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Rail transport in Austria

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Austria
View of Vienna mainstation
Operation
National railwayÖsterreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB)
Major operatorsÖBB
WESTbahn
Statistics
Passenger km1,510 km (940 mi) (2022)[1]
System length
Total6,123 kilometres (3,805 mi)
Electrified3,523 kilometres (2,189 mi)
High-speed233 km (145 mi)
Track gauge
Main1,435 mm / 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge
High-speedstandard gauge
Electrification
15 kV 16,7 HzMain network
Map
Map of the main network in Austria as of 2020.

Rail transport in Austria is mainly provided by Austria's national rail transport company, the Austrian Federal Railways (German: Österreichische Bundesbahnen, ÖBB), which also manages rail transport in Liechtenstein. The Austrian railway network has a length of 6,123 km (3,805 mi), 3,523 km (2,189 mi) of which are electrified. Most lines are in 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, while especially in the Alpine region there are several narrow-gauge railway lines and funiculars.

Within the European Union, Austria is among the leaders regarding the distance traveled by rail per inhabitant and year: 1,510 km (940 mi) in 2022.[1] It was ranked fifth among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index.[2]

Austria is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Austria is 81.

Network

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An ICE T on the Trisanna Bridge, on the Arlberg Railway line[3]
Railjet is a domestic and international long-distance train
See also: Austrian Federal Railways

The Austrian network, aside from the principal rail system, also enfolds some funiculars, rack railways and several heritage railways mainly derived from part of disused lines. Some secondary lines are set up in narrow gauge.

Standard gauge railways

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The following is an alphabetical list of standard gauge railway lines in Austria:

Due to the course of the Austria–Germany border and mountainous terrain, the shortest railway line between Innsbruck (Tyrol) and Salzburg (Salzburg state) runs over German territory. This railway corridor, known as the Deutsches Eck (lit. 'German corner'), consists of two railway lines, Kufstein–Rosenheim and Rosenheim–Salzburg, which are both located almost entirely in Germany.

The Lower Inn Valley Railway and Brenner Railway represent an important north-south corridor for trains running between Germany and Italy via Austria. To shorten travel time, the 55 km (34 mi) long Brenner Base Tunnel is currently being built between Innsbruck and Franzensfeste (Fortezza), South Tyrol. Trains will run with a speed up to 250 km/h (160 mph) through this tunnel. It will be only slightly shorter than the world's longest railway tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.

Another railway tunnel currently under construction is the 32.9 km (20.4 mi) long Koralm Tunnel, which will shorten travel time between Klagenfurt and Graz.

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Narrow gauge railways

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Main article: Narrow gauge railways in Austria

In Austria, many narrow gauge railways were constructed due to the difficult mountainous terrain. Many survive to this day as a common carrier or a heritage railway.

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Funiculars

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The Hartkaiserbahn funicular near Ellmau
Main article: List of funicular railways § Austria

Operators

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S-Bahn train (Siemens Desiro) operated by ÖBB
ÖBB Bombardier Talent and WESTbahn Stadler KISS trains

Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and WESTbahn are the main operators on Austria's railway network. In addition, the German Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the Czech České dráhy (ČD) also operate passenger train services to destinations in Austria.

Austrian Federal Railways

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Main article: Austrian Federal Railways

Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) is the national railway company. It owns a ca. 5,000 km (3,100 mi) long network[4] and operates domestic and international long-distance passenger trains (e.g., RailJet, Transalpin), most urban commuter trains, known as S-Bahn (S), as well as Regional-Express (REX) and regional trains (R). ÖBB also runs Intercity-Express (ICE) trains to Germany using Class 4011 (ICE T) tilting trains. In addition, ÖBB jointly operates the City Airport Train (CAT) to Vienna Airport. ÖBB also runs its own brand of night trains to other European countries, branded Nightjet (NJ). The company also owns and operates the Feldkirch–Buchs railway line, which links Austria and Switzerland via the Principality of Liechtenstein.

WESTbahn

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Main article: WESTbahn

WESTbahn operates express trains over Austria's Western Railway line. It includes both domestic and international passenger services.

Other companies

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Freight

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Main article: Rail Cargo Austria

Cargo trains are operated by Rail Cargo Austria (RCA).

Rolling stock

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For Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), see ÖBB Rolling Stock.
For WESTbahn, see WESTbahn § Trains.

Train categories

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Main article: Train categories in Europe § Austria

Urban railways

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Vienna subway (U-Bahn)
Some tramways in Gmunden
See also: List of town tramway systems in Austria and S-Bahn § Austria

Urban railway services are known as S-Bahn (S) and U-Bahn (U). Regional trains are called Regionalzug (R) in Austria.

High-speed rail

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Main article: High-speed rail in Austria

Heritage railways and trains

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Main article: List of heritage railways § Austria
See also: Austrian Society for Railway History

History

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Further information: Austrian Federal Railways § History
The Rakete (Rocket) of the Kaiser-Ferdinands-Nordbahn

The history of Austrian rail transport starts with the Reisszug, a private, horse-drawn funicular serving Hohensalzburg Fortress. Built at the end of the 15th century and first documented in 1515, it is the oldest known funicular in the world, and possibly the oldest existing railway line.[9][10]

In the 19th century, after building of several horse tramways, the Nordbahn line Vienna–Břeclav opened in 1837. The Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways (Kaiserlich-königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen, kkStB), a company serving the Austrian side of Austria-Hungary, was created in 1884[11] and in 1923, some years after the dissolution of the empire, the national company BBÖ (Bundesbahnen Österreich) was founded.

Following the Anschluss of Austria to National-socialist Germany in 1938, the BBÖ were taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. After the end of World War II, the Austrian federal railways were re-installed in 1945, soon under the name of Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB).

In 1998 the market was liberalised and had one of the highest degrees of market openness in the EU according to the 2011 Rail Liberalisation Index, although the market share of ÖBB remains above 90% for passenger rail.[12]

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ a b "Zurückgelegte Strecke per Bahn in ausgewählten Ländern Europas im Jahr 2019 und 2022 [Distance traveled by rail in selected European countries in 2019 and 2022]" (in German). Statista. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  2. ^ "the 2017 European Railway Performance Index". Boston Consulting Group. 8 January 2021.
  3. ^ A village part of Strengen
  4. ^ "ÖBB-Infrastruktur network maps". ÖBB Infra. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  5. ^ Not to be confused with the historic and private Reisszug
  6. ^ "S-Bahn Vorarlberg". oebb.at. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  7. ^ an underground air cushion funicular
  8. ^ Article on Funimag
  9. ^ The "Reisszug" on Funimag
  10. ^ The "Reisszug" on Funiculars.net
  11. ^ History of Austrian Railway until 1918 (on the ÖBB website) Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ OECD Economic Surveys: Austria 2013 page 135. OECD. 2 July 2013. ISBN 9789264183070.
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