S-Bahn

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S-train
)

Schema comparing rapid transit (left) with S-Bahn (right). Note the dual role of the S-Bahn with many branches from the suburbs combining to serve a busy corridor in the central area comparable with a rapid-transit system. The actual layouts vary by city, and several have rapid transit like the right image
Part of Berlin Stadtbahn. The tracks on the right belong to the S-Bahn network and the trains stop at the Hackescher Markt station, while the other two tracks are for other train types, which do not stop at this station.

The S-Bahn (

metropolitan region predominantly in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble commuter or even regional rail
systems. The name S-Bahn derives from Schnellbahn (lit. rapid train), Stadtbahn (lit. city train) or Stadtschnellbahn (lit. rapid city train).

Similar systems in Austria and German-speaking Switzerland are known as S-Bahn as well. In Belgium, it is known as S-Trein (Flemish) or Train S (French). In Denmark, they are known as S-tog [ˈesˌtsʰɔˀw], and in the Czech Republic 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 passenger train service that stops at all existing stations on mainline networks inside and around a city (while other mainline trains only call at major stations).

They are slower than regional mainline trains, but usually serve as fast crosstown services within the city. The

urban agglomeration
.

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.[1][2] 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.[3]

In smaller S-Bahn systems and suburban sections of larger ones, trains typically share tracks with other rail traffic, with the

Berliner Stadtbahn in Berlin's S-Bahn, which is regarded as a tourist attraction.[4]
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 systems 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 constitutes the main local railway system for Leipzig but also connects to Halle, where a few stations are located. The Rostock S-Bahn is an example of a smaller S-Bahn system.

Etymology

Germany, Austria and Switzerland

The name S-Bahn is an abbreviation of the German Stadtschnellbahn ("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 to Bernau bei Berlin station in 1924, leading to the formation of the Berlin S-Bahn.[5]

The main line Berliner Stadtbahn ("Berlin city railway") was electrified with a 750 volt third rail in 1928 (some steam trains ran until 1929) and the circle line Berliner Ringbahn was electrified in 1929. The electrification continued on the radial suburban railway tracks along with the timetable moving to a rapid transit model with no more than a 20-minute headway per line where a number of lines overlapped on the main line. The system peaked during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with trains scheduled at least every 2 minutes.[5]

The idea of heavy rail rapid transit was not unique to Berlin. Hamburg had an electric railway between the

S-Bahn Wien in 2005.[citation needed
]

As for

U-Bahn lines, only began to operate prior to the 1972 Summer Olympics
.

The term S-Bahn was a registered

Prior to this Deutsche Bahn collected a royalty of 0.4 cents per train kilometer for the use of the term.

Denmark

Vesterport S-train station has three entrances. This is the main one.
Vesterport station is located below street level, but is not under ground. Other trains do not stop here, solely S-trains. Compare with picture of Berlin's S-Bahn above. Same concept.
Svanemøllen Station, main entrance

The "S" stood for "station". Just before the opening of the first line in the

Copenhagen S-train network, the newspaper Politiken 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".[7] 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 .[8]

History

Germany

Early steam services

In 1882, the growing number of steam-powered trains around Berlin prompted the Prussian State Railway to construct separate rail tracks for suburban traffic.[citation needed] 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; as the city Stettin today is Polish city Szczecin). A lower rate[clarification needed] 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.[citation needed]

The second suburban railway was the Hamburg-Altonaer Stadt- und Vorortbahn connecting Hamburg with Altona and Blankenese. The Altona office of the Prussian State Railway established the electric powered railway in 1906.[9]

Electricity

The Hamburg S-Bahn third rail system

The beginning of the 20th century saw the first electric trains, which in Germany operated at 15,000

overhead lines. The Berliner Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn instead implemented direct current multiple units running on 750 V from a third rail. 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.[9]

To set it apart from the subterranean U-Bahn, the term S-Bahn replaced Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn in 1930.[citation needed]

The Hamburg service had established an

slam doors. In 1940 a new system with 1200 V DC third rail and modern electric multiple units with sliding doors
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.[citation needed]

Systems by country

S-Bahn networks in Austria
Siemens Desiro Mainline EMU of the Vienna S-Bahn
A class 4020 EMU on Vienna S-Bahn line S40
Schematic map of Copenhagen S-train
Map of the Nuremberg S-Bahn network
Map of the Munich S-Bahn network
Map of S-Bahn networks in Germany

Austria

Austrian S-Bahn logo
Austrian S-Bahn logo

The oldest and largest S-Bahn system in Austria is the Vienna S-Bahn, which predominantly uses non exclusive rails tracks outside of Vienna. 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.

Salzburg S-Bahn logo
Salzburg S-Bahn logo

In 2004, the

Austrian Federal Railways
(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

S-Bahn Vorarlberg. It is a three lines network, operated by the Montafonerbahn
and the ÖBB.

The

S-Bahn Steiermark has been inaugurated in December 2007 in Styria, built to connect its capital city Graz
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 opened, running from Hall in Tirol in the east to Innsbruck Central Station and Telfs in the west and from Innsbruck to Steinach am Brenner. Class 4024 EMUs are used as rolling stock on this network.

In 2010 the

state of Carinthia
and currently consists of 4 lines operated by ÖBB.

The youngest network is the

S-Bahn Oberösterreich in the Greater Linz area of the state of Upper Austria, which was inaugurated in December 2016. It is a 5 line system operated by Stern und Hafferl
and the ÖBB.

Belgium

Brussels S train logo
Brussels S train logo

Since 2015, the trains of the

Brussels Regional Express Network (French: Réseau Express Régional Bruxellois, RER; Dutch: Gewestelijk Expresnet, GEN) of the NMBS/SNCF belong to train category S and are referred to as S train (Dutch: 'S-trein', French: train S),.[10] In 2018, local trains of NMBS/SNCF in and around Antwerp, Ghent, Liège and Charleroi changed to the train category S train as well.[11]

Czech Republic

Czech Esko logo
Czech Esko logo

In the Czech Republic, integrated commuter rail systems exist in Prague[12] and Moravian-Silesian Region. Both systems are called Esko, which is how S letter is usually called in Czech. Esko Prague has been operating since 9 December 2007 as a part of the Prague Integrated Transport 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. Several shorter lines are operated by other companies.

Denmark

Copenhagen S-tog logo
Copenhagen S-tog logo

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. The one-day passes which the tourists buy are valid only in the most central parts of the S-train system. On weekdays each line has a departure every 10 minutes with the exception of the F-line, on which a train departs every five minutes. Where several lines converge on a common piece of track there could be as many as 30 trains per hour in each direction. On Sundays the seven lines are reduced to four lines, but all stations are served at least every 10 minutes. The three railway stations at Amager
have a local service that is the equivalent of the S-trains.

The Copenhagen Metro 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 (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

German S-Bahn logo
German S-Bahn logo

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

terminal stations, so all four cities have monocentric S-Bahn networks. The S-Bahn trains use as their core segment a tunnel under the central station and the city centre (e.g. Munich S-Bahn Stammstrecke and the upcoming Zweite Stammstrecke
).

The high number of large cities in 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 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, however, operates under five different rates due to its large expanse.

One S-Bahn system is no longer in operation: the

Erfurt Central Station to Erfurt Berliner Straße station in the then newly built northern suburbs of Erfurt
.

There are several S-Bahn or S-Bahn-like systems in planning, such as the Augsburg S-Bahn (network plan) and the Lübeck S-Bahn (network plan).

The

Stadtbahn Karlsruhe (a tram-train network) uses the green "S" logo for stations in the outskirts and has its lines indicated by an "S" in front of the line number, but does not refer to itself as S-Bahn. The logo also can't be found on the trains, contrary to most other systems where it's placed somewhere on the sides or at the front of the trains. A new city-centre tunnel opened at the end of 2021, however the blue U-Bahn
logo is not used either for it. To mark those tunnel stations, a yellow U is used, which is unique and can only be found there.

Despite their names, the

services.

The following networks are currently in operation:

S-Bahn Area of Responsibility Authority Opened Lines Kilometrage Rolling Stock Company Expiry of contract
Berlin S-Bahn Berlin, Potsdam VBB 1924 16 331 km
484, 485
S-Bahn Berlin GmbH 2017
Breisgau S-Bahn Freiburg im Breisgau RVF 1997[A] 7 050 km
Alstom Coradia Continental, Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1
SWEG
(diesel)
Bremen S-Bahn
Oldenburg
VBN 2010 4 270 km
Alstom Coradia Continental
NordWestBahn 2021
Dresden S-Bahn Dresden VVO 1992 3 128 km
Doppelstockwagen
DB Regio Südost
2027
Hamburg S-Bahn Hamburg HVV 1934 6 144 km 472, 474, 490
DB Regio AG
2033
Hannover S-Bahn
GVH, nph 2000 9 (+ 1) 385 km 424, 425 DB Regio Nord 2020
Mitteldeutschland S-Bahn
Leipzig, Halle (Saale), Zwickau, Bitterfeld, Wurzen, Borna MDV, VBB, VMS, VVO 2013[B] 10 802 km
Doppelstockwagen
DB Regio Südost
2025/2030
Mittelelbe S-Bahn
Magdeburg marego 1974 1 130 km 425
DB Regio Südost
2028
Munich S-Bahn Munich MVV 1972 8 434 km 423, 420
DB Regio AG
2017
Nürnberg S-Bahn
VGN 1987 6 320 km
Coradia Continental, Talent 2
DB Regio Bayern
2030
Ortenau-S-Bahn
Straßburg
TGO 1998 4 170 km Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1
SWEG
Rhine-Main S-Bahn RMV 1978 9 303 km 423, 430
DB Regio AG
2029,
2036
RheinNeckar S-Bahn
Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Heidelberg, Kaiserslautern
VRN, KVV, HNV, saarVV 2003 7 370 km 425
DB Regio Südwest
2017,
2033
) VRR

VRS
1967
(1932)
1975
14 717 km
Alstom Coradia Continental, Integral
Abellio Rail NRW
Rostock S-Bahn Rostock VVW 1974 3 091 km Bombardier Talent 2 DB Regio Nordost 2024
Stuttgart S-Bahn Stuttgart, Waiblingen, Esslingen, Ludwigsburg, Böblingen VVS 1978 7 215 km 423, 430
DB Regio AG
2028
  1. ^ first electric services started 2019.
  2. ^ originally established as two unconnected systems in 1969, connected in 2004 and substantially enlarged in 2013.

Poland

Public Transport Authority in Warsaw, SKM utilizes shared general railway lines supervised by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe. The system serves 55 stations[13] and features 4 key lines - S1, S2, S3, and S4, connecting Warsaw Chopin Airport with the city center, additionally reaching to areas not covered by the metro
network.

Fast Urban Rail Tricity is an analogous SKM system serving Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot, providing urban rail transit in the Poland's Tricity.

Switzerland and Liechtenstein

S-Bahn is also used in the

Greater Geneva that uses the prefix RL followed by the line number ("L" for "line"), e.g. RL2. S-Bahn-style services in the Italian 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.

Berne S-Bahn logo
Berne S-Bahn logo
S-Bahn networks of Swiss urban areas (in 2006)
Rüti
S-Bahn Liechtenstein (currently suspended)

The oldest network in Switzerland is the Bern S-Bahn, 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, 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 initiative in Central Switzerland (a collaborative network of S-Bahn Luzern and Stadtbahn Zug), and Eastern Switzerland (S-Bahn St. Gallen).

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) is planned as Herzstück Regio-S-Bahn Basel
(lit. heart-piece Regio-S-Bahn Basel).

An international S-Bahn network also existsts across the

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

Swiss-French border. It is the largest cross-country S-Bahn network of Europe.[14] Léman express was launched in December 2019 and is operated by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) and SNCF
.

Another transborder network for the

Rorschach (CH) to Bregenz and Lindau-Reutin (D).[16] Additional transborder services are planned. The future of S-Bahn Liechtenstein is uncertain since a voter referendum in 2020.[17]

The

Graubünden
(Grisons) in south-eastern Switzerland.

The

Bern
.

The

Bulle in the Canton of Fribourg, and extending into the cantons of Neuchâtel and Vaud
.

Two unnumbered S-Bahn services (designated only with an "S"), one between

Singen am Hohentwiel line is also serviced by SBB GmbH[18] (Schaffhausen S-Bahn
).

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 Solothurn or the S27 operated by Südostbahn (SOB) between Siebnen-Wangen and Ziegelbrücke.

Swiss S-Bahn services are operated mostly by the

Rhätische Bahn (RhB), Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU), Südostbahn (SOB) or Zentralbahn
(ZB).

tourists (some services call nearby tourist attractions, such as the Rhine Falls or the Swiss Museum of Transport
).

See also

References

  1. ^ An example of this is the Køgebugt or Køge-Bay railway at Copenhagen, built 1971 to 1983 "Banedanmark - Dansk jernbanehistorie". Archived from the original on 3 February 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2005.
  2. ^ "S-train tunnel at Hamburg between Central Station and Altona 1967-1979". S-bahn-galerie.de. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Geschichte der S-Bahn Hamburg - S-Bahn-Galerie.de". Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Geschichte und Geschichten rund um die Berliner S-Bahn". Stadtschnellbahn-berlin.de.
  5. ^ a b "Geschichte und Geschichten rund um die Berliner S-Bahn". Stadtschnellbahn-berlin.de. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  6. ^ Beschluss Bundespatentgericht vom 14. März 2012. Juris.bundespatentgericht.de, Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  7. ^ John Poulsen: S-bane 1934-2009 side 47
  8. ^ "Siden blev desværre ikke fundet" (PDF). Dsb.dk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  9. ^ a b 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)
  10. ^ Alan Hope (15 September 2015). "NMBS releases details of S-train express network". Flanders Today.
  11. ^ "S-trein: Reis eenvoudig door de stad | NMBS". Belgiantrain.be. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Prague Train Map - Prague, Czech Republic". 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Szybka Kolej Miejska w Warszawie", Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia (in Polish), 12 February 2024, retrieved 19 February 2024
  14. ^ htr.ch: https://www.htr.ch/story/tourismus/einweihungsfeiern-fuer-groesste-grenzueberschreitende-s-bahn-europas-25128.html
  15. ^ "S-Bahn Vorarlberg". oebb.at. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  16. ^ "THURBO FahrplanNetzkarte 2023" (PDF). THURBO. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  17. ^ ORF.at: https://vorarlberg.orf.at/stories/3064562/
  18. ^ SBB GmbH website: https://www.sbb-deutschland.de/strecken-und-tarife/s-bahn-schaffhausen/

External links

  • Media related to S-Bahn at Wikimedia Commons