S1 of 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 cons ...

is an electrified commuter rail service operating between

Gänserndorf Gänserndorf () is a town on the Marchfeld, Lower Austria, Austria and the capital of Bezirk Gänserndorf. It is about 20 km northeast of Vienna, to which it is connected by both the Angerner Straße (Bundesstraße, or federal highway, 8) ...

and Wien Meidling (Vienna Meidling station).

History

The first plan for the Vienna S-Bahn was drafted in 1954, however due to

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 ...

, the tracks around Vienna were badly damaged. The Federal railways invested heavily in this project as Vienna's railway infrastructure was basically reconstructed. A trunk line connecting the northern railway with the southern railway was built through the city center. On 31 May 1959, the northern railway bridge was reopened allowing rail traffic from

Floridsdorf Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Jed ...

to enter the city to

Praterstern Praterstern is a major square in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, Austria . The square features the column to Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. Located and named after it are the Wien Praterstern railway station, and the connecting Prater ...

. In the beginning of 1960, a second track was added to the trunk line in anticipation of the new traffic however, in the same year, a funding crisis temporarily halted construction and delayed opening by more than a year. On 8 January 1962 the first trail runs were made by two 4061 class electric locomotives and on 17 January 1962, the S-Bahn officially opened. A big ceremony was held at

South station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...

as the inaugural train departed to Gänserndorf. Austrian president

Adolf Schärf Adolf Schärf (; 20 April 1890 – 28 February 1965) was an Austrian politician of the Socialist Party of Austria (SPÖ). He served as Vice-Chancellor from 1945 to 1957 and as President of Austria from 1957 until his death. Life Schärf was bor ...

, Vice Chancellor

Bruno Pittermann Bruno Pittermann (3 September 1905 – 19 September 1983) was an Austrian social democrat politician. He served as both the chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria from 1957 to 1967, and the Vice Chancellor of Austria from 1957 to 1966 ...

, Mayor

Franz Jonas Franz Josef Jonas (4 October 1899 – 24 April 1974) was an Austrian politician who served as the President of Austria between 1965 and 1974. He was a typesetting, typesetter by profession and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria. ...

, ÖBB president Maximilian Schantl and Transport Minister Karl Waldbrunner took part in the ceremony along with over 900 invited guests. Revenue service started at 23:45 that evening.Eisenbahn 1962/3 S. 66 The S-Bahn was an instant success. Many trains were overcrowded through the city center paving way for an agreement with VOR, the regional public transport company, allowing passengers to use city trams and S-Bahn trains with the same ticket. Service frequency was originally every hour but due to heavy ridership, frequency was increased to every half-hour on 28 May 1967. The tracks north of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

were renovated in 1972. In 1977 a

park-and-ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (rapi ...

facility was opened in Gänserndorf. Shortly after several more facilities were opened in other stations. On 23 May 1982 frequency was increased to Leopoldau to every 15 minutes in anticipation of the opening of the S2 line. Two new stations; Süßenbrunn and Helmahof were opened in 1980 and 1984 respectively. When the U1 line of the

Vienna U-Bahn The Vienna U-Bahn (german: U-Bahn Wien), where ''U-Bahn'' is an abbreviation of the German term ''Untergrundbahn'' ( en, underground railway), is a rapid transit system serving Vienna, Austria. With the September 2017 opening of the , five-stati ...

was completed to Leopoldau, a connection was built from the U-Bahn station to the S-Bahn station.

References

{{reflist Vienna S-Bahn Railway lines opened in 1962