U-Bahn in Vienna - U4 (Part One)

[Bahnsteig4]

I decided to try and give a detailed description with pictures of all 5 Viennese metro lines.
The network is somehow underrated, even though it spans the whole city and is by far the most important public transport system in Vienna.

It might not be as grand, historic and long as London's, Paris' or Berlin's, and not as fancy and hip as Copenhagen's, but without it the city would be lost.

I start with one of my most frequently used lines, the line U4.


U4


Hütteldorf - Heiligenstadt

Identification colour: Green.

Length: 16,5 kms
Travel time: 29 mins
Stations: 20
Transfer possibilities: 4 to S-Bahn, 6 to U-Bahn

In 1898, the tracks were constructed for Vienna's Stadtbahn.
The Stadtbahn era ended in 1976, when the first U-Bahn trainset went in service on these old tracks.

Architecture is not very varied on this particular line. There are mainly the historic station buildings by Otto Wagner at one end of the platform, and additionally, new exits were built on the other ends in the past few years.

There are hardly any real underground segments on the U4, due to its Stadtbahn (= city train) past.

Let's get this started...


Hütteldorf

Change here for:
Regional bus lines
S-Bahn
147, 53B

Hütteldorf station is a transfer station in the very west of the city, surrounded by greenery and residential areas. The station also serves as an international train station along the Westbahn and as the main line to the Gerhard-Hanappi Stadium.



Tunnels connect the railway and U-Bahn platforms:


The platform:


The interior of a typical U-type car, still the most common type of trainset in Vienna:


Ober St.Veit

Change here for:
54B, 55B

The first stop along the line, typical in layout and architecture for U4:


The inside of a new V-type set:



Unter St.Veit

Change here for:
47A

Nothing special here:



Braunschweiggasse
The new exit:



Hietzing
That's were eastbound trains usually fill up. That's partly because of the Schönbrunn Zoo and gardens, partly because of the 3 tram lines that pass this station.

Change here for:
Regional bus lines
10, 58, 60
51A, 56B, 58B, 156B






Schönbrunn

Change here for:
10A

This station is located in front of the Schönbrunn palace and is therefore popular with tourists.

The original building:


The new one, built closer to the proper castle:


This is one of the stations that could retain their original character:



Meidling Hauptstraße

Change here for:
9A, 15A, 63A

A pretty ugly station, one of the few on the U4 line with the platform between the tracks:





Längenfeldgasse

Change here for:
U6
12A

One of six interchanges along the line.


U6 to the left, u4 to the right:




That's what it looks like on the outside (facing east). The U6 tracks actually "embrace" the U4 tracks:



Margaretengürtel

Change here for:
6, 18

Once again, an old entrance building alongside a new one:





Pilgrimgasse

Change here for:
12A, 13A, 14A, 59A







Kettenbrückengasse

Kettenbrückengasse is one of the stops for the Naschmarkt, one of Europe's biggest markets.

Love that facade:





Karlsplatz

Change here for:
U1, U2
1, 2, 62, 65, D
4A, 59A
Light rail to Baden

Vienna's biggest U-Bahn interchange, also one of the main gateways to the city center. Three lines cross each other here. I only concentrated on the U4 platforms:

Urban shithole:







Stadtpark

One of the most beutiful stations, still very much like it was a hundred years ago:







Landstraße - Wien Mitte

Change here for:
U3
S-Bahn, City-Airport Train
O, 74A



The entry hall to all Metro and S-Bahn lines:



Schwedenplatz

Change here for:
U1
1, 2, 21, N
2A

A very important station, this, however, is not the main entrance:


A typical station sign, displaying how the ID colours of the lines guide you where you need:


Many stations are equipped with "Infoscreens":



Schottenring

Change here for:
U2
1, 2, 31
3A

U2 to the left, U4 to the right. A rather practical transit solution, however doomed to disappear with the reconstruction that is needed for the extension of the U2 line (to the EURO stadium).





Roßauer Lände



The station from above:



Friedensbrücke

Change here for:
5, 33








Spittelau

Change here for:
U6
S-Bahn
35A








Heiligenstadt
The northern terminus.

Change here for:
S-Bahn
D
10A, 11A, 38A, 39A
Regional bus lines



two generations:


being turned around:



THAT WAS LONG!!!

I hope you got to know this fifth of Vienna's metro network, the other four lines will follow asap.

[alta-bc]

Great photos! I especially like the ones where I can see a bit of the neighborhood.
Please keep the pictures coming!

[Falubaz]

:O !!!
i like ur pics. its interesting how different the entrances are. my favorite is this one

[Bahnsteig4]

Pretty basic, isn't it?

[Gag Halfrunt]

davidkunz, have you seen the Clint Eastwood film Firefox? It used locations in Vienna to stand in for Moscow, and the U-Bahn appears as the Moscow metro. The goofs page for Firefox on the Internet Movie Database says that a "Suedtirolerplatz" station sign can be seen at one point.

[Captain Obvious]

I like the Vienna metro a lot. When visiting the city, I accidentally rode the metro without paying (it was an "on your honor" system, if I recall). I just walked on to the platform and never noticed where I was supposed to pay - even after looking around for a while. At another station, I did find the ticketcard machines more easily.

[snupix]

Excellent! Looking forward to the U6!

[micro]

Nice series of photos! They are showing very well the high-quality station architecture and high-quality trains in Vienna.

[DonQui]

this thread took a lot of work, great job!

[Slartibartfas]

Wow, great work.


I would not be so rigorous in condemning the modern stations. Of course I also like the old good preserved ones too, but actually the new design is pretty fine. In comparision to other metros in Europe it has major advantages.

I would say only some of those stations that fall out of the general new scheme and are not old either are a bit ugly. (But not all of them either).

What are you saying of the new modern part of the Karlsplatz station? The white marbled ways, with those very cool installations counting the people in love, the days until Chernobyl is habitable again, the numbers of Schnitzel consumed since 1 Jan, the number Pi (at least the first few 100 positions) etc..

Did the actual master design of the Wiener U-Bahn not win an award?

[Bahnsteig4]

The problem is that the "modern" stations are not modern but nothing more and nothing less than functional standard architecture from the 60s, 70s and 80s.


PS:
Watch out for the U3 coming in the evening. Step back and mind the gap!

[hktreasure]

viele gut!

[Bahnsteig4]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

May I direct your interest towards another afternoon of hard work:

U3

[kokpit]

Great work David! I have to visit Vienna soon, I love that city, it's close to my heart.