Innsbruck funicular railway
The Hungerburgbahn in Innsbruck is a funicular railway that connects the city centre with upper Hungerburg. Construction of this funicular started as early as 1906. After the Mendlbahn in Bolzano (Bozen), it is the second funicular in Tyrol. The old track was closed in 2005 and a completely new funicular was opened in 2007.
History Hungerburgbahn
The valley station of the first variant of the Hungerburgbahn was located on the Inn in the Saggen district. A 158-metre-long bridge was built that spanned the Inn. This was a masterpiece at the time as the bridge only used a single pylon that had to carry the entire weight. The old carriages had a capacity of 60 people and could transport up to 300 people per hour. The people of Innsbruck soon accepted the funicular railway and it became a great success. In the first year, it carried more than 150,000 people. In 1957, the Hungerburgbahn was renovated for the first time. New trains and an extension of the trace, which reduced the gradient somewhat, allowed the capacity to be raised to 1,100 passengers per hour. The track's route passed through the Alpenzoo, so they also opened a station at this location in 1987.
New Hungerburgbahn
In 2005, the Hungerburgbahn was completely modernised. A new valley station was added and the route was shifted, bringing the starting point more into the city centre. A completely new station was built next to the Kongresshaus. Instead of ascending directly, the train now first travels underground towards the Inn. An additional station, Löwenhaus station, was added in the middle of a newly built bridge. After this station, the train starts its ascent towards Alpenzoo station. The new Hungerburgbahn was built by cable car builder Leitner from South Tyrol. The Hungerburgbahn's new trains are designed so that, on the flat part of the route, they function like a normal train, but as soon as the ascent starts, the different cabins slide apart, so that it really becomes a funicular train. A fun and beautiful technical masterpiece.
Technical details Hungerburgbahn
- The new trains have a capacity of 130 passengers.
- Number of stations: 4 - Congress, Löwenhaus, Alpenzoo and Hungerburg
- Length of route: 1800 metres
- Difference in altitude: 288 metres
- Duration of ride: about 6 minutes
- Trains run every 15 minutes
Architecture Hungerburgbahn
The new stations were designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid. She had previously designed the restaurant on the ski jump. When designing, the architect took inspiration from the surroundings of snow and ice. The result is truly stunning and worth seeing.
Hungerburg
Hungerburg is located above Innsbruck on the slope of the Seegrubenspitze / Hafelekarspitze. The hamlet of Hungerburg has belonged to the, then, village of Hötting since the 15th century. Hötting itself was added to Innsbruck in 1911, making Hungerburg part of the city of Innsbruck as well. From Hungerburg, you have a very nice view of the city.
