The world’s highest-located hovertrain right in Tyrol

Serfaus underground

It’s small, doesn’t require a driver, connects and breaks records. What are we talking about? The Serfaus Underground, of course! It’s the world’s smallest, highest-located underground train floating on air cushions and one of the highlights of Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. Find out more about this special hovertrain!

For everyone who is interested in the history of the Serfaus Underground in detail, we recommend the new U-Bahn Serfaus chronicle. The chronicle can be purchased at the cable car ticket office in Serfaus for €25.

Driverless hovertrain

… is a driverless hovertrain with rope drive.
… lies underground and is, thus, completely separated from individual transport.
… connects the car park in the east of Serfaus with the bottom station of the cable cars in the west of the village.
… was put into service for the first time on 14 December 1985.
… was completely overhauled over two years and now – since the 2019 summer season – amazes its passengers with state-of-the-art technology.

Routing

Below Dorfbahnstrße street in Serfaus, a 1,280 metre long tunnel spans from the eastern edge of Serfaus to the western end of the village. Along the route, there are a total of four stations: “Parkplatz” (parking area) in the east, “Kirche” (church), “Zentrum” (centre) and “Seilbahn” (cable car) in the west.

The underground route in numbers:

total length: 1,280 m
minimum curve radius: 300 m
maximum gradient: 5.35 %
difference in altitude: 20 m

The history of the Serfaus underground

Due to the increasing number of holiday guest flocking to Serfaus, the locals’ quality of life suffered. Hence, the local council decided in 1970 to close down Dorfbahnstraße street for individual transport. Winter sports visitors were taken from A to B by way of special busses. But these ski busses eventually reached the limits of their capacities as well.

In December of 1983, the local council approved the project of an “air-cushion railway” and construction started soon thereafter. On 14 December 1985, the underground hovertrain in Serfaus was put into operation. The official opening ceremony took place on 16 January 1986.

In the making: a state-of-the-art underground

In spring of 2017, construction of a new underground started. Since then, a lot has happened: The “Seilbahn” (cable car) and “Parkplatz” (parking area) stations were renewed and the “Zentrum” (centre) and “Kirche” (church) stops were built. Since the 2018-2019 winter season, passengers benefit from new entrances and exits that are accessible for baby strollers. This once again highlights the village’s objective of being particularly family-friendly. With a transport capacity of 3,000 people per hour, the Serfaus underground swiftly and conveniently takes passengers from A to B.

Find out more about the large-scale undergound project in our blog. (German)

Video of the history and reconstruction of the Serfaus Underground

The technology

If you’ve ever wondered how an air-cushion railway works … here’s the answer: The underground is hauled from A to B by way of a rope drive. A direct current motor at the “Seilbahn” station powers the haul rope. Underneath the tunnel’s ceiling, it runs all the way to the return pulley at the “Parkplatz” station and back.

Instead of running on rails, the train glides over the ground by way of a suspension system comprised of eight air cushions. They are supplied by compressors with a pressure of 0.2 bar. The cabins’ power supply for light and electrical devices comes from an overhead power cable attached to the tunnel’s ceiling.

Technical details of the Serfaus Underground: