| Austria | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 View ofVienna mainstation | |||||
| Operation | |||||
| National railway | Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) | ||||
| Major operators | ÖBB WESTbahn | ||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Passenger km | 1,510 km (940 mi) (2022)[1] | ||||
| System length | |||||
| Total | 6,123 kilometres (3,805 mi) | ||||
| Electrified | 3,523 kilometres (2,189 mi) | ||||
| High-speed | 233 km (145 mi) | ||||
| Track gauge | |||||
| Main | 1,435 mm / 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge | ||||
| High-speed | standard gauge | ||||
| Electrification | |||||
| 15 kV 16,7 Hz | Main network | ||||
| |||||
Rail transport in Austria is mainly provided byAustria's nationalrail transport company, theAustrian Federal Railways (German:Österreichische Bundesbahnen, ÖBB), which also managesrail transport in Liechtenstein. The Austrianrailway network has a length of 6,123 km (3,805 mi), 3,523 km (2,189 mi) of which areelectrified. Most lines are in1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge, while especially in theAlpine region there are severalnarrow-gauge railway lines andfuniculars.
Within theEuropean 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 theInternational Union of Railways (UIC). TheUIC Country Code for Austria is 81.
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The Austrian network, aside from the principal rail system, also enfolds somefuniculars,rack railways and severalheritage railways mainly derived from part of disused lines. Some secondary lines are set up innarrow gauge.
The following is an alphabetical list ofstandard gauge railway lines in Austria:
Due to the course of theAustria–Germany border and mountainous terrain, the shortest railway line betweenInnsbruck (Tyrol) andSalzburg (Salzburg state) runs over German territory. This railway corridor, known as theDeutsches Eck (lit. 'German corner'), consists of two railway lines,Kufstein–Rosenheim andRosenheim–Salzburg, which are both located almost entirely in Germany.
TheLower Inn Valley Railway andBrenner 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) longBrenner Base Tunnel is currently being built between Innsbruck andFranzensfeste (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, theGotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.
Another railway tunnel currently under construction is the 32.9 km (20.4 mi) longKoralm Tunnel, which will shorten travel time betweenKlagenfurt andGraz.
Czech Republic – voltage change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Germany – same voltage 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC
Hungary – voltage change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Italy – voltage change to 3 kV DC
Liechtenstein – same voltage 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC
Slovakia – voltage change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Slovenia – voltage change to 3 kV DC
Switzerland – same voltage 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC, but differentpantographsIn Austria, manynarrow gauge railways were constructed due to the difficult mountainous terrain. Many survive to this day as acommon carrier or aheritage railway.
Switzerland –750 mm /2 ft 5+1⁄2 in gauge:
Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and WESTbahn are the main operators on Austria's railway network. In addition, the GermanDeutsche Bahn (DB) and the CzechČeské dráhy (ČD) also operate passenger train services to destinations in Austria.
Austrian Federal RailwaysAustrian 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 asS-Bahn (S), as well asRegional-Express (REX) andregional trains (R). ÖBB also runsIntercity-Express (ICE) trains to Germany usingClass 4011 (ICE T)tilting trains. In addition, ÖBB jointly operates theCity Airport Train (CAT) toVienna Airport. ÖBB also runs its own brand ofnight trains to other European countries, brandedNightjet (NJ). The company also owns and operates theFeldkirch–Buchs railway line, which linksAustria and Switzerland via thePrincipality of Liechtenstein.
WESTbahnWESTbahn operatesexpress trains over Austria'sWestern Railway line. It includes both domestic and international passenger services.
Cargo trains are operated by Rail Cargo Austria (RCA).
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Urban railway services are known asS-Bahn (S) andU-Bahn (U). Regional trains are calledRegionalzug (R) in Austria.
The history of Austrian rail transport starts with theReisszug, a private, horse-drawn funicular servingHohensalzburg 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 existingrailway line.[9][10]
In the 19th century, after building of severalhorse tramways, theNordbahn lineVienna–Břeclav opened in 1837. TheImperial Royal Austrian State Railways(Kaiserlich-königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen, kkStB), a company serving the Austrian side ofAustria-Hungary, was created in 1884[11] and in 1923, some years after thedissolution of the empire, the national company BBÖ(Bundesbahnen Österreich) was founded.
Following theAnschluss of Austria to National-socialist Germany in 1938, the BBÖ were taken over by theDeutsche Reichsbahn. After the end of World War II, the Austrian federal railways were re-installed in 1945, soon under the name ofÖsterreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB).
In 1998 the market was liberalised and had one of the highest degrees of market openness in theEU according to the 2011 Rail Liberalisation Index, although the market share of ÖBB remains above 90% for passenger rail.[12]
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