Pöstlingbergbahn

The Pöstlingbergbahn is a narrow-gauge electric mountain tramway in Linz, Austria. It links the city centre’s main square with the Pöstlingberg district, perched atop a hill at the northern edge of Linz. Opened in 1898, the line once ran only from Urfahr to Pöstlingberg. In 2009 it was extended into the city centre and regauged to 900 mm. With a maximum gradient of 11.6 %, it holds Austria’s steepest adhesion railway grade and is among the world’s steepest. The railway grew from a pilgrimage route that gained hikers after military clearances in the early 19th century. A chapel appeared around 1720, followed by a church in 1748. The Tramway and Electric Company Linz-Urfahr took over the fortress site in 1897 and built the line. Ridership rose quickly, reaching 200 000 passengers a year before the First World War. Wartime shortages and later commuting pushed numbers above a million in the 1940s, though today about 500 000 people use the line each year. Visitors board modern low-floor trams at the main square and ride through the city to the upper terminus at Pöstlingberg. The rebuilt line uses concrete sleepers and pantograph current collection. At Urfahr station a small museum displays historic rails, pantographs and original carriages. The fortress wall shelters the Pöstlingberg Schlössl hotel and restaurant, while Tower II houses the Linz Grotto Railway. From the summit there are wide views across Linz and the surrounding landscape.