Once again, the Rittner interurban tramway (Rittner Bahn/Rittenbahn is reinventing itself. The nearly 120-year-old interurban tramway on the Ritten Plateau (Italian: Renon), near the South Tyrolean (Alto Adige) city of Bolzano, is preparing for another major change as low-floor vehicles replace the units currently in operation.

The Rittner Bahn originally opened in 1907 as an interurban tramway featuring a lengthy rack railway section. After a short stretch through the urban area of Bolzano, where it connected with the city tramway, the electric trains were pushed for approximately 4 km by rack locomotives up to the plateau near the village of Maria Assunta (L’Assunta). From there they continued for a further 6.8 km via Soprabolzano (Oberbozen) to Collalbo (Klobenstein).

By the 1960s, modernisation was long overdue, but it took a serious accident to bring about the abandonment of the rack section and its replacement by an aerial cableway in 1966. The plateau line remained in operation, although it was repeatedly threatened with closure, and continued to provide the connection with the cableway from central Bolzano.

Attempts at modernisation through the acquisition of two large-capacity tramcar sets from the closed Esslingen–Nellingen–Denkendorf interurban tramway in 1982, achieved only limited success: after several years, only one motor car entered service. Four older electric interurban cars dating from 1907 and 1910 continued to handle operations, much to the delight of tourists and railway enthusiasts.

The steadily increasing demand for public transport eventually enabled a comparatively major upgrade in 2008. The cableway was completely rebuilt and modernised by Leitner and converted from shuttle operation to a continuous circulating system. Since then, cabins have departed every four minutes during daytime service, providing a substantial increase in capacity compared with the previous installation.

The interurban tramway on the plateau was subsequently modernised through the acquisition of push-pull trainsets consisting of four-axle motor and driving trailer cars from Switzerland’s Trogenerbahn. This more than doubled service frequency on the Soprabolzano–Collalbo section, where a half-hourly service now operates for most of the day. On the short 1.1 km branch between Soprabolzano and Maria Assunta, however, only five journeys are operated each day.

More recently, regulations requiring full accessibility on public transport have made it necessary to replace the Swiss trainsets. Despite being around 50 years old, they remain in excellent condition, but access is only possible via steps.

An opportunity arose to acquire well-maintained Düwag articulated tramcars of the M8C-Nf type from Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH. Built in 1985, these vehicles were rebuilt from 2009 onwards with new low-floor centre sections and updated electrical equipment. They remained in service in Heidelberg until 2025.

Three vehicles are intended to return to passenger service in South Tyrol, while a fourth will serve as a source of spare parts. The first vehicle to arrive on the Ritten was car 3256, followed by cars 3257 and 3258; the final vehicle, 3252, is expected to arrive shortly. Already painted in South Tyrolean colours while still with RNV, the vehicles will undergo further modifications to suit local requirements before entering the approval process. Passenger service is expected to commence within the coming months.

Of the former Trogenerbahn trainsets, one unit has already been withdrawn from service and is stored at the L’Assunta terminus. The future of the remaining vehicles has yet to be decided, although the limited storage capacity available on the Ritten suggests that a decision will need to be taken sooner rather than later.

Today, the Rittner Bahn is both a highly valued transport link across the plateau and an integral part of the region’s tourism offering. Passenger demand is already placing considerable pressure on capacity, and the new low-floor tramcars will not provide any significant increase in this regard.

An increase in capacity through double traction as coupled pairs or the operation of longer vehicles is not currently possible without substantial modifications to the infrastructure, track layout and platforms. Until such measures are undertaken, however, the “new” Düwag trams will provide a practical and cost-effective solution for maintaining and improving the service.