The times., 1899-07-03
VIENNA'S ELECTRIC ROADS.
The City to Tnke Over Lines Now
Building in 1925.

buisGinS IN lBso-
vienna Correspondence of the London standard.)
a charter granted to the town of VI
emma for the construction of ectric
tramways and their working during the
next ninety years, under the terms of the
Light Railways acts, is published today in
the Vienna Gazette" The act empower
ed the Government to grant concessions
for local railways, either with steam or
electric traction, without application 10
Parliament, and also entitled the Railway
Ministry to allow exemption from taxa
tion, such as the income tax, stamp duty.
etc, for any period considered advisable.
as well as exemption from rules as to
bridges, permanent way, etc, in fo-ce on
ordinary railways. The town of Vienna
is authorized by the charter to transfer its
rights to a company for constructing and
working the tramways on specified con-
ditions. and, as matter of fact il has
already contracted with the Berlin firm
of Siemens G. Halske, which is TO form IN
Austrian company to take over the con-
cession until 1925. when the entire sys-
TEN of electric tramways Will pass into
the bands of the town without payment,
the town reserying the right of taking It
over at valuation price. either on Janu-
AIRY l, 1914, or January l, 1920. The ex-
isting Vienna tramways are TO be trans
and the company viii undertake. further
more TO construct within thres pai iods
of which the last ends in 1903. an exteu-
sive network of lines, which, tog taer
with the present tramways. will extend
over about three hundred kilometres, or
nearly two hundred English miles. Tn
fortunately. overhead wires are allowed,
except in the Ringstrasse, and the un-
pleasant aspect they will give to the town
II. rs-gf. l.
which one electric line runs now.
The Vienna Metropolitan Railways, fin
ished or under construction. were planned
with such utter disregard OF the real re-
quirements of the population that not one
person in a thousand viii ever make use
OF them The lines opened last May were
used, up to the end of December, by only
six million persons, against seventy mil
lions using the tramways, while the gross
receipts fell far short Of the working ex-
penses. not reckoning the interest on an
outlay of tens of millions of forms. The
network of electric tramways now TO be
constructed also avoids the city-that is TO
say. the most frequented part OF town
but 1t will, at any rate, connect the out
| lying districts with each other and with
the railway termini; and, when completed,
| IL will remove the reprosch that Vienna
has the worst and dearest locomotion in
the world.
In addition to the Metropolitan Rail-
ways, which are still unfinished, and tie
extensive network OF electric tramways.
| there are at present under construction
some interesting public works of a differ
ent character, including the arching in of
the lower part of the River Wien, which
flows through the greater portion OF Wen
na. Houses are 10 be built and boulevards
| opened over the arched-in river. / may
also mention the regulation of the Danube
Canal and the construction of n winter
harbor In the Danube near Vienna. Alto
/ gether this capital Just now has many at
| fractions for the engineer, and delegates
from various architectural societies, rail
way constructors. and hydrauiic engineers,
etc, are constantly arriving TO study the
| great undertakings in progress.