The unique project of the tram-train line dates back to 1898, when the Viennese engineer Jozef Traubner put forward a proposal to connect the Bratislava and Vienna tram network with an electric intercity railway along the right bank of Danube. The entire, almost 70-kilometre-long section consisted of two DC-powered tram sections, one in Bratislava and one in Vienna, and an AC-powered intercity railway section. The line was single-track, with a gauge of 1435 mm with switches, which led to the laying of a third track on the city tramway section in what is now the Bratislava Old Town, where the gauge was only 1000 mm. In the final station Kopčany, on the Hungarian section, a station signal building and depot was built, which had 4 tracks for storing unidirectional locomotives and cargo wagons. The fifth track was used for the parking of bi-directional railway locomotives. An interesting feature were the passenger long-distance coaches, whose lighting and heating system was compatible with all three voltage systems. The author of their interior design was the architect Otto Wagner, a leading member of the Art Nouveau society of Vienna. The depot in Kopčany was built by the Bratislava branch of Pittel+Brausewetter, in which a reinforced concrete rail carrier was installed, providing a channel for maintenance and cleaning. This modest building, measuring 44.5 x 23.3 m, is roofed with a reinforced concrete structure and illuminated by strip skylights. In addition to the locomotive maintenance hall, the depot also consists of a workshop with an extended first track. The connection with Vienna lasted 21 years, up until 1935.
Bibliography:
HALLON, Ľudovít: Firma Pittel a Brausewetter v dejinách Slovenska: priekopník betónového staviteľstva z Bratislavy. Bratislava, Typoset Print 2014.
