Wuppertal Suspension Railway

[portervalley]

I'm thinking about a short break to Wuppertal this July, primarily to ride the suspension railway.

I'm struggling to find a reliable website in English providing info on planned closures etc. The english part of http://www.schwebebahn.de/ does not seem to be regularly updated.

Translating from German websites it would seem that the railway was closed for various periods a couple of years ago for a major modernisation scheme but it would seem that that has now finished.

I passed through Wuppertal on an ICE back in October when travelling from Berlin to London and the view from the train offers some fairly extensive views of the suspension railway along the valley. They didn't appear to be any trains running then but that was only a week or two after last year's accident so perhaps the service was suspended / part suspended for some time after that.

I don't want to book a weekend away to Wuppertal and then arrive and find out that the railway isn't operating that weekend!

 

[30907]

Best thing I can think of is to check the Verkehrshinweise (Travel Advice) on the VRR page http://www.vrr.de/en/index.html - unfortunately the engineering works are in German

Or on the Wuppertal City Utilities transport pages http://www.wsw-online.de/mobilitaet
- only in German, but using the Kontakt page in English would almost certainly produce a reply WRT July.

Various of us on the forum can help with translation if necessary - and there's certainly someone who knows more than I do...

 

[Class172]

I'm struggling to find a reliable website in English providing info on planned closures etc. The english part of http://www.schwebebahn.de/ does not seem to be regularly updated.

By that I assume the German section is updated regularly: can you not translate those pages or use a browser that can translate as you browse?

 

[quarella]

Definitely worth going on though be warned if you are prone to sea sickness. The areas around the termini are not the most inspiring.

 

[sidetracked]

http://www.wsw-online.de/mobilitaet/Schweben_Sehen/Ausbau_2013

This page says that the modernisation project finishes this April. http://www.wsw-online.de/mobilitaet/Schweben_Sehen/Ausbau_2013

It also links to this calender. http://www.wsw-online.de/mobilitaet/Downloads/Schweb/Kalender_2014_web.pdf

The days in yellow in April are the only ones when the Schwebebahn is not running. The red dots in July are just to indicate school holidays and so have nothing to do with whether it runs or not, as I understand it.

I agree though that contacting them in English to double-check might be a good idea!

 

[Gordon]

I agree though that contacting them in English to double-check might be a good idea!

Can't see a real need to double check. The Leaflet is quite clear, it is scheduled to operate daily this year except April 12 -27. They are obviously using the Easter period for another session of extended work.

Apart from that it is business as usual.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I would advise the OP to stay in Dusseldorf which is only a 15 min s-bahn ride away, Schwebebahn aside, Wuppertal is a bit of a dump whereas Dusseldorf is lovely

 

[t_star2001uk]

A small group of us from Chiltern have just recently returned from a visit to Wuppertal. Have a look at this travel blog which is written by one of our controllers.....

http://www.daniktheexplorer.com/destinations/germany/rhineland-westphalia/

 

[gordonthemoron]

the area around Dusseldorf station is not that interesting although there is a nearby brew pub. The altstadt is a 5 min (underground) tram ride away and is much better. I did find a couple of reasonable bars in Vohrwinkel (Wuppertal) but nothing to make an effort for

 

[30907]

The red dots in July are just to indicate school holidays and so have nothing to do with whether it runs or not, as I understand it.

According tohttp://www.wsw-online.de/mobilitaet/Downloads/Plaene_Verzeichnisse/2013_Fahrplanbuch/60.pdf
the Mon-Fri service is slightly thinned out during the holidays, which explains the flag-up.

 

[portervalley]

Thanks for all the thorough replies. Looks like I should be fine visiting in July. Will consider Dusseldolf as an alternative place to stay.

 

[duesselmartin]

Düsseldorf may be nicer, but Wuppertal is cheaper, especially when trade fairs are on. If your looking for countryside Wuppertal is not a bad places for excursions into the Bergische Land.
Best wishes from Düsseldorf

 

[stuartmoss]

I've done the whole journey a few times, it's definitely worth seeing, but Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof like 'Mos Eisley Space Port' can only be described as 'a wretched hive of scum and villainy'.

Stay in Dusseldorf, or further away in NRW and get the day rover ticket for the state, very economical if there are a few of you.

My Schwebebahn video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk-hJFK9bYU

 

[gordonthemoron]

I would have thought that Dusseldorf Hbf would be a lot quieter since they shut down the two dodgy bars, or have they reopened?

BTW, all bars in Wuppertal are at least partially dodgy

 

[stuartmoss]

I would have thought that Dusseldorf Hbf would be a lot quieter since they shut down the two dodgy bars, or have they reopened?

BTW, all bars in Wuppertal are at least partially dodgy

Central Wuppertal near the Hbf is horrible, however there are three bars over the road from the Vohlwinkel terminus, and they all seemed fine to me, had a couple of different local brews in them, the bar staff were polite and served us at our tables.

At the other end of the track Oberbarmen is a bit of a dump, there is a coffee shop with outdoor seating near the terminus.

I definitely think the Vohlwinkel side of Wuppertal is a nicer area. I also went to Wuppertal Zoo from the Schwebebahn, it's one of the largest in Germany. It took us around 4 hours to see it all, definitely worth going to if you like animals, but take some good walking shoes as it's massive!

 

[brandenburger]

Do you still read here, portervalley?

There is much more to see in the Wuppertal region, and I would not say that you better stay in Düsseldorf.

The zoo had been mentioned. Half-high on the Northern side of the valley there was another railway line that had been closed in the nineties and is now for cycling and walking (not yet ready, but open in parts), with many viaducts. See here:
http://www.wuppertalbewegung-ev.de/

At the western end of the suspension railway starts a trolley bus line that ist part of the network of Solingen:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solingen#Trolleybus

There you will find the highest German railway bridge as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solingen#Trolleybus

Once you leave the city centre of Wuppertal you will like the hilly scenery. I hope that it will be not too hot in July!

 

[brandenburger]

Sorry, the correct link for the bridge is:
http://bridge-info.org/bridge/index.php?ID=71