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The Vienna Metro (called “U-Bahn” in German) is made up of five primary lines called U1, U2, U3, U4, and U6. The whole metro spans over 40km in Vienna, 25km of which are underground.
There is also a light rail system (“S-Bahn”) in Vienna with 9.3 kms of track, 3.6km underground and 5.7km elevated.
Why No U5?
Why there is no U5 in Vienna (but a U1-U4 and an U6) is one of the mysteries of urban development. From the 1960s up until the 1980s every long-term network plan contained a line U5, yet financial constraints would prohibit the line from being built. In the late 90s, the ideas of a U5 was finally given pu. Most probably we will never an U5 in Vienna.
Did You Know?
- Many of the historical Art Nouveau S-Bahn stations have been planned by the renowned architect Otto Wagner and date back as far as 1898.
- Sometime the metro stinks. Actually it only stinks in the U1 station Stephansplatz. The reason for the bad smell is that at the time of construction, a chemical hardener was injected in the floors to prevent damage to the nearby cathedral (the Stephansdom). Unfortunately, this today results in an outflow of butyric, which stinks.
- The avergage distance between metro stations is 771m. The shortest distance is Museumsquartier to Volkstheater (U2) with a distance of only 341 meters.
