St. Margrethen–Lauterach line
ABregenz-bound train crosses the old bridge over theRhine in 2012 as construction proceeds on the new bridge that would open in 2013
Overview
Locale	Vorarlberg, Austria St. Gallen, Switzerland
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
map_name Legend km Chur–Rorschach railway toRorschach S7 0.000 St. Margrethen (SBB) ↓S3R5 Chur–Rorschach railway toBuchs SG 0.749 SBB ÖBB A 13 Rheintaler Binnenkanal International Rhine Regulation Rly 1.604 Alpine Rhine   Switzerland Austria border International Rhine Regulation Rly 1.838 Lustenau Markt ( closed 12 June 2011 ) OMV siding 2.620 Lustenau Dornbirner Ach 6.483 Hard-Fussach 8.424 Lauterach West Lauterach Unterfeld Vorarlberg Railway toBludenz S1R5 9.580 Lauterach Nord Vorarlberg Railway toLindau-Insel S1S3S7 This diagram: view talk edit

TheSt. Margrethen–Lauterach line (German:Bahnstrecke St. Margrethen–Lauterach) is a 9.580-kilometre (5.953 mi) long, partsingle partdouble tracked, electrified railway line in theAlpine Rhine Valley, nearLake Constance. The route is owned and operated byAustrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and is mainly used by the border station inSt. Margrethen.

The line connects theChur–Rorschach line at theSt. Margrethen border station in theSwisscanton of St. Gallen with the Lauterach Nord junction inLauterach in the Austrian state ofVorarlberg, where it joins theVorarlberg line.

The Vorarlberg Railway (Aktiengesellschaft k. k. priv. Vorarlberger Bahn) opened the cross-border line betweenAustria-Hungary and Switzerland on 23 November 1872. The first through express train betweenZürich andMunich ran just under a year later, on 1 November 1873. The line, as with most of the Austrian railway network, was nationalized prior toWorld War I. The line waselectrified on 2 January 1949.

Between 2010 and 2013, the Alpine Rhine bridge was replaced by a new one and the adjacent Lustenau Markt station was suspended. Between 2016 and 2021, Lustenau station was modernized. In 2021, the section between Lustenau and Lauterach was renewed, including the reconstruction of Hard-Fussach station and upgrade of the section between this station and Lauterach West to two tracks. The new stationLauterach Unterfeld (replacing the former Lauterach West station) was introduced. Additional measures taken included improved noise protection for residents and flood protection.^[1]

The line diverges from theChur–Rorschach line at St. Margrethen and runs eastward over the single-tracked bridge acrossAlpine Rhine (which forms theAustria–Switzerland border) and across the tracks of theInternational Rhine Regulation Railway toLustenau. East of the bridge, the line now turns north. BetweenLustenau station andHard-Fussach station, it follows the artificial Rhine canal in northward direction, before turning towards east again as a double tracked railway. East ofLauterach Unterfeld station, it connects to theVorarlberg railway line in both northward and southward direction via two connectors.

As of the December 2023 timetable change,^[update] local passenger service with intermediate calls en route is provided by the S3, which operates every half-hour between St. Margrethen andBregenz, and R5 ofVorarlberg S-Bahn. Additionally some trains of the S7 service ofSt. Gallen S-Bahn/Bodensee S-Bahn and long-distanceEuroCity trains (Zürich–Munich) operate over the route but make no intermediate stops:

• EuroCity (EC):Zürich HB –Winterthur –St. Gallen –Bregenz –Lindau-Reutin –Memmingen –Buchloe –München Hbf
• Vorarlberg S-Bahn:
  • S3:St. Margrethen –Lustenau –Bregenz
  • R5: (St. Margrethen –) Lustenau –Lauterach –Dornbirn –Feldkirch
• St. Gallen S-Bahn/Bodensee S-Bahn:S7: (Weinfelden –Amriswil –)Romanshorn –Arbon –Rorschach (– St. Margrethen –Bregenz – Lindau-Reutin)

• Media related toSt. Margrethen–Lauterach line at Wikimedia Commons
• Konsequenter Ausbau des Bahnangebots in Vorarlberg

• Railway lines in Austria
• Transport in Vorarlberg
• Railway lines in Switzerland
• International railway lines
• Cross-border railway lines in Austria
• Cross-border railway lines in Switzerland
• Railway lines opened in 1872
• 1872 establishments in Austria-Hungary

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from May 2024
• Articles containing German-language text
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from December 2023
• All articles containing potentially dated statements
• Commons category link from Wikidata