Vorarlberg S-Bahn

Transport project in Vorarlberg, Austria

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Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB)
Montafonerbahn (MBS)
THURBO

TechnicalSystem length80 km (50 mi)Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The Vorarlberg S-Bahn is a label for regional rail services in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is integrated into the Vorarlberg Transport Association (VVV) [de] which manages ticket pricing, and is operated by the state-owned ÖBB and privately owned Montafonerbahn (mbs). In addition to Vorarlberg, the network connects to the German town of Lindau, the Swiss towns of St. Margrethen and Buchs SG, and stations in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

It is part of a transnational railway network around Lake Constance (Bodensee) marketed as Bodensee S-Bahn.^[1]

Establishment

In December 2005, the first Bombardier Talents were given S-Bahn branding. However, only VVV timetables designated these services as such. ÖBB ran them as a standard regional service, and only later the S1 and S3 lines took over. Since December 2020, mbs' services on the S4 line are also designated as S-Bahn.

Fleet modernization began in 2018 to the ÖBB Cityjet [de] standard. This includes a new paint scheme, new seat covers, and passenger information monitors.

Lines

Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) operates services S1, S2, S3 and R5 while Montafonerbahn operates line S4.^[2] The system is supported by a REX (Lindau-Insel–Bludenz) and a regional train (S7/RE7, operated by Swiss Federal Railways' subsidiary THURBO). The S1 (which crosses the Austrian-German border), S2 (which passes through Liechtenstein), S3 (which crosses the Austrian-Swiss border) and S7/RE7 (which runs through Austria, Germany and Switzerland) are part of Bodensee S-Bahn.^[1]

S1: Lindau – Bludenz

The S1 is the busiest of the Vorarlberg S-Bahn's lines. S-Bahn and Regional-Express trains run on separate tracks of the Vorarlberg railway line in intervals of less than ten minutes. Since December 2011, between Bregenz and Bludenz there is a time interval of 30 minutes until 23:00. Towards north, the S1 crosses the border and terminates in Lindau (Germany).

S1: Lindau-Insel – Lindau-Reutin – Bregenz – Dornbirn – Feldkirch – Bludenz

S2: Feldkirch – Buchs

The Feldkirch–Buchs railway is already operated by ÖBB. Proposals were underway to upgrade the line and designate it as part of the S-Bahn network as S2, under the project name "S-Bahn Liechtenstein" (de; formerly S-Bahn FL.A.CH). A Letter of Intent was signed between Austria and Liechtenstein in April 2020. As of December 2023, the S2 service operates during workdays only. The line connects Feldkirch (Austria) with Buchs SG (Switzerland) and crosses two country borders. It calls at intermediate stations in Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein (except Schaanwald).

S2: Buchs SG – Schaan-Vaduz – Feldkirch

S3: Bregenz – St. Margrethen

Trains of S3 service use the St. Margrethen–Lauterach line and Vorarlberg railway and run every half an hour, with some hourly services in the mornings and evenings. The line was expanded to an almost continuous half-hourly coverage until 2016. With its western terminus in St. Margrethen (Switzerland), the S3 provides cross-border connections to services of S-Bahn St. Gallen and InterRegio (IR) trains to destinations in Switzerland. The most important metro node along the route is Lustenau. The former R and REX trains on the route became S-Bahn services but retained their old stopping pattern.

S3: St. Margrethen – Lustenau – Bregenz

S4: Schruns – Bludenz

The S4 service is operated by the Montafonerbahn (mbs). It runs primarily on an hourly basis between Bludenz and Schruns and calls at all stations.

S4: Bludenz – Schruns

R5: Feldkirch – Lustenau

The R5 service runs primarily on an hourly basis. Trains only call at larger stations. Three trains per day continue from Lustenau to St. Margrethen.

R5: Feldkirch – Dornbirn – Lustenau (– St. Margrethen)

S7/RE7: Weinfelden – Lindau-Reutin

Since December 2021, some trains of the S7 service (Weinfelden–Romanshorn–Rorschach) of St. Gallen S-Bahn continue from Romanshorn to Lindau-Reutin (as RE7). The trains are operated by THURBO and only call at major stations between Rorschach and Lindau. Only every second service continues from Romanshorn to Weinfelden.

S7: (Weinfelden – Amriswil –) Romanshorn – Arbon – Rorschach (– St. Margrethen – Bregenz – Lindau-Reutin)

Rolling Stock

ÖBB currently operates Siemens Desiro Cityjets across all its S-Bahn lines, as of 2023. Before, it used 1st-generation Bombardier Talent Class 4024s. ÖBB signed an agreement^[3] to purchase up to 300 new Bombardier Talent 3 units for delivery from mid-2019. However, they didn't receive approval, prompting the refurbishment of the existing Talent 1 series. The Talent 3 are now used in Germany.

References

^ ^a ^b "Fahrplan-Netzkarte 2024 [Railway network and services near Lake Constance 2024]" (PDF) (in German). THURBO. 2023-12-10. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
^ "S-Bahn Vorarlberg". oebb.at. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
^ Railcolor Headquarters (29 December 2016). "ÖBB signs framework agreement for Talent3 – 21 trains ordered". Railcolor News. Retrieved 19 December 2020.