Construction site of the Basel railways (2018)

Tram depot: Betriebshof.
YouTube name: Oscar am Freitag-TV.
Date: October 2018.
City: Gotha (Germany).

Thüringerwaldbahn und Straßenbahn Gotha
Operational

Gotha (red, March 17). It was October 2018: A team from Oscar am Freitag TV was standing in the Thüringer Waldbahn und Straßenbahn Gotha GmbH (TWSB) depot. The information that the company had bought six trams piqued their interest.

That is newsworthy in itself. But when we are talking about almost 40-year-old vehicles, each with a good 1 million km on the clock and coming from Basel (Switzerland), then that arouses journalistic curiosity (video from 2018: https://youtu.be/dCGUeD7kCbM

Road vehicles manufactured in Germany from these years would receive an H license plate and be eligible for tax benefits as vintage vehicles when rolling through the country. However, the Swiss sextet from the Baselland Transport AG (BLT) inventory was not intended to enrich the TWSB's historic fleet. Instead, the plan was to give it a fountain of youth and significantly increase the proportion of trams with low-floor technology.

However, since new vehicles were only available at unit prices starting at 1 million euros, the TWSB had relied on the old ones, not least because the Free State of Thuringia does not support new purchases but does support modernizations, such as those planned in Gotha.

By 2019 at the latest, on the 100th anniversary of the Thuringian Forest Railway, at least one first tram between Gotha and Bad Tabarz is expected to start regular service. That was the optimistic forecast.

March 2021. Four of the Swiss trams are in the depot in Gotha-West, having arrived in Gotha in mid-2018. At least six chassis of another were dismantled for repair; since then, it has been resting on temporary bogies in one of the fleet halls.

Only the tram with the number "222" has a fresh coat of paint, typical for the TWSB, after more than 30 months. The 26 m long articulated tram of the type Be 4/8 interior, like its five sisters, was built at the end of the 1970s by Schindler Waggon AG in Pratteln. It is still a construction site.

Why this is the case, why the Swiss tram first had to become a German "railway" so that it could then be converted back into a tram approved for use in this country, but which is still not operational—Karl-Heinz Koch, the managing director of the Thüringer Waldbahn und Straßenbahn Gotha GmbH (TWSB), tells the almost never-ending story of the "Basler Bahnen construction site" openly and in detail.

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16:36

Documentary Thuringian Forest Railway and Gotha Tram - Part 2 (2020)Welcome to the second part of our guide about the street bank robber and the Thuringian Forest. Today, we focus on routes of lines 1, 4, and 6 toward Tabarz and Waltershausen. We hope you enjoy our journey. We will stop again because lines 1 and 4 here share their first stops with the route of line 2, which we already covered in part 1. We will take you directly to the Rote Straße stop, where the routes split. At this stop, you can easily reach the mothers' center in Macht as well as the Margarethenkirche. While the vehicles on line 2 go straight ahead, those on lines 1 and 4 turn left into Gartenstraße. Later in the evening, we will follow this route ourselves, starting from the middle of Main Street. We will circle the Gotha center, then reach the Gartenstraße and Bertha von Suttner Platz stops. After Miconos Platz, we cross Waltershäuser Straße and pass stops 18 at Bergstraße and Ernst Straße near the local Wagenhalle, which is the depot of TBS B. Further toward Sunthausen, the line runs single-track through Schöne Aussicht and Inselberg Straße to Sunthausen. This district has a village-like atmosphere, with small single-family houses along Sunthausen Weg. At the Gleisdreieck junction, lines 1 and 4 split toward the hospital loop. Then they continue on the interurban route toward Boxberg. The stop at the district hospital is the terminus. The Streifen is the newest part of the Gotha tramway. From here, line 4 reaches the interurban section toward Boxberg and Werdershausen. At Boxberg, there's another turning loop. The journey continues along the interurban route to Leine. In Mauthausen’s urban area, we arrive at the small Obershausen stop. Welcome to the Gleisdreieck. What does it mean here? The city is connected to Sondershausen by six lines. Each side has an ascent, making all travel directions possible. Here, it’s daytime. Earn six is coordinated with the four routes, allowing seamless transfers. We want to take a quick detour with line 6 to Mauthausen. Tram line 6 mostly runs along Goethestrasse, passing through Northstop for Goethestrasse and Albrechtstrasse. My house was near the city train station. The South Thuringia Railway connected Fröttstädt to Friedrichroda. In the past, the Waltershausen station’s turning loop was still in use. Today, the line 6 traffic is handled in two directions at the square. Below, it still doesn’t feel like another country—judge and relatives at the Körpers station are back at Waltershäuser. At Gleisdreieck, we continue by line 4 toward Bad Tölz to Das Haus Schnipsen. From Schnitzen, the Thuringian Forest Railway runs parallel to the South Thuringian Railway to Fröttstädt, passing through stops 100 ICE to Friedrich or Reinartz station. Besides Waltershausen with 10,000 residents, Friedrichroda with about 700 inhabitants is the third largest town along the Thuringian Forest Railway. It’s recognized as a health resort. The charming buildings create a beautiful setting in the heart of the Thuringian Forest. The journey on line 4 ends soon. It passes Marin Glashülle and reaches its final stop in Bad Tölz. The Thuringian Forest Railway has now arrived at its destination, Bad Tölz. This town, with a population of 5,000, lies below Großes Insel Berg. The train begins its return. If you haven’t visited yet, you should go to Gottéron, a peaceful little town in the Thuringian Forest accessible by country roads. The scenic trip through the forest and neighboring Gotha is a must for every tram enthusiast, mainly because of the historic carriages. This concludes our documentation. Thank you for watching and listening. Have a great day, and see you next time here on the regional association channel.By Regionalzugverband - July 18, 2020.

14:43

Santa Claus in the Waldbahn-Wunderland (2021)Santa Claus faces a tough night: first, his sleigh breaks down, then his reindeer have to be quarantined... and all of this happens on Christmas Day! A terrible Christmas, right? In his desperation, he rents a small van and heads for Gotha. But the trip ends suddenly at Boxberg: see what happens next and find out which surprising helpers come to his rescue! Well, I set off from heaven about an hour ago. Oh, now I'm in Gota. Yes, the car is full of people, but I forgot something. I don't know what it is. Oh, it's an issue—reindeer are in quarantine. I didn't like that anyway. Now, here with this strange driving—I don't like it at all. Oops, what’s that? Oh, you fat dancer, what's that now? What’s that supposed to mean? Isn’t that also, my God. Oh, stop first, stop first, and get some fresh air. No, such crap. What’s that? That doesn't work. That’s not good. That’s not good at all. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Are we going to do something now? What do I do now? Call the fire brigade—call the fire brigade. Oh no, call the fire brigade first. ADAC, that's better. We—hello, yes, hello, I'm Santa Claus. Yes, it really is me. No, this is no joke. My car is smoking, and I have to go to G, completely drunk. Can they tow me somehow? Please help me, I'm here. Yes, where am I? I drove over a mountain—I think it's called Boxberg—and now I'm standing where the forest railway runs. Yes, please come quickly; I'm in a hurry. Okay, and now what do we do? Now we need to get something repaired. Okay, now this guy from ADAC called—now he's also broken down. What is that today? I should have driven with racing shoes. God, God, God. Yes, yes, I saw the tram to Boxberg. Did I say it right? It's the wrong direction—or yes, I don't want to go there. I don't have to look here either, and where are the others? Oh, now I don't have my reading glasses with me. What’s that smoke from earlier? Terrible. Look fifty times—it takes ages. There’s a train there. It says SOS SOS SOS SOS—great. Great master, you have such great roads, man. However, you're driving in the wrong direction. You're driving TS. Yes, I'm still driving too. Do you see who I am? Oh, I'm foolish. The reindeer are in quarantine, and the sleigh didn't get out of the TÜV inspection station in time. Back then, I took a rental car, and there it is—oh dear—from heaven. I had driven almost a hundred kilometers so far, and then it was rough. Then there was peace with the car. Now I'm standing here with piles of presents. The children are waiting for me. Now I've checked the timetable—really, when does the next train back go? Oh, that'll take a while. It’ll take another two hours. But I don't think so—that's not possible. That’s not possible. I think we'll make an exception for the children. I think we can manage something. It'll work as if we flip the switch now. We'll drive back quickly and take you to G F, so to speak—not on scheduled service now, as the saying goes. I’d make an exception and drive with you to Guta so the children get their presents in time. GL—that's how we'll do it. Now, please tell me your name. I'm Klaus. You’re Klaus. Klaus, if you're here now and said you want to flip the switch, can we drive back like that? Is that okay? No, that's not possible. However, we're entering the loop now, and then we can deliver your presents, invite you, and you can call somewhere from there. I'll tell the control center that we'll make an exception. I'm so excited—that's never happened to me before—something like this with the car. Oh no, I'll never do that again. Do you always have to do it by hand? Today we'll do it by hand. Okay, then you drive to where the car is parked, right? I'll come to the car, then I'll walk over there. All right. My God, sometimes even Santa Claus gets lucky in life. I think that's great. Well, let's see what was in here. So everything was in here—I think I remember. It’s not that bad. We can easily fit it into the tram. Oh, it's a nice, big tram. I rode the tram for a long time. I just noticed. Okay, SIM salabim isn't working. Aha. Oh, Klaus, you even brought a colleague with you. Look—I have another colleague who is helping you. You found him now while we were looking in the tram. So, yes. What’s the best way to do that? Oh, best we pack everything in, guys. We’ll now pack everything in, and I'll sort it out later on the journey to Gota, as I have two appointments and want to attend the first one straight away. Look out, dear Santa Claus, you're already getting on the train, and my colleague and I are loading the packages. That's a great idea. I have icy hands from all the packing, then you'd need mountain climbing skills—not to step on your coat—to climb in here. Ah, shit, so very nice. Thank you. No, no, not, not—be careful. There’s very delicate glass in there, too. Thank you. And here come the next presents—so many presents—all for you.By Oscar am Freitag-TV - December 24, 2021.

17:34

Trams in Gotha (2012)By choppernachladung.
July 9, 2012.

5:20

Former Basel Railway starts regular service (2021)At 1:07 p.m., Tim Maiwald began his trip on line 4 to Bad Tabarz from the Gotha local transport terminal. What made it noteworthy was that it was his first regular ride on tram #222—and also the first official trip of the former Basler Bahn. A blue ribbon was prepared in advance: not for the fastest Atlantic crossing, but because cutting a ribbon is part of the handover ceremony. The supervisory board members of Thüringerwaldbahn und Straßenbahn GmbH (TWSB), including Matthias Wenzel, Emanuel Cron, and supervisory board chairman Michael Brychcy, along with his predecessor and former district administrator Konrad Gießmann, and the TWSB managing director, were given scissors. They did what scissors are meant to do and cut the ribbon after the countdown led by chairman Michael Brychcy. In August 2018, the first two of six vehicles arrived in Gotha. There were four out of eight trains built by the Swiss company "Schindler Waggon" between 1978 and 1981 on behalf of Baselland Transport AG. Converting them to German standards proved to be much more complex than initially expected and was marked by many new surprises. Additionally, the pandemic also contributed to delivery bottlenecks and delays. The #221 is currently being worked on and already features the TWSB colors. Managing Director Koch believes it can be put into service next spring. A six-month plan must be created for the complex conversion, which means that the sixth and last ex-Basel train will likely not be approved until spring 2024. It's been a little over three years since we first reported on a train like this that was purchased here from Basel. Today is a special day, the day when this train will go into operation for the first time. We are present and will speak with Mr. Koch to discuss the reasons. We're also quite happy because we were already allowed to take a test ride on the train with the number 222. So, finally, we've done it. We're now on the line. It took a long time, but we made it. Mr. Koch, how does it feel now that we've finally achieved this? I mentioned earlier that it was first reported three years ago, when the train was purchased. Right now, we feel excellent. The first train is running. We can now convert the others to the same condition, and it is working. We're also very proud of our employees who made it possible for this train to now be in regular service. In March, when the train was first ready to run, they stated that once it has been approved, a six-month service schedule will be implemented for the subsequent trains. There are still a few trains waiting in the garage, but the next one is already well along in its reconstruction and should be operational soon. Will these six months of reconstruction be sufficient, meaning it will take about two to three years until all trains are running properly? All tram drivers have now been trained for the new train, although not all of them have yet completed the training. There are approximately two authorized drivers who are permitted to operate the vehicle. Does it now only run the Thuringian Forest Railway route to Batabas, or can it also operate within the urban area? No, it can run all lines, including the urban route. Will it also be used twice on that line or on Line 1? Okay, then we will have to get used to the new situation, and we wish your colleagues and the railway safe travels. Thank you very much. Mr. Ren, you have probably covered the most kilometers with the new tram. Can you also take the inaugural trip? I only completed the initial section up to the station; my colleague will take over from here. What does that mean? Test run with the next train, or what? We are still conducting test runs with train 221, and there are some issues to resolve. Is it easy for him to say goodbye now? That was his train for a while, so to speak. It’s easy for me because I have another sister to train—no, actually five more, if I'm right. Exactly, and we are pleased that this continues here. Good day, thank you. We have just heard from Klaus Renau that he has been allowed to conduct the test runs. The first official run towards Batabat will start immediately with Tim Meiwald. Hello, Meiwald. When did you first learn that the trains were allowed to run? Since Monday, so since yesterday. Have you already driven the routes, or was today the first official run? I’ve only done the introductory run so far, and today is the first official run. Have you driven everything before, all the TWSB vehicles except the 56? The question Renner also asked was, of course, what is so different about this train—how does it drive much more comfortably than any other? It runs smoothly into the switches, into the WE Gzer difference from car to now. Then I wish you lots of fun with the new train; you get to Batabat and back again. Thank you very much, and have a good trip.By Oscar am Freitag-TV - December 7, 2021.

7:09

Seven minutes of winter enjoyment on the Thuringian Forest Railway (2018)Just in time for the start of the winter holidays, there was a load of snow for the children in the Thuringian Forest. Reason enough to visit the Thuringian Forest and Gotha Tramway.By Straßen Bahn unterwegs mit dem Schienenonkel - February 6, 2018.

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Tram in Gotha and the Thuringian Forest Railway (2021)Today, there is a new video from the tram in Gotha and the Thuringian Forest Railway.By Spiegelwagen - June 20, 2021.

2:26

Gotha: Thuringian Forest Railway becomes more barrier-free (2012)The first low-floor car has started operating on the Thuringian Forest Railway's forest railway line 4 between Tabarz and Gotha. This will make things a little easier for people with disabilities or mothers with strollers in the future. This tram will be seen more often in the Gotha tram network from now on, especially on the forest railway line 4 between Tabatz and Gotha. It is the new tram from Thuringian Forest Railway and Tramway Gotha GmbH. It is the first low-floor tram to operate, and reaching this point hasn't been easy. Dieter Schädel explained that it was very challenging because the used vehicle market in the tram sector is also very tight. A new tram involves very high investment costs, and many companies currently lack the resources. Last year, we looked into all transport companies with a 1000 mm gauge that might sell such vehicles. We found what we needed in Ludwigshafen. There, you could buy four low-floor trams from the GT6 series from 1961 to 1964. They were converted for wheelchair access in Gotha in the early 1990s, where they were adapted to our own technology. As a company, we now have separate validation systems. We have company-specific ticket vending machines. We made some upgrades to the onboard lighting, making it more energy-efficient and safer. One tram with transport to Gotha costs €19,000, and another €300,000 was spent on renovating all four. This investment was 50% funded by the Free City of Thuringia. The improvements have been well received by people with disabilities and mothers with strollers, as they previously found it hard to climb the steps on the tram. The second of the four trams is expected to begin operations this year, with the remaining two following in 2013. Operation on the Gotha line is planned for 8 to 10 years. The only remaining task now is to work on making the last stop at the Gotha Orangery accessible to everyone, in collaboration with the city.By Funke Thüringen - TA - OTZ - TLZ - September 24, 2012.

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Thüringer Waldbahn, Germany (2016)An isolated operation between Tabarz and Waltershausen was due to construction work.By Modelltram77 - April 20, 2016.

8:30

Gotha tram // Line 6 in KT4D-ZR (2012)Line 6 of the Gotha tram runs from the central transfer station "Gleisdreieck" to Waltershausen station. Tatra KT4D trams are used on this short line, which also have a full driver's cab at the rear of the vehicle. In addition to this special feature, there are only doors for boarding and alighting on one side. Passengers therefore always change from the same platform in both directions of the line.By metr0p0Iitain - July 7, 2012.

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Gotha tram: island operation on the Thuringian Forest Railway line 4 (2015)Construction has been going on on the Thuringian Forest Railway since October 26, 2015 until December 4, 2015. That's why line 4 is divided by 2. In city traffic this runs like line 1 and in intercity traffic it runs from Waltershausen, train station to Tabarz, so the 6 is replaced by it. On November 21st, 2015 the vehicle operation was great, because once there was a GT8N and an accelerator Tatra (even though 3 chopper Tatras were parked at Gleisdreieck! I hope you have fun ;)By tramfreak2000 - October 26, 2015 - November 21, 2015.

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Last updated: August 25, 2026.