Wuppertaler Schwebebahn – The Hanging Train
Wuppertaler Schwebebahn Floats Over An Intersection (Photo Credit: Oktaeder / Public Domain)
The Wuppertal Suspension Railway also known as Wuppertaler Schwebebahn. It is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world and is a unique system. The train designed by Eugen Langen to sell to the city of Berlin. The Schwebebahn is still in use today as a normal means of local public transport, moving 25 million passengers annually.
The suspension railway runs along a route of 13.3 km. The height of about 12 metres above the river Wupper and about 8 metres above the valley road. At one point the railway crosses the A46 motorway. The entire trip takes about 30 minutes.
The cars are 24 metres long and have 4 doors. One carriage can seat 48 with approximately 130 standing passengers. The top speed is 60 km/h and the average speed is 27 km/h. The cars hang on wheels which are driven by an electric motor operating at 600 volts DC, fed from an extra rail. The supporting frame and tracks are made out of 486 pillars and bridgework sections.
Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (Photo Credit: JuergenG / CC BY-SA 3.0)
