đ The Next Gen: Generation 15 Hits Wuppertalâs Suspension Railway
Alright, so, late 2016 rolls aroundâbam, the old 1972 âGrandpaâ railcars finally clock out, and in come the shiny, angular Generation 15s. Honestly, they look like the future. The colors are way sleeker now, no more trains plastered head-to-toe in cheesy ads. About time, right? Whole system just looks more put-together.
đ Vohwinkel: Where the Magic Starts
Picture this: new train chilling at Vohwinkel, spins around, heads back to Oberbarmen. Not much has changed with the layoutâstill 42 seats, room for 88 folks to stand and awkwardly avoid eye contact. But now, there are cameras everywhere. Like, everywhere. Itâs basically the Big Brother Express, but hey, youâre probably safer.
Under the hood, these things are packing AC motors and can actually feed energy back into the grid when braking. Thatâs regenerative braking for youâpretty slick. Plus, the safety tech is all new (they call it WTC, sounds fancy). They even bumped up the juice: voltage goes from 600 to 750. These trains can hit 65 km/h, though the trackâs like, âNah, 60âs enough.â
đ Cruising Over the Wupper
Not long after leaving Sonnborner StraĂe, the whole train is just floating over the river Wupperâ12 meters up. Thatâs like, what, a four-story building? All that without eating up ground space. The supports are kind of wild too, slanted pairs stretching across the tracks. Looks like something out of a sci-fi flick.
đ The Heart: Hauptbahnhof & DĂśppersberg
If youâre trying to get anywhere, Hauptbahnhof is the spot. Right next to it, DĂśppersbergâs been around since 1926 but got a massive facelift lately. City planners even shoved the main road underground to unclog the area. About time, honestly.
âł Back in the Day: GTW 72s
Flashback to the â90s: youâd see car #2 from the old GTW 72 batch looping out of Oberbarmen. These MAN-made beauties (well, âbeautiesâ is generousâthink orange and blue boxes on wheels) replaced the even older stock and ran for ages.
Old school driver Wolfgang Dandorfer (this guyâs basically a local legend) once said, âWuppertal without its suspension railway? Canât even picture it.â Berlin and Cologne dug subways, but Wuppertalâs hills and valleys made that a wallet-busting fantasy. Hanging trains just made more sense.
đ Werther Bridge Station: Still Old School
Werther Bridge stop? Itâs like stepping into a time machine. Not many original stations left, but this oneâs hanging in there. People here donât just ride the suspension railwayâitâs basically part of the cityâs DNA.
Peter Leidig, who knows a thing or two about transit, summed it up: âYou just canât build a subway here. This is the only way.â Preach, Peter.
đ˘ Who Runs the Show?
Wuppertaler Stadtwerkeâs been running the gig since â48, but in 2013, the city actually took over the tracks and infrastructure. WSW still handles the trains, so itâs a bit of a tag-team.
đ Stations: Old Meets New
Twenty stops in total, and honestly, most of them look nothing like they did before. Big upgrades everywhere. Take OhligsmĂźhleâbrand new, super modern, kinda Instagrammable if youâre into that.
As you approach Vohwinkel at the end, the train drops down to just eight meters above the street, gliding past fancy old buildings. Then, boomâend of the line. Time to hop off, unless you wanna ride it all over again (and, honestly, who wouldnât?).
*This blog post is originally written by me on onthenode.com
Regards: Kiara
Have a cheerful day! Ecency Family â¤ď¸