The GTW 72 (GTW = "''Gelenktriebwagen''" or ''articulated railcar'') is a

suspended monorail A suspension railway is a form of elevated monorail in which the vehicle is suspended from a fixed track (as opposed to a cable used in aerial tramways), which is built above streets, waterways, or existing railway track. History Experimental ...

train type operated by Wuppertaler Stadtwerke on the

Wuppertal Schwebebahn The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn () is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. The line was originally called in () named after its inventor, Eugen Langen. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world. Being grade-se ...

from 1972 until 2018.

Technical specifications

Each set consists of three sections. The trains have welded aluminium car bodies, and are powered by four chopper-controlled motors, which power the two wheels of each bogie. Wuppertal Schwebebahn 15 Innen

Interior

Seating accommodation consists of transverse seating.

History

The GTW 72 was designed by German architect Klaus Flesche. A total of 28 sets were built by

MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

between 1972 and 1975. One unit derailed in the

1999 Wuppertal Suspension Railway accident The Wuppertal Schwebebahn accident (German: ''Schwebebahnunfall'') took place on 12 April 1999 on a stretch of track near Robert-Daum-Platz station. The accident, involving car number 4 from the WSW GTW 72 series, killed five people and ...

. Regular operations ended in November 2018 with the suspension of Schwebebahn services following problems with the power supply. The last set was removed from the tracks on July 11, 2019. After their withdrawal from service, 21 units were sold, and three were donated under the condition that they stay within Wuppertal. Set 15 remains with Wuppertaler Stadtwerke. Set 6 was scrapped in early 2019.

Preserved examples

*Set 2: preserved on the premises of Lang AG in

Lindlar Lindlar ( ) is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located about 30 km east of Cologne. Geography Lindlar is located between latitudes 50°58' and 51°5' N. and longitudes 7°15' and 7°28' E ...

*Set 8: preserved at ''Kinder-Tisch Vohwinkel e.V.'' in Wuppertal *Set 15: in storage by Wuppertaler Stadtwerke *Set 27: sold in November 2019; to be preserved in

Plettenberg Plettenberg (; Westphalian: ''Plettmert'') is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Plettenberg is located to the west of the Sauerland hills. The highest elevation of the town area is in the Ebbe Mount ...

References

External links

Wuppertaler Stadtwerke official website
{{in lang, de Wuppertal Schwebebahn Electric multiple units of Germany 600 V DC multiple units