn tracks. Original name of that station was "Börse", or "the Stock Market" (which now is located in Frankfurt am Main)]
Electricity
![Type 474 HH-Diebsteich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Type_474_HH-Diebsteich.jpg)
The beginning of the 20th century saw the first electric trains, which in Germany operated at 15,000
V on
overhead lines. The ''
Berliner Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn'' instead implemented
direct current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or eve ...
multiple units running on 750 V from a
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
. In 1924, the first electrified route went into service. The third rail was chosen because it made both the modifications of the rail tracks (especially in tunnels and under bridges) and the side-by-side use of electric and steam trains easier.
To set it apart from the subterranean ''
U-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
'', the term ''S-Bahn'' replaced ''Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn'' in 1930.
The Hamburg service had established an
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
line in 1907 with the use of multiple units with
slam doors. In 1940 a new system with 1200 V DC third rail and modern
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
s with
sliding door
A sliding door is a type of door which opens horizontally by sliding, usually horizontal to a wall. Sliding doors can be mounted either on top of a track below or be suspended from a track above. Some types slide into a space in the parallel w ...
s was integrated on this line (on the same tracks). The old system with overhead wire remained up to 1955. The other lines of the network still used steam and later Diesel power.
In 1934, the ''Hamburg-Altonaer Stadt- und Vorortbahn'' was renamed as S-Bahn.
Comparable systems
Austria
![S-Bahn Austria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/S-Bahn_Austria.svg)
The oldest and largest S-Bahn system in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
is the
Vienna S-Bahn
The Vienna S-Bahn is a suburban commuter rail network in Vienna, Austria. As opposed to the city-run urban metro network, the Vienna U-Bahn, it extends beyond the borders of the city, is operated by the ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways), and c ...
, which predominantly uses non exclusive rails tracks outside of
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. It was established in 1962, although it was usually referred to as ''Schnellbahn'' until 2005. The white "S" on a blue circle used as the logo is said to reflect the layout of the central railway line in Vienna. However, it has now been changed for a more stylized version that is used all through Austria, except Salzburg. The rolling stock was blue for a long time, reflecting the logo colour, but red is used uniformly for nearly all local traffic today.
![S-Bahn Salzburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/S-Bahn_Salzburg.svg)
In 2004, the
Salzburg S-Bahn
The Salzburg S-Bahn is a large transport project in and around Salzburg in the Euroregion of Salzburg–Berchtesgadener Land– Traunstein, which crosses the border between Austria and Germany. Its S-Bahn network has been partially in operation s ...
went into service as the first
Euroregion S-Bahn, crossing the border to the neighbouring towns of
Freilassing
Freilassing (), until 1923 Salzburghofen is a town of some 16,000 inhabitants in the southeastern corner of Bavaria, Germany. It belongs to the "Regierungsbezirk" Oberbayern and the "Landkreis" (County) of Berchtesgadener Land.
Located very close ...
and
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...
in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. The network is served by three corporations: the ''Berchtesgadener Land Bahn'' (BLB)(S4), the
Austrian Federal Railways
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
(German: ''Österreichischen Bundesbahn'' / ÖBB)(S2 and S3) and the ''Salzburger Lokalbahn'' (SLB)(S1 and S11) and . The Salzburg S-Bahn logo is only different one, it is a white S on a light blue circle.
In 2006 the
regional train
Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster servi ...
line in the
Rhine Valley
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
has been renamed to ''
S-Bahn Vorarlberg
The Vorarlberg S-Bahn is a label for regional rail services in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is integrated into the which manages ticket pricing, and is operated by the state-owned ÖBB and privately owned Montafonerbahn (mbs). In addit ...
''. It is a three lines network, operated by the ''
Montafonerbahn
The Montafonerbahn (''Montafon Railway'', MBS) is a privately owned railway company that primarily operates services from Bregenz to Schruns, via Bludenz
Bludenz (; Alemannic: ''Bludaz'') is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlbe ...
'' and the ÖBB.
The ''
S-Bahn Steiermark
The Styria S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Steiermark), initially also known as "Graz S-Bahn", is a local transport project that connects the metropolitan area of Graz and the central region of Upper Styria of the Austrian state of Styria. "Warum heiß ...
'' has been inaugurated in December 2007 in
Styria, built to connect its capital city
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
with the rest of the metropolitan area, currently the following lines are active: S1, S11, S3, S31, S5, S51, S6, S61, S7, S8 and S9. The network is operated by three railway companies: the ''Graz-Köflacher Bahn'' (GKB) (lines: S6, S61 and S7), the ÖBB (lines: S1, S3, S5, S51, S8 and S9) and the ''Steiermärkische Landesbahnen'' (StB) (lines: S11 and S31).
In December 2007 as well the
Tyrol S-Bahn
The Tyrol S-Bahn provides regional rail services in metropolitan Innsbruck, Austria and its hinterlands in the state of Tyrol. At present, it is only a nominally an S-Bahn in that it only operates on the lines of the Austrian Federal Railways. Expa ...
opened, running from
Hall in Tirol in the east to
Innsbruck Central Station
Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof (German for ''Innsbruck Main Station or'' ''Central Station'') is the main railway station in Innsbruck, the capital city of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. Opened in 1853, the station is a major hub for western and c ...
and
Telfs
Telfs is a market town in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol, west of Innsbruck. It is the third largest municipality in Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical regio ...
in the west and from Innsbruck to Steinach am Brenner.
Class 4024 EMUs
Emus may refer to:
* Emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...
are used as rolling stock on this network.
In 2010 the ''
S-Bahn Kärnten
The S-Bahn Kärnten is a regional transport system in the Austria , Austrian States of Austria , state of Carinthia and East Tyrol. The system is run by the federal railways Österreichische Bundesbahnen, ÖBB.
Lines S-Bahn line S1: Lienz ↠...
'' was opened in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
and currently consists of 4 lines operated by ÖBB.
The youngest network is the ''
S-Bahn Oberösterreich
The S-Bahn Oberösterreich is an S-Bahn system that was introduced on 11 December 2016 in the Greater Linz area of the Austrian state of Upper Austria
Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or ...
'' in the Greater
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital ...
area of the state of
Upper Austria
Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...
, which was inaugurated in December 2016. It is a 5 line system operated by ''
Stern und Hafferl'' and the ÖBB.
Belgium
![NMBS S-Trein logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/NMBS_S-Trein_logo.svg)
The suburban railways of
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
are being integrated into the
Brussels Regional Express Network
The Brussels S-train, also known as the Brussels Regional Express Network (french: Réseau Express Régional Bruxellois or RER); ( nl, Gewestelijk ExpresNet or GEN) is a suburban rail system in the Brussels Capital Region. It will offer fast conne ...
(French: ''Réseau Express Régional Bruxellois'', ''RER''; Dutch: ''Gewestelijk ExpresNet'', GEN), which is identified by the letter ''S'' across both languages. In 2018, the S-train was also introduced in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, ,
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
,
Liège and
Charleroi.
Czech Republic
![Esko Praha logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Esko_Praha_logo.svg)
In the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, integrated
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
systems exist in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
and
Moravian-Silesian Region
The Moravian-Silesian Region ( cs, Moravskoslezský kraj; pl, Kraj morawsko-śląski; sk, Moravsko-sliezsky kraj) is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region ( cs, Ostravský ...
. Both systems are called ''Esko'', which is how ''S'' letter is usually called in Czech.
Esko Prague
Esko Prague is a commuter rail or S-Bahn system, part of the Prague Integrated Transport (PID), serving the city of Prague and the surrounding areas of the Central Bohemian Region. Train lines that are included in the PID system are labeled by let ...
has been operating since 9 December 2007 as a part of the
Prague Integrated Transport
Prague Integrated Transport ( Czech: ''Pražská integrovaná doprava'', ''PID'') run by a city-owned agency called Regional Organiser of Prague Integrated Transport (ROPID), is an integrated public transport system in Prague.
Prague Integrat ...
system.
Esko Moravian-Silesian Region began operating on 14 December 2008 as a part of the ODIS Integrated Transport system serving the Moravian-Silesian Region. Both systems are primarily operated by
České dráhy
České dráhy (English: ''Czech Railways''), often shortened to ČD, is the major railway operator in the Czech Republic providing regional and long-distance services.
Overview
The company was established in 1993, after the dissolution of Czec ...
. Several shorter lines are operated by other companies.
Denmark
Copenhagen S-train
The Copenhagen S-train ( da, S-tog), the S-train of Copenhagen, Denmark is a key part of public transport in the city. It is a hybrid urban-suburban rail serving most of the Copenhagen urban area, and is analogous to S-Bahn systems of Berlin, Vi ...
connects the city centre, other inner and outer boroughs and suburbs with each other. The average distance between stations is 2.0
km, shorter in the city core and inner boroughs, longer at the end of lines that serve suburbs. Of the 86 stations, 32 are located within the central parts of the city. Some stations are located around 40 km from Copenhagen city centre. For this reason the fares vary depending on distances. One-day-passes which tourist buy are valid only in the most central parts of the S-train system. Weekdays each line have departures every 10th minute with exception for the F-line, which departures every fifth minute. Where several lines use the same branches, up to around 30 trains per hour (in each direction) service exists. On Sundays the seven lines are reduced to four lines, but all stations are served at least every 10th minute. The three railway stations at
Amager have a local service that equals the S-trains'.
The
Copenhagen Metro
The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby.
The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...
opened in 2002 as a complement to the already existing S-train system. Copenhagen's S-train system is the only one in the country. Outside Denmark, in cities where both exist, is it far from unusual that a metro system later has been complemented with S-trains. The branch towards
Køge
Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a ...
(the southernmost S-train station in Copenhagen's S-network) has a rather unique history, as it was built in the 1970s where no previous railway ever had existed.
Germany
![S-Bahn-Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/S-Bahn-Logo.svg)
The trains of the Berlin and Hamburg S-Bahn systems ran on separate tracks from the beginning. When other cities started implementing their systems in the 1960s, they mostly had to use the existing intercity rail tracks, and they still more or less use such tracks.
The
central intercity stations of
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
,
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
and
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
are
terminal station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing su ...
s, so all four cities have monocentric S-Bahn networks. The S-Bahn trains use a tunnel under the central station and the city centre.
The high number of large cities in the
Ruhr area promotes a polycentric network connecting all cities and suburbs. The ''
S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr'', as it is called, features few tunnels, and its routes are longer than those of other networks. The Ruhr S-Bahn is the only S-Bahn network to be run by more than one corporation in Germany, and the
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
S-Bahn holds a similar distinction in Austria. Most Swiss S-Bahn systems are multi-corporation networks, however.
Most German S-Bahn networks have a unique ticket system, separated from the ''
Deutsche Bahn'' rates, instead connected to the city ticket system used for U-bahns and local buses. The S-Bahn of
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, however, operates under five different rates due to its large expanse.
One S-Bahn system is no longer in operation: the
Erfurt S-Bahn
S-Bahn Erfurt was a colloquial term for a railway connection that existed from 1976 to 1993 in the Thuringian state capital Erfurt, Germany. The term "S-Bahn" is also occasionally used in popular literature. Other contemporary media used terms s ...
which operated from 1976 until 1993 and was an single-line system which consisted of four stations from
to Erfurt Berliner Straße station in the then newly built northern suburbs of
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
.
There are several S-Bahn or S-Bahn-like systems in planning, such as the
Danube-Iller S-Bahn and the
Augsburg S-Bahn. The S-Bahn system in
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
is under discussion (see
network plan).
The
Stadtbahn Karlsruhe
The Karlsruhe Stadtbahn is a German tram-train system combining tram lines in the city of Karlsruhe with railway lines in the surrounding countryside, serving the entire region of the middle upper Rhine valley and creating connections to neighbou ...
(a
tram-train
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This all ...
network) uses the green "S" logo, but does not refer to itself as ''S-Bahn''. The blue ''
U-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
'' logo is not used either, due to the lack of subterranean lines.
Despite its name, the ''
Ortenau S-Bahn
Ortenau-S-Bahn (''OSB'') is a brand name of the Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft (SWEG), a transport company owned by the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is employed for regional railway services in the Ortenau area, centering on . Be ...
'' (
Offenburg
Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrative capital ...
) is a
Regionalbahn service.
The following networks are currently in operation:
Switzerland and Liechtenstein
''S-Bahn'' is also used in the
German-speaking
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...
part of Switzerland. While
French publications of those networks translate it as ''
RER'', the line numbers are still prefixed with an S (e.g., as S2), except for the ''
Léman Express
The Léman Express is a commuter rail network for the transborder agglomeration of Grand Genève (''Greater Geneva'') in west Switzerland and the French Alps (Haute-Savoie and Ain). Six lines serve Swiss and French towns along 230 km of ra ...
'', which uses the prefix "L" (e.g., as L2). S-Bahn-style services in the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and
Romansh speaking parts of Switzerland also use the "S" prefix, although in Italian such networks are called ''rete celere'' (lit. fast network) instead of S-Bahn.
![S-BahnFLACH Uebersicht](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/S-BahnFLACH_Uebersicht.png)
The oldest network in Switzerland is the
Bern S-Bahn
The Bern S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Bern; french: RER Berne) is an S-Bahn commuter rail network focused on Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. The network is roughly coterminous with Bern's urban agglomeration.
With approximately 9 million trai ...
, which was established in stages from 1974 onward and has adopted the term S-Bahn since 1995. It is also the only one in Switzerland to use a coloured "S" logo. In 1990, the
Zürich S-Bahn
The Zürich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Zürich) system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, ...
, went into service. As of 2022, this network comprises 32 services, covering a large area in Switzerland (and parts of southern Germany). Further S-Bahn services were set up in the course of the ''
Bahn 2000
Rail 2000 (German: ''Bahn 2000''; French: ''Rail 2000'', Italian: ''Ferrovia 2000'') is a large-scale project of the Swiss Federal Railways (SFR) established in 1987 to improve the quality of the Swiss rail network for the New millennium. It i ...
'' initiative in
Central Switzerland
Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug.
Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 Stat ...
(a collaborative network of ''
S-Bahn Luzern'' and ''
Stadtbahn Zug''), and
Eastern Switzerland
Eastern Switzerland (german: Ostschweiz, french: Suisse orientale, rm, Svizra orientala, it, Svizzera orientale) is the common name of the region situated to the east of Glarus Alps, with the cantons of Schaffhausen, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Appenz ...
(''St. Gallen S-Bahn, S-Bahn St. Gallen'').
The ''Basel trinational S-Bahn'' services the Basel metropolitan area, thus providing cross-border transportation into both France and Germany. A tunnel connecting Basel's two large intercity stations (Basel Badischer Bahnhof and Basel SBB railway station, Basel SBB) is planned as ''Herzstück Basel, Herzstück Regio-S-Bahn Basel'' (lit. heart-piece Regio-S-Bahn Basel).
An international S-Bahn network also existsts across the Swiss-Italian border, in the Swiss Canton of Ticino and the States of Italy, Italian state of Lombardy. Services are operated by Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia (TILO), a joint venture between Italian railway company Trenord and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS).
The ''RER Vaud'' of Lausanne and the ''
Léman Express
The Léman Express is a commuter rail network for the transborder agglomeration of Grand Genève (''Greater Geneva'') in west Switzerland and the French Alps (Haute-Savoie and Ain). Six lines serve Swiss and French towns along 230 km of ra ...
'' of Geneva serve the area around Lake Geneva (''fr. Lac Léman''). The ''Léman express'' network expands across the Swiss-French border. It is the largest cross-country S-Bahn network of Europe. ''Léman express'' was launched in December 2019 and is operated by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) and SNCF.
Another transborder network for the Lake Constance (''Bodensee'') area, connecting up to four nations, is under discussion. This network would extend across the States of Germany, German states Baden-Württemberg and
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, the States of Austria, Austrian state
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
, the Principality of Liechtenstein (''S-Bahn FL.A.CH''), and the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Canton of Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen, Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen and Thurgau. Possible names are ''Bodensee-S-Bahn'' and ''Rhine#Switzerland, Alpenrhein-Bahn''. Presently, an hourly service, S3 of Vorarlberg S-Bahn (ÖBB), connects Bregenz (Austria, A) with St. Margrethen (Switzerland, CH), and a less frequent service (S2) operates between Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, Feldkirch (A), Schaan (Liechtenstein, FL) and Buchs SG (CH). The S14 (St. Gallen S-Bahn), S14 and S44 (St. Gallen S-Bahn), S44 services of S-Bahn St. Gallen both connect Konstanz (Germany, D) with Kreuzlingen and Weinfelden (both CH), and since 2022, some S7 (St. Gallen S-Bahn), S7 services continue from Rorschach SG, Rorschach (CH) to Bregenz and Lindau-Reutin (D). Additional transborder services are planned. The future of ''S-Bahn Liechtenstein'' is uncertain since a voter referendum in 2020.
The Chur S-Bahn provides services around Chur, the capital of the alpine Cantons of Switzerland, Canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in south-eastern Switzerland.
The Aargau S-Bahn is a small network that services stations in the cantons of Canton of Aargau, Aargau, Canton of Luzern, Lucerne and Canton Bern, Bern.
The ''RER Fribourg'' is an S-Bahn-style service centered at Fribourg/Freiburg and Bulle FR, Bulle in the Canton of Fribourg, and extending into the cantons of Canton of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel and Vaud.
Two unnumbered S-Bahn services (designated only with an "S"), one between Schaffhausen and Erzingen (D), running on railway tracks owned by
Deutsche Bahn (DB), and one between Schaffhausen and Jestetten (D), opened in 2013. They are operated by SBB GmbH and THURBO, respectively. Since December 2022, the Schaffhausen–Singen am Hohentwiel line is also serviced by SBB GmbH
[SBB GmbH website: https://www.sbb-deutschland.de/strecken-und-tarife/s-bahn-schaffhausen/] ().
Additionally, there are services designated "S" that are not part of any formal S-Bahn network. These include the S20, S21, and S22 operated by Swiss Federal Railways in canton of Solothurn, Solothurn or the S27 (Südostbahn), S27 operated by Südostbahn (SOB) between Siebnen-Wangen railway station, Siebnen-Wangen and Ziegelbrücke railway station, Ziegelbrücke.
Swiss S-Bahn services are operated mostly by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) but also by private railway companies, such as ''Appenzeller Bahnen'' (AB), BLS AG, ''Forchbahn'' (FB), ''Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn'' (RBS), ''Rhätische Bahn'' (RhB), ''Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn'' (SZU), ''Südostbahn'' (SOB) or ''Zentralbahn'' (ZB).
Rail transport in Switzerland, including S-Bahn systems, is noteworthy for its coordination between services due to the clock-face schedule. Due to the proximity of the various S-Bahn systems in Switzerland, services of one network often offer connections to services of neighboring networks. S-Bahn services are used by commuters and tourists (some services call nearby tourist attractions, such as the Rhine Falls or the Swiss Museum of Transport).
See also
* Commuter rail
*
U-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
* Urban rail transit
* Train categories in Europe
* List of suburban and commuter rail systems
References
External links
*
{{S-Bahn systems in Switzerland
S-Bahn,
Rapid transit in Germany, *
Regional rail in Germany, *
S-Bahn in Austria, *
Rapid transit in Switzerland, *