S-Bahn (Denmark)

S-Bahn Denmark

S-Bahn Networks in Denmark

Copenhagen S-train connects the city centre, other inner and outer boroughs and suburbs with each other. The average distance between stations is 2.0 km, shorter in the city core and inner boroughs, longer at the end of lines that serve suburbs. Of the 86 stations, 32 are located within the central parts of the city. Some stations are located around 40 km from Copenhagen city centre. For this reason the fares vary depending on distances. The one-day passes which the tourists buy are valid only in the most central parts of the S-train system. On weekdays each line has a departure every 10 minutes with the exception of the F-line, on which a train departs every five minutes. Where several lines converge on a common piece of track there could be as many as 30 trains per hour in each direction. On Sundays the seven lines are reduced to four lines, but all stations are served at least every 10 minutes. The three railway stations at Amager have a local service that is the equivalent of the S-trains.

The Copenhagen Metro opened in 2002 as a complement to the already existing S-train system. Copenhagen's S-train system is the only one in the country. Outside Denmark, in cities where both exist, is it far from unusual that a metro system later has been complemented with S-trains. The branch towards Køge (the southernmost S-train station in Copenhagen's S-network) has a rather unique history, as it was built in the 1970s where no previous railway ever had existed.

The S-Bahn is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble commuter or even regional rail systems. The name S-Bahn derives from Schnellbahn (lit. rapid train), Stadtbahn (lit. city train) or Stadtschnellbahn (lit. rapid city train).

Similar systems in Austria and German-speaking Switzerland are known as S-Bahn as well. In Belgium, it is known as S-Trein (Flemish) or Train S (French). In Denmark, they are known as S-tog, and in the Czech Republic as Esko or S-lines. In Milan, they are known as Linee S.

S-Bahn History in Denmark

The "S" stood for "station". Just before the opening of the first line in the Copenhagen S-train network, the newspaper Politiken on 17 February 1934 held a competition about the name, which in Danish became known as Den elektriske enquete or "The electrical survey" (as the Copenhagen S-trains would become the first electrical railways in Denmark). But since an "S" already was put up at all the stations, weeks before the survey, the result became S-tog which means "S-train". This was also just a few years after the S-trains had opened in Berlin and Hamburg. Today the Copenhagen S-trains uses six lines and serves 86 stations, 32 of them are located inside the (quite tiny) municipality borders. Each line uses 6 t.p.h (trains per hour) in each direction, with exception of the (yellow) F-line. The F-line has departures in each direction every five minutes, or 12 t.p.h. service .

S-Bahn Characteristics

There is no complete definition of an S-Bahn system. S-Bahn are, where they exist, the most local type of passenger train service that stops at all existing stations on mainline networks inside and around a city (while other mainline trains only call at major stations).

They are slower than regional mainline trains, but usually serve as fast crosstown services within the city. The Copenhagen S-tog for example goes up to 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph), faster than most urban heavy rail and mass transit. S-Bahn trains generally serve the hinterland of a certain city, rather than connecting different cities, although in high population density areas a few exceptions to this exist. A good example of such an exception is the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn, which interconnects the cities, towns and suburbs of the Ruhr, a large urban agglomeration.

Most S-Bahn systems are entirely built on older local railways, or in some cases parallel to an existing dual track railway. Most use existing local mainline railway trackage, but a few branches and lines can be purpose-built S-Bahn lines. S-Bahn trains typically use overhead lines or a third rail for traction power. In Hamburg both methods are used, depending on which line is powered.

In smaller S-Bahn systems and suburban sections of larger ones, trains typically share tracks with other rail traffic, with the Berlin S-Bahn, Hamburg S-Bahn and Copenhagen S-train being notable exceptions. Busy S-Bahn corridors sometimes have sections of exclusive trackage of their own but parallel to mainline railways. Many of the larger S-Bahn systems will also have central corridors of exclusive trackage that individual suburban branches feed into, creating a high frequency trunk corridor. In many cases, the central corridor is a dedicated underground line in the city centre with close stop spacing and a high frequency, similar to metro systems, created from the combined interlining of the multiple branches. A good example of this is Berliner Stadtbahn in Berlin's S-Bahn, which is regarded as a tourist attraction. However, in more lightly used sections outside the city centre, S-Bahn services commonly share tracks with other trains.

Further out from the central parts of a city the individual services branch off into lines where the distances between stations can exceed 5 km, similar to commuter rail. This allows the S-Bahn to serve a dual transport purpose: local transport within a city centre and suburban transport between central boroughs of larger cities, and to suburbs. Frequencies vary wildly between systems with short headways in the core sections of large networks to headways of over 20 minutes in remote sections of the network, late at night and/or on Sundays and in smaller systems.

The rolling stock typically used for S-Bahn systems reflects its hybrid purpose. The interior is designed for short journeys with provision for standing passengers, but may have more space allocated to larger and more numerous seats.

Integration with other local transport for ticketing, connectivity and easy interchange between lines or other systems like metros is typical for the S-Bahn. Where both S-Bahn and metro exist, the number of interchange stations between the two systems is substantial, with metro tickets being valid on S-Bahn services and vice versa. The S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland constitutes the main local railway system for Leipzig but also connects to Halle, where a few stations are located. The Rostock S-Bahn is an example of a smaller S-Bahn system.

S-Bahn German History

S-Bahn Early Steam Services

In 1882, the growing number of steam-powered trains around Berlin prompted the Prussian State Railway to construct separate rail tracks for suburban traffic. The Berliner Stadtbahn connected Berlin's eight intercity rail stations which were spread throughout the city (all but the Stettiner Bahnhof which today is a pure S-Bahn station known as Berlin Nordbahnhof, as the city Stettin today is Polish city Szczecin). A lower rate for the newly founded Berliner Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn (Berlin City, Circular and Suburban Rail) was introduced on 1 October 1891. This rate and the growing succession of trains made the short-distance service stand out from other railways.

The second suburban railway was the Hamburg-Altonaer Stadt- und Vorortbahn connecting Hamburg with Altona and Blankenese. The Altona office of the Prussian State Railway established the electric powered railway in 1906.

S-Bahn Electricity

The beginning of the 20th century saw the first electric trains, which in Germany operated at 15,000 V on overhead lines. The Berliner Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn instead implemented direct current multiple units running on 750 V from a third rail. In 1924, the first electrified route went into service. The third rail was chosen because it made both the modifications of the rail tracks (especially in tunnels and under bridges) and the side-by-side use of electric and steam trains easier.

To set it apart from the subterranean U-Bahn, the term S-Bahn replaced Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahn in 1930.

The Hamburg service had established an alternating current line in 1907 with the use of multiple units with slam doors. In 1940 a new system with 1200 V DC third rail and modern electric multiple units with sliding doors was integrated on this line (on the same tracks). The old system with overhead wire remained up to 1955. The other lines of the network still used steam and later Diesel power. In 1934, the Hamburg-Altonaer Stadt- und Vorortbahn was renamed as S-Bahn.