Tramspotting in the Tramtunnel Schwamendingen

Описание: The double-track tunnel between Milchbuck (in the Unterstrass district) and Schwamendingerplatz (in the Schwamendingen district) is 2.5 km long and has three underground stations. Part of the line was built in the 1970s as a preliminary construction project along with the Schöneich Tunnel, but remained unused for over a decade after the subway project failed in 1973. Since February 1, 1986, the tunnel has been used by tram lines 7 and 9 of the Zurich Transport Authority (VBZ). A special feature is its signal-controlled operation. For this purpose, the Integra Signum track circuit protection system "Zugstop" (now designated ZST 90) was installed.

The tunnel section begins immediately north of the Milchbuck stop, where it branches off from the line to Oerlikon. It initially follows Hirschwiesenstrasse in an east-northeast direction and reaches Winterthurerstrasse, beneath which lies the Tierspital station. It then runs under the southern side of the Schöneich Tunnel. The Waldgarten station is located in this section. The tunnel continues under the A1L motorway feeder road to the third underground station, Ueberlandpark (until 2023: Schörlistrasse). Shortly thereafter, the tunnel turns southeast and finally ends at the ramp near the intersection of Saatlenstrasse and Auhofstrasse.

A unique feature of the tunnel is that the trams run on the left. The three tunnel stations are equipped with 138-meter-long and 6-meter-wide island platforms, a feature that dates back to earlier subway planning. However, as classic single-ended vehicles, Zurich's trams only have doors on the right-hand side. To allow for the change of sides, there is a grade-separated, semi-underground overpass at Milchbuck (which is not directly visible from the outside). The corresponding intersection in Schwamendingen is designed as a level crossing after the ramp in Saatlenstrasse.

TIMELINE:

00:00 Intro
00:26 U-Bahn Project
00:54 Tiefbahn Project
01:33 Highway A1L
02:12 The Tunnel
03:59 Einhausung Schwamendingen
04:19 Outro