Salzburg-Tyrol Railway

The Salzburg-Tyrol Railway (German: Salzburg-Tiroler-Bahn) is a main line railway in Austria. It runs through the states of Salzburg and Tyrol (North Tyrol) from the city of Salzburg to Wörgl and belongs to the core network (Kernnetz) of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). The section between Salzburg and Schwarzach-Sankt Veit is part of the Salzburg S-Bahn urban railway network.

Salzburg-Tyrol Railway
EC 163 Transalpin passes the Kaiser Mountains.
Overview
Native name	Salzburg-Tiroler-Bahn
Status	Operational
Owner	Austrian Federal Railways
Line number	101 03
Locale	Salzburg Tyrol
Termini	Salzburg Hauptbahnhof Wörgl Hauptbahnhof
Stations	55
Service
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight rail Intercity rail, Regional rail, Commuter rail
Route number	200 (Freilassing – Saalfelden) 201 (Saalfelden - Innsbruck Hbf)
Operator(s)	Austrian Federal Railways
History
Opened	Stages between 1873–1875
Technical
Line length	191.730 km (119.135 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	200 m
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead line
Operating speed	140 km/h (87 mph)
Maximum incline	2.6%
Route map Legend from Rosenheim 0,000 Salzburg Hauptbahnhof , Transition to the 426 m (AA) (junction with Lokalbahn to Lamprechtshausen) Western Railway to Vienna West 2.100 Salzburg Sam since 2004 link line to the Western Railway after branch-off to Hallwang-E. 2.401 Salzburg Gnigl Vbf 2.975 Salzburg Gnigl since 2003 3.495 Salzburg Gnigl Vbf Einfahrgruppe 4.490 Salzburg Parsch since 2003 5.756 Salzburg Aigen 7.927 Salzburg Süd 8.092 Hellbrunn-Glasenbach 28.05.1978 closed 8.988 Elsbethen 429 m above sea level (AA) 12.203 Salzburg Aigen 5 crossover 13.200 Puch Urstein since 2005 15.255 15.300 Break in kilometrage (-45 m) 14.524 Puch bei Hallein 15.970 Oberalm since end of 2006 17.808 Hallein 445 m above sea level (AA) 19.350 Hallein Burgfried since 2005 20.923 Bad Vigaun 22.380 Kuchl Garnei since 2005 22.875 Hallein 3 crossover 25.167 Kuchl Lst (passing loop) 25.580 Kuchl 28.764 Golling-Abtenau 468 m above sea level (AA) Salzach 31.529 siding (passing loop) 31.556 siding (passing loop) 34.464 Golling-Abtenau 2 crossover Ofenau Tunnel (940 m) scree protection gallery 38.565 Golling-Abtenau 4 crossover 38.673 Sulzau Lst (passing loop) 41.699 41.723 break in kilometrage (-24 m) 42.236 Tenneck 519 m above sea level (AA) ( Konkordia Hut to 26 September 1971) 45.212 Werfen 526 m above sea level (AA) 46.604 Pfarrwerfen 528 m above sea level (AA) Rupertus Tunnel (327 m) 51.735 52.000 break in kilometrage (-265 m) Enns Valley Railway to Selzthal 52.305 Bischofshofen 544 m above sea level (AA) 55.272 Mitterberghütten 550 m above sea level (AA) 55.386 siding (passing loop) 56.882 Bischofshofen 2 crossover 61.266 St. Johann im Pongau 565 m above sea level (AA) Salzach 66.546 Schwarzach-St. Veit 590 m above sea level (AA) Tauern Railway to Spittal-Millstättersee Schwarzach Tunnel (190 m) Thumesbach Tunnel (380 m) Blaue Wand Tunnel (370 m) Salzach 74.978 Lend 634 m above sea level (AA) Salzach Salzach 79.040 Eschenau 673 m above sea level (AA) 81.9 Kitzlochklamm (closed) Taxenbach Tunnel (277 m) 84.328 Taxenbach-Rauris 718 m above sea level (AA) 86.371 siding (passing loop of former saw mill) 88.875 Gries im Pinzgau 744 m above sea level (AA) Salzach 93.734 Bruck-Fusch 757 m above sea level (AA) former siding to Kaprun hydropower plant Salzach approx.96.6 Zell am See Süd (planned) Pinzgauer Lokalbahn to Krimml (760mm gauge) 99.414 Zell am See 752 m above sea level (AA) 102.139 siding (passing loop for Hagleitner company) 103.944 crossover Zell am See 2 104.000 Maishofen-Saalbach 765 m above sea level (AA) 104.041 Lst Maishofen-Saalbach (passing loop) 106.750 106.823 break in kilometrage (-73 m) 108.004 Gerling im Pinzgau 748 m above sea level (AA) 110.950 111.050 break in kilometrage (-100 m) approx.112.000 former siding (600mm) for Strabag diabase works 112.335 Saalfelden S6 728 m above sea level (AA) approx.113.000 siding (passing loop) for Strabag diabase works 118.150 Leogang-Steinberge S6 796 m above sea level (AA) 120.483 Leogang S6 840 m above sea level (AA) 120.825 Saalfelden 2 crossover 123.076 Hütten closed 14.12.2008 885 m above sea level (AA) 126.312 Berg Grießen closed 28.05.1995 946 m above sea level (AA) sidingen (passing loop) 130.141 Hochfilzen S6 970 m above sea level (AA) 134.400 Pfaffenschwendt S6 888 m above sea level (AA) 139.357 Fieberbrunn S6 783 m above sea level (AA) 141.970 142.050 break in kilometrage (-80 m) 144.475 Grieswirt S6 687 m above sea level (AA) 147.675 St. Johann in Tirol S6 663 m above sea level (AA) 150.295 siding (passing loop) for the firm of Egger 151.959 Oberndorf in Tirol S6 688 m above sea level (AA) 153.783 siding (passing loop) Hartsteinwerke Kitzbühel 153.783 siding (passing loop) Unterwerk Kitzbühel 157.077 Kitzbühel S6 773 m above sea level (AA) 159.541 Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm S6 773 m above sea level (AA) 161.442 Schwarzsee S6 772 m above sea level (AA) 164.175 Klausen closed on 31.03.1951 166.385 Kirchberg in Tirol S6 820 m above sea level (AA) 170.065 Brixen im Thale S6 806 m above sea level (AA) 173.097 Westendorf S6 762 m above sea level (AA) 173.591 Kitzbühel 2 branch-off (old Westendorf station) 176.447 Windau S6 723 m above sea level (AA) Au Tunnel (210 m) Leidegg Tunnel (327 m) 182.280 Hopfgarten mountain lift S6 (to 28 May 1961: Hohe Salve mountain lift) 183.447 Hopfgarten S6 589 m above sea level (AA) former Itter Tunnel (45 m, dismantled in summer 2009) 188.504 Wörgl Süd - Bruckhäusl S6 523 m above sea level (AA) (to 14 December 2008: Bruckhäusl) 188.975 Hopfgarten 1 crossover Lower Inn Valley Railway from Kufstein 192.405 Wörgl Hauptbahnhof S1 S2 S6 505 m above sea level (AA) Lower Inn Valley Railway to Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof

Course

The standard gauge line runs along the Salzach valley, the Bischofshofen hub being of particular importance as the junction with the Enns Valley Railway to Selzthal in Styria. At the Wörgl terminus, the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway meets the Lower Inn Valley Railway running from the Tyrolean capital Innsbruck to the German border at Kufstein and the Deutsches Eck transport link.

The line has been upgraded to double track throughout and both tracks may be worked in bi-directional running. The entire route is electrified and is powered by 15,000 Volt alternating current and a frequency of 16.7 Hertz. In particular the S-train section from Salzburg Hauptbahnhof to the southern branch-off of the Tauern Railway line at Schwarzach-St. Veit was given a major upgrade and, in places, entirely rebuilt and re-routed.

Names

It is (and was^[1]) also known as the Gisela Railway (Giselabahn), after Archduchess Gisela of Austria, the second daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth. Today it is frequently considered to be a continuation of the Western Railway from Vienna to Salzburg; the whole railway line from Wien Westbahnhof to Salzburg and Wörgl is also referred to as Empress Elisabeth Railway (Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Bahn). The westernmost Zell am See–Wörgl section in Tyrol is also called Brixental Railway.

History

 

Wörgl Station, about 1900

The Salzburg-Tyrol Railway was built from 1873 to 1875 on the basis of the "Concession Authority dated 10 November 1872 for the Limited Company of the Privileged Empress Elisabeth Railway for the Construction and Operation of a Locomotive Railway Running from Upper Styria to Salzburg and North Tyrol".^[2][3] It runs from Salzburg via Hallein, Bischofshofen, St. Johann im Pongau, Schwarzach-St. Veit, Zell am See, Hochfilzen, St. Johann in Tirol and Kitzbühel to Wörgl.

The north ramp of the Tauern Railway, from Schwarzach-Sankt Veit station on the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway up to Bad Gastein, opened on 20 September 1905. The southern continuation across the main chain of the Alps to Spittal in the Drava Valley, including the Tauern Railway Tunnel, was inaugurated by Emperor Franz Joseph on 5 July 1909. By 1915 the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway was upgraded to double track and, in 1925, electrification of the line began, finished in 1930. Towards the end of World War II, the railway became a target for Allied bombing due to its strategic importance.

Operation

 

ÖBB EuroCity train near Pfarrwerfen.

 

Bombardier Talent railcar near Brixen im Thale

Up to today, the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway is the only east–west railway link to Tyrol that runs entirely on Austrian territory. The fact that there is no parallel motorway link on national territory gave the line great importance, especially before Austria's accession to the EU in 1995. However, its significance is increasingly on the wane, partly because it has the characteristics of an Alpine railway with steep hills and tight curves, hence high-speed rail transport is not possible. Austrian east-west trains therefore usually use the route from Salzburg via Rosenheim station in Germany to Innsbruck, transiting the Deutsches Eck link.

The line is important, though, especially for regional services, as part of the connexion from Innsbruck to the state capitals Klagenfurt and Graz as well as part of the line from Salzburg to Graz (via the Enns Valley Railway). In addition, the only Austrian coach transport service from North Tyrol to Lienz in East Tyrol leaves from Kitzbühel station on the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway. The line is also fairly important as an alternative route for international rail traffic on the east–west axis, but it is more significant as a feeder for the Tauern Railway crossing the Hohe Tauern range of the Central Eastern Alps from north to south. The Salzburg-Tyrol Railway is also used by sleeping car trains. The night train from Bregenz to Vienna used to run on this line until December 2008, in order to achieve journey times that enabled passengers to spend enough time in the sleepers and to save the rail tolls charged by German Deutsche Bahn railway company for using the Deutsches Eck transport link.

The railway is also important for local services in the central region of Salzburg and in North Tyrol. Between Salzburg Hauptbahnhof and Golling-Abtenau the line is served every half-an-hour and from Golling to Schwarzach every hour by the S3 line of the Salzburg S-Bahn network. The section from Wörgl to Saalfelden is served by the S6 line of Tyrol S-Bahn system.

References

1. Volkswirthschaftliche Zeitung. (Giselabahn.) Das Vaterland, 15. November 1872 [1]
2. R. G. Bl. No. 170/1872
3. Volkswirthschaftliche Zeitung. (Giselabahn.) Das Vaterland, 31 December 1872 [2]

Literature

• Alfred Horn: Die Eisenbahnen in Austria: Offizielles Jubiläumsbuch zum 150jährigen Bestehen, Bohmann Verlag 1986, ISBN 3-700206-43-7
• Eisenbahnatlas Austria, Verlag Schweers + Wall, S. 63, ISBN 978-3894941284
• Alfred Horn: ÖBB Handbuch 1993, Bohmann Verlag, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-7002-0824-3

47°29′30″N 12°03′40″E / 47.49167°N 12.06111°E / 47.49167; 12.06111