Überetsch Railway

Überetsch Railway
Überetsch Railway
Overview
Type passenger/freight
Status abandoned
Termini Bolzano
Mendel Funicular
Stations 6
Operation
Opened December 16, 1898
Closed 1974
Technical
Line length 15,00 km
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Electrification since 1911

The Überetsch Railway (German: Überetscher Bahn; Italian: Transatesina) connected Bolzano with the Mendel Funicular. This line was part of a rail sightseeing tour round the Mendelpass. The tour was made up by five railway lines and often used by tourists.

Contents

Track

Just after the station of Bolzano the track branched off from the Brennerbahn and ran along the Eisack river. The line crossed the Talfer river and after two small stations (Ponte Roma and Ponte Resia) the line became split: one track proceeded to Meran and further to the Vinschgerbahn and one track branched away leftwards toward the low mountain range plateau of Überetsch. After a long bridge over the Adige river, the line got steeper and after two short tunnels reached the Überetsch plateau. Here the trains only stopped in Eppan, Kaltern and Sankt Anton, near the Mendel Funicular station. The strange thing was, that the track to the Sankt Anton station left the mainline before it arrived to the Kaltern station, so the trains had to run to Kaltern station, drive back to the switch, change driving direction again and then go further to the Sankt Anton station.

History

The railroad had been built to reach the Überetsch plateau more easily. The two biggest villages on the plateau Kaltern and Eppan are to this day important tourist destinations. The railroad made it easier to get tourists to the villages and the wine from the villages to the station of Bolzano, where it was loaded onto international freight trains.

Today

Soon after the passenger service was suspended, the freight service was suspended too. The line was finally abandoned in 1974. At the Eppan station the tracks where replaced by a new street to guide traffic around the village. Today the line is part of a bike trail and very crowded during weekends. Because of the crowded streets between Bolzano and the Überetsch plateau the mayors of Kaltern and Eppan support the idea to reactivate the line as a commuter line.

Gallery

Literature

  • Josef Dultinger: Vergessene Vergangenheit. Verlag Dr. Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1982
  • Josef Dultinger: Auf schmaler Spur durch Südtirol. Verlag Dr. Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1982

Coordinates: 46°2504N 11°1504E / 46.41778°N 11.25111°E / 46.41778; 11.25111


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Überetsch — The Überetsch at Eppan as seen from Boymont Castle. The Überetsch (German: Überetsch; Italian: Oltradige) is a hilly section of the Etschtal in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It lies south west of Bolzano and is a known tourist destination, famous… …   Wikipedia

  • Mendel Funicular — Mendola funicular Overview Type passenger Status still working Termini Überetsch Railway station Sankt Anton, Kaltern Mendelpass Stations …   Wikipedia

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