The name of the German city of Wuppertal in the Bergische Land region near Cologne is indeed a perfect fit to its location. The River Wupper is flowing right through it and the city is – despite its size of roughly 350k inhabitants, more or less located in a rather long and thin valley formed by the river (Tal in German is “Valley”). Thus, this special place also needs a special kind of transport. The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn is definitely the most iconic tourist attraction of the city. I take you on a full ride on this public transport – and tell you why the name is in fact wrong.

 

Wuppertaler Schwebebahn – Network & Tariff

The length of the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (translates to “Wuppertal hovering rail”) is 13.3 km. There is a total of 20 stops. My trip went from the most Western station (Vohwinkel) to Oberbarmen in the very East. As the latter is very well connected to regional rail, I guess that most of you will travel in the vice versa direction first. However, there is rail connection on the Westbound station as well. As there is just this one line of the Schwebebahn, it typically does not have a line number. The official schedule names line 60 for it, though. During quite a major part of the ride, the trains are operating right above River Wupper.

Since 1980, the trains are fully integrated into the regional public transport franchise VRR. Thus, you just pay the public transport ticket price for it, there is no supplement compared to a bus or an Underground. The Schwebebahn is mainly not a touristic ride, but very vital for the traffic in Wuppertal. Thus, it operates every four to six minutes, even on major times on Sundays. A single ride is 2.70 EUR. However, you will likely use day tickets – or even the new Deutschland Ticket. 

 

Wuppertaler Schwebebahn – Technology / Rolling Stock

The Schwebebahn has been taken into service in 1901. There are some historic items near the Vohwinkel station. As I said, the wording Schwebebahn is wrong, as the train is not hovering and having contact to the rail all the time. It is also not operating like an aerial cableway or similar. Hanging monorail is the most appropriate description, Legally, the same rules as for normal trains apply to it.

There have been numerous generations of Schwebebahn trains. Some of the historic cars are preserved, but there is unfortunately no museum or similar to explore them. The current generation of trains is the so-called Generation 15 or GTW15. They are manufactured at Kiepe Electric in Dusseldorf and have been built between 2015 and 2017. One train has a length of 24 meters, it operates at an high speed of 65 km/h. There are four 75 kW engines. In order to manage narrow curves, the train has several flexible points. One train features 42 seats and can handle 88 additional standing passengers. Of course, you need stairs or elevators to get to the platform. The “feeling” of entering a Schwebebahn train in a station does not differ too much from a light rail, though.

 

Wuppertaler Schwebebahn – Inside the Train

The trains of the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn are manually operated. As they always travel in one direction (and go through a loop at the end of a journey), a very nice seat is at the end of a train, were two seats each are facing each other at a large window. However, there are also facilities for wheelchairs, strollers and cycles. You see in the pictures below that there are different configurations in different sections of the trains. The level of comfort is okay, maybe not that overwhelming. But even if you go for the full route, you are in the train for half an hour. There are no sanitary facilities in the train.

 

Riding the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn

As said, the pictures below represent the Eastbound trip from Vohwinkel to Oberbarmen, which is a 30 minute ride. Both terminal stations feature train depots. During the first 2.7 kilometers, the tracks are built above streets majorly and cross residential and commercial areas. Especially the borough of Sonnborn is actually quite nice. Right afterwards, close to Wuppertal Zoo and the Stadion am Zoo (“Zoo Stadium”), the Wasserstrecke begins, where the tracks are above the River Wupper.

Actually, I love the sections above the river. Even though you are right in the heart of the city, you feel being very close to nature. Even a packed ride somehow feels relaxing. The River Wupper, however, is also the key driver of industrialization in the region, so that you here and there spot some interesting places along the tracks reflecting the heritage of the region. In the city center, there are some spectacular parts of the route. The tracks are crossing a building for the Hauptbahnof (main station) station. Later the tracks are hanging over a huge crossing – just as there is no proper place to install the supports.

 

After that, the tracks majorly follow the river again. They are also already very close to the rail tracks, which leads to easier commuting later. The last pictures you see below are already taken from the East terminus Oberbarmen Bf.

 

Wuppertaler Schwebebahn – My View

Wuppertal might not be on top of your list – but apart from some other really nice spots, this ride is iconic. It not only a perfect item on your social media story, but a ride which stays in your heart. The technology did not differ too much since over a century. You should be aware, though, that this is majorly nothing put a piece of public transport – the rides may be really packed, especially in Central Wuppertal. Also some of the stations might need some more love and maintenance.

 

Other Transportation – Germany

Here are all my postings about non-avation transportation related to Germany:

 

Wuppertal

Here are all my postings related to Wuppertal: