Created 9-Aug-17
Modified 8-Mar-24
This service begins the tramway story in Innsbruck, albeit the story actually starts with a railway.
In 1891 a railway was opened from Hall in Tyrol through Rum and Mühlau to Innsbruck and then through Triumphpforte to Wilten and Berg Isel (this was the spelling until 1965). The line was worked by steam locomotives and was known as the Lokalbahn Innsbruck-Hall in Tyrol (LBIHiT).
Following the opening of the urban tram routes plans were made to electrify the line, which took place in two stages from 1909 to early 1910. The urban section was electrified at 550V DC but the interurban section was at 1000V (later 1200V) DC. New trams were built by AEG and these maintained the service throughout the life of the line, often hauling trailers which had been converted from the stock used in steam days.
The original route of the railway inwards from Mühlauer Brücke (at the time solely a railway bridge referred to as Kettenbrücke) was along Falk Street but on electrification this was diverted along Rennweg. The route continued to ultimately run along Marktgraben to Maria-Theresien-Straße but in 1939 it was connected to the 1 route at Mühlauer Brücke and used that route into Innsbruck instead. The service had been cut back from Wiltener Platz to Maria-Theresien-Straße before then and in later years terminated at the Hauptbahnhof.
The line eventually closed in 1974, new developments and roads for the 1976 Winter Olympics being largely the cause.
© David Beilby
