The U-Bahn Serfaus (until 2019 ''Dorfbahn Serfaus'' for "Village Railway Serfaus") is an underground

air cushion The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ...

people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...

system in the

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

ian village of

Serfaus Serfaus is a municipality in the district of Landeck in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is well known as part of the ski-region "Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis", which was formed when Serfaus teamed up with the two nearby municipalities of Fiss and Ladis 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 ...

Overview

Serfaus is a busy

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

, and during the season has to cater for large numbers of skiers. The slopes are accessed by a cable car and a

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate ...

, whose lower stations are situated at one end of the village's main street. A large

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

is located at the other end of this street, and the Dorfbahn connects the two, allowing the conversion of the village into a

car-free zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

. Besides the two terminal stations at Seilbahn (cable car) and Parkplatz (car park), there are two intermediate stations in the village centre. The line was built in 1985 by the Freissler-

Otis Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...

company. It consists of a single, one-track line, with a single train operating on a shuttle basis. The train comprises two cars, is suspended on an air cushion, and is moved by a

haulage system. The tunnel is wide and high. The train can carry 390 people, and travels at a speed of . During the winter season the line operates between 7.45 and 18.45, and between 7.45 and 17.30 or 18.15 in the summer. A single journey takes 7 minutes, with the intermediate stations served only in the respective main load direction (in the morning toward Seilbahn, in the afternoon toward Parkplatz). The service is free of charge. Extensive renovations were carried out from 2016 to 2019, and the new train began operating in July 2019, almost doubling its passenger capacity.

Stations

Gallery

Notes

References

External links

Serfaus Underground Information

{{Urban public transport in Austria Underground railways Hovair people movers people movers Passenger rail transport in Austria Rapid transit in Austria Railway lines opened in 1985 ru:Зерфаус#Подземная железная дорога