Rudolfsbahn

This article explains today's railway line, the historical railway company see Crown Prince Rudolf-Bahn .

Rudolfsbahn St. Valentin / Amstetten – Selzthal – Leoben / Tarvisio
A freight train with wooden containers near Trattenbach.
Route number (ÖBB) :	102 01 (Abzw Weyer 1 – Selzthal) 101 02 (Amstetten – Abzw Amstetten 11) 102 01 (Abzw Amstetten 11 – Kastenreith) 203 01 (St. Valentin – Abzw Weyer 1) 404 01 (Selzthal – St. Michael) 413 13 (St. Michael – St. Michael-West ) 413 01 (St. Michael-West – St. Veit an der Glan) 408 01 (St. Veit an der Glan – Villach Hbf-Ostbf) 413 01 (Villach Süd Gvbf-Auen – Tarvisio Boscov.) 413 12 (St. Michael – St. Michael-Ost) 413 01 (St. Michael-Ost – Abzw Leoben Hbf 2) 416 01 (Abzw Leoben Hbf 2 – Leoben Hbf) 413 14 (Villach Hbf-Ostbf-Villach Süd Gvbf-Auen)
Course book route (ÖBB) :	130 (Amstetten – Selzthal) 131 (St. Valentin – Selzthal) 250 (Selzthal – St. Michael) 600 (St. Michael / Leoben – St. Veit an der Glan) and (Villach – Tarvisio Boscoverde) 000 601 (Friesach – Villach)
Route length:	(St. Valentin – Tarvisio) 407 km (Amstetten − Kastenreith) 43.8 km (St. Michael − Leoben) 11.9 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Network category :	A (Selzthal – St. Veit an der Glan) B1 (St. Valentin – Selzthal) B2 (St. Veit an der Glan – Villach)
Route class :	D4 (Scheifling – Zeltweg = D3)
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	22.8  ‰
Minimum radius :	187 m
Top speed:	160 km / h
Dual track :	Selzthal Süd - St. Veit an der Glan Villach - Tarvisio Boscoverde
Legend Western Railway of Vienna 124.558 Amstetten 273  m above sea level A. 127.287 2.730 Amstetten junction 11 Western Railway to Salzburg 3,600 Greinsfurth 5.255 Awanst Bundesforste Ybbs 7.735 Ulmerfeld - Hausmening 301  m above sea level A. 11,880 Awanst Ybbstaler Fruit Austria 12.020 Kröllendorf 12,166 Awanst warehouse 15,316 Hilm- Kematen 329  m above sea level A. 17.317 Rosenau 340  m above sea level A. 19,598 Awanst Böhlerwerk 19.733 Sonntagberg 21,396 Böhlerwerk ad Ybbs 23,422 Waidhofen ad Ybbs 360  m above sea level A. Ybbstalbahn to Kienberg-Gaming 24,847 City of Waidhofen ad Ybbs Lower Austria / Upper Austria border 32,220 Oberland 505  m above sea level A. 32.637 Oberland stop 34,450 Gaflenz 478  m above sea level A. 40.847 Weyer 404  m above sea level A. Western Railway from Salzburg Donauuferbahn from Mauthausen 0.000 St. Valentine 268  m above sea level A. Western Railway to Vienna 1.915 Awanst Nibelungenwerk 2.710 Herzograd 7.336 Ernsthofen 12,700 Village on the Enns 15.743 Ramingdorf- Haidershofen Lower Austria / Upper Austria border 17,200 Steyr BMW plant 18.097 Steyr- Münichholz 20,424 Steyr 305  m above sea level A. Enns 22,369 Garstner Tunnel (28.60 m) 22,591 Cooked 304  m above sea level A. 25,100 sand 27.831 Lahrndorf 30.417 Durnbach 33.710 Ternberg 35.978 Trattenbach 42.145 Losenstein 45.725 Rohrbachgraben 02.06.1996 abandoned 48.140 Rich raming 359  m above sea level A. 51.145 Großraming power station 54.859 Large framing 370  m above sea level A. 61.410 Cooper 63,417 Kastenreither roof (8 m) 63,425 Kastenreither Tunnel (324.25 m) 43,693 63,793 Kastenreith 43,804 63,904 Abzw Weyer 1) 66,950 Kleinreifling 388  m above sea level A. 73.417 Schönau-Fockenauer Tunnel (224 m) 75.552 Schönau an der Enns closed in December 2011 79.443 Laussa-Kesselberg tunnel (176.20 m) State border Upper Austria / Styria 79.823 Altenmarkt tunnel (35.10 m) 81.496 Weißenbach - St. Gallen 410  m above sea level A. 84.882 Wolfsbachau Tunnel (92.70 m) 86,200 Wolfsbachau (June 2nd, 1996 closed) 86.851 Lofer tunnel (395 m) 90.534 Großreiflinger Tunnel (348.80 m) 92.212 Großreifling 446  m above sea level A. 93.162 Salza tunnel (296.39 m) 94.263 Landl avalanche roof (12 m) 94.275 Landl Tunnel (57 m) Enns 96,422 Rural 459  m above sea level A. 98.492 Awanst sawmill 99.028 Wandau Tunnel (103.75 m) 99.132 Wandau avalanche roof (54 m) 101.266 Hieflauer Tunnel (171.10 m) 101.836 Hieflau (branch switch) Erzbergbahn to Eisenerz 102.333 Hieflau 489  m above sea level A. 102.699 Hieflau avalanche tunnel (300 m) 104.422 Ennsmauer Gallery I (29 m) 104.532 Ennsmauer Gallery II (25 m) 104.575 Ennsmauer roof (22 m) 104.597 Ennsmauer Tunnel I (53 m) 104.747 Ennsmauer Tunnel II (101 m) 106.864 Hochsteg tunnel (121 m) 106.985 Hochsteg gallery (22 m) Kummerbrücke (Enns) 106.520 Kummerbrücke (closed in 2005) 568  m above sea level A. 111.404 Gstatterboden i. National park 573  m above sea level A. 113.264 Rothgraben Gallery (12 m) 113.477 Kühgraben Gallery (15 m) 114.706 Johnsbach i. National park 588  m above sea level A. 118.166 Gesaeuse tunnel entrance (237.62 m) 119.435 Gesäuse entrance (closed in 2013) 628  m above sea level A. 125.168 Admont 130.803 Frauenberg ad Enns 634  m above sea level A. Pyhrnbahn from Linz 137.269 Selzthal-North 138.996 Selzthal 639  m above sea level A. Ennstalbahn to Bischofshofen 140.460 Selzthal-Süd junction; Beginning of the double-track line 140.640 Loop Selzthal (planned) v. Selzthal West 145.214 City of Rottenmann 667  m above sea level A. 146.750 Rottenmann 688  m above sea level A. 151,200 Bärndorf-Büschendorf abandoned 156.497 Shoots 704  m above sea level A. 161.138 Gaishorn 722  m above sea level A. Sonnberg tunnel (544 m) 165.170 Treglwang ( Awanst ) 774  m above sea level A. 167.164 Practice forest on Schoberpass 2 171.645 Forest on the Schober Pass 849  m above sea level A. 173.925 Unterwald tunnel (1,075 m) 178.740 Kalwang 751  m above sea level A. 186.675 Mautern 692  m above sea level A. 191,992 Chambers 662  m above sea level A. 194,403 Seiz 639  m above sea level A. 197.821 Traboch -Timmersdorf 622  m above sea level A. 202.412 0.000 St. Michael 596  m above sea level A. Beginning of the St. Michael – Leoben branch line 203.824 St. Michael-West 1.192 St. Michael East Annaberg tunnel (158 m) 2,275 23,377 Junction Leoben Hbf 2 6.838 Leoben Hinterberg (since December 14, 2008 no passenger traffic) 9.503 Siding at the Göss brewery 9.981 Leoben Göss (no passenger traffic since Dec. 14, 2008) Galgenberg Tunnel (5,460 m) 20,441 Üst Leoben Hbf 1 (only in the event of operational disruptions / construction work) 10,727 17,639 Erzbergbahn from Vordernberg 16,498 Leoben Central Station 540  m above sea level A. to Bruck an der Mur 207.031 Kaisersberg-St. Stefan 09/24/1967 abandoned 209.918 Kraubath 585  m above sea level A. Track connection Hartsteinwerke Preg 213.724 Preg 595  m above sea level A. 218,336 Fentsch- St. Lorenzen 604  m above sea level A. Mur 224.684 Knittelfeld 628  m above sea level A. 228.557 Spielberg 660  m above sea level A. 229.683 Lind bei Zeltweg open on May 30th, 1999 Siding to the Hinterstoisser Air Base 232,351 Zeltweg 670  m above sea level A. Fohnsdorf Railway to Pöls Lavant Valley Railway to Klagenfurt 239.760 Judenburg 708  m above sea level A. 246.225 Thalheim- Pöls 699  m above sea level A. 253.765 St. Georgen ob Judenburg 714  m above sea level A. 258.695 Unzmarkt 735  m above sea level A. Murtalbahn to Tamsweg Mur 265.691 Scheifling 797  m above sea level A. 268.719 Schrattenberg 03/31/1923 abandoned 273.774 Mariahof - St. Lambrecht 892  m above sea level A. 278.780 Neumarkt in Styria 841  m above sea level A. 281,900 Hammerl closed on September 24th, 1967 Klammwand tunnel (138 m) 286,554 Üst Neumarkt in Styria 1 Wildbad Einöd 23.05.1993 closed State border Styria / Carinthia 292,700 Metnitztal 28.05.1967 abandoned 295.256 Friesach 636  m above sea level A. 299.955 Micheldorf-Shepherd Shepherd Lst Gurktalbahn (to Pöckstein-Zwischenwässern ) 306,062 Treibach – Althofen 615  m above sea level A. 309.644 Kappel am Krappfeld 569  m above sea level A. 312,500 Krappfeld abandoned on September 24, 1967 313.825 Passering 317,500 Pölling May 30th, 1999 closed Görtschitztalbahn from Hüttenberg 319.493 Launsdorf - Hochosterwitz 522  m above sea level A. Old route until 09/30/1902 322.188 St. Georgen am Längsee 327,942 St. Veit ad Glan 476  m above sea level A. Rosentalbahn to Jesenice 329.011 St. Veit ad Glan-West 329,706 329,046 Error profile (+660 m) 332,700 Lebmach (closed in 2000) 334.525 Liebenfels stop 335.273 Liebenfels (since 2004 only goods loading) 339.020 Tauchendorf - Haidensee 341,446 Glanegg 497  m above sea level A. 343,872 Toll bridges 503  m above sea level A. 347.167 St. Martin Parakeet 524  m above sea level A. 352.226 Feldkirchen in Carinthia 547  m above sea level A. 356,394 Tiffen 520  m above sea level A. 360.155 Steindorf am Ossiacher See 509  m above sea level A. 363,863 Ossiach - Bodensdorf 510  m above sea level A. 365.341 St. Urban am Ossiacher See 368.990 Sattendorf 370.267 Annenheim 507  m above sea level A. 373.620 Villach St. Ruprecht Villach Landskron (from December 15, 2019) Drautalbahn from Maribor Platform 20 (bypass Villach Hbf) 376,800 Villach Hbf-Ostbf freight loading station 377.620 Villach Hbf platform 8 at platform 20 (if required) Villach central station 498  m above sea level A. Drautalbahn to Innichen / San Candido 378,320 Villach Hbf-Draubrücke Outside 379.139 Villach Westbahnhof 381,682 Villach Warmbad 382.733 Villach Süd Gvbf-Auen Gail Karawankenbahn to Rosenbach 384.190 Millers 03/06/1984 abandoned 384,400 Villach Süd large shunting yard 386,486 Fürnitz 389,305 Neuhaus an der Gail 512  m above sea level A. 389.670 Villach Süd Gvbf-West 392.056 Poeckau 564  m above sea level A. 394,943 Arnoldstein 567  m above sea level A. 395.458 Gailtalbahn to Kötschach-Mauthen 400.182 Thörl-Maglern 401.045 94.250 State border Austria / Italy 93.169 Leila Tunnel (3,269 m) Coccau di sotto tunnel (140 m) Coccau di sopra tunnel (517 m) 93,586 Tarvisio Centrale to Jesenice 88.790 Tarvisio Boscoverde new Pontebbana to Udine old Pontebbana to Udine

The name Rudolfsbahn is derived from the kk priv. Kronprinz Rudolf-Bahn Gesellschaft (KRB) . The main route, which opened from 1868 to 1873, had the following route with many detours until the new Pontebbana was commissioned in November 2000 (only routes within today's borders of Austria are taken into account): St. Valentin - Kastenreith - Kleinreifling - Selzthal - Schoberpass - St. Michael - Neumarkter Sattel - St. Veit an der Glan - Feldkirchen in Carinthia - Villach - Tarvisio Centrale , today it runs to Tarvisio Boscoverde.

history

Kleinreifling station in autumn 2007, taken from south to north

Winter in the former Gesäuse train station entrance (December 2004)

The former Kummerbrücke stop (May 1988)

The Rudolfsbahn formed next to the Südbahn ( Semmeringbahn ) in the east and the Brennerbahn in the west, the third north-south Alpine crossing in Austria. It was built by the Moravian iron construction company, the Klein brothers . The chief architect was Otto Thienemann . Since there was too little traffic on its own route, the KRB was economically dependent to a large extent on transit traffic and thus on the transport policy of other railways (mainly the Kaiserin Elisabeth-Bahn (KEB)). All northern endpoints of the KRB network were on the Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Bahn lines (St. Valentin and Amstetten on the Westbahn, Schärding on the Wels – Passau line).

The economic situation of the KRB deteriorated more and more after the economic crisis of 1873. 1880 KRB under state was forced administration (sequestration) found nationalized 1884th

After the nationalization, the Amstetten – Kastenreith wing line was upgraded because the Imperial and Royal Austrian State Railways (kkStB) directed traffic from Vienna to Carinthia via the Westbahn and Rudolfsbahn (as a competitor to the still private Südbahn-Gesellschaft). In the decades after the Second World War, direct trains from Wien Westbf were still used over this wing route. Via Amstetten and Hieflau into the Gesäuse , into the upper Ennstal and to Bischofshofen on the Salzburg-Tyrolean Railway , then referred to as part of the Western Railway.

South of Pontafel in the Canal Valley, the KRB was connected to the Italian rail network.

Rudolfsbahn today

All routes of the former Rudolfsbahn-Gesellschaft in today's Austria belong to the ÖBB route network (as of 2015).

Today the name Rudolfsbahn is only used for the northern section, otherwise the street name Rudolfsbahnstraße that occurs in some places along the route still reminds of it. This is because the St. Valentin or Amstetten – Villach – Tarvis relation is no longer relevant as such.

• Rudolfsbahn is particularly the Ybbstal - / Ennstal line Amstetten - Waidhofen - Kleinreifling - Selzthal (course 130; the Ybbstalbahn was Waidhofen - Gaming / Ybbsitz, the Ennstalbahn is Selzthal - Bischofshofen; the Upper Austrian Ennstal line St. Valentin - Steyr - Kleinreifling [course 131, - Selzthal] no longer has a special name)

Individual sections of the Rudolfsbahn are now part of other important traffic routes:

• The Schoberpass route Selzthal - St. Michael is part of the long-distance traffic routes Linz – Pyhrnbahn –Selzthal – Graz and Innsbruck – Bischofshofen– Ennstalbahn –Selzthal – Graz.
• The Leoben – St. Michael - ( Neumarkter Sattel ) - St. Veit an der Glan Klagenfurt is part of today, historically not correct, as the Southern Railway route designated Vienna - Bruck - Leoben - Klagenfurt - Villach. All Railjet and EuroCity on the route Vienna Hauptbahnhof - Klagenfurt Hbf - Villach Hbf as well as some freight trains, which mainly go to Italy or Slovenia, use this section of the route (until the opening of the Koralm Railway ) .

Other parts of the route, such as the route along the Ossiacher See , are only of regional importance today.

Freight train with class 1040 locomotive in Hieflau, the line to Eisenerz branches off to the right (2001)

Between the train stations Friesach and St. Veit an der Glan or Villach (via Klagenfurt Hbf) the route was integrated into the Carinthia S-Bahn with the S1 in December 2010 when the timetable changed . The S2 has been running between St. Veit an der Glan and Villach (via Feldkirchen in Carinthia ) since December 2011 and is therefore also integrated into the Carinthian S-Bahn. As part of the new S-Bahn operation, the frequency and the number of local trains have been increased significantly; in some cases this has already happened with the introduction of the Carinthian cycle in December 2008. Since December 2016, the St. Michael - Unzmarkt section has been part of the S8 of the Styrian S-Bahn .

The kilometers from St. Valentin (km 0.000) to the state border at Thörl-Maglern (km 401.045) are reminiscent of the original, continuous route. From the state border at Thörl-Maglern, the kilometering of the state border next Thörl-Maglern (km 94.250) - Udine (km 0.000) begins.

Partial cessation of passenger traffic

Regional train on the Schoberpass route near Selzthal with a class 1141 locomotive (1994)

On the section between Selzthal and Weißenbach-St. Gallen, with the exception of one pair of trains on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, passenger traffic was discontinued on September 6, 2009, as the ÖBB considered the route no longer economical for passenger traffic. A substitute service with regular buses was set up. With the 2019/2020 timetable period, a second pair of trains will be available in the afternoon in the direction of Selzthal and in the morning in the direction of Weißenbach-St. Gallen reintroduced. In addition, both pairs of trains are tied through to Wien Westbahnhof.

Amstetten – Kastenreith branch line

The Amstetten – Kleinreifling route is driven every hour. In the mornings and evenings, some trains from Amstetten only run to Waidhofen ad Ybbs; on weekdays except Saturday, some trains continue from Kleinreifling to Weißenbach-St.Gallen.

Until December 2017, the trains from Eisenwurzen reached Amstetten mostly at minute 55 and left again at minute 05. At the full hour there was a crossing of the Railjets Vienna - Salzburg, which provided connections to Linz and Vienna. Since the private WESTbahn has been assigned the Railjet routes by ÖBB Infra since December 2017, the ÖBB clock node will be closed. Thanks to a new timetable concept geared towards Linz commuters, the cancellation of most of the stops in Sonntagberg and the replacement of the ÖBB class 4024 with the more powerful ÖBB class 4744 , connections to Linz in the morning and from Linz in the afternoon were guaranteed.

A regional train runs between Amstetten and Selzthal on weekends, which runs through the Gesäuse and is the only passenger train that still serves the Gesäuse route.

literature

Elmar Oberegger : On the history of the Crown Prince Rudolf-Bahn. Schärding / St.Valentin / Amstetten – Villach – Ljubljana , (publications by the Information Office for Austrian Railway History 2), Sattledt 2007

• Sepp Tezak : The Rudolfsbahngürtel I . Bahn im Bild Volume 81, Pospischil Verlag, Vienna 1991
• Sepp Tezak: The Rudolfsbahn II . Bahn im Bild Volume 82, Pospischil Verlag, Vienna 1992
• Detlef Löffler (Ed.), Franz Gansrigler, Christoph Posch: Vienna - Triest. The urge to go south: From the beginnings of the Kronprinz-Rudolf-Bahn to the current expansion of the Südbahn and the Pontebbana , Styria-Verlag, Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt 2008, ISBN 978-3-222-13257-5 .

Web links

Commons : Rudolfsbahn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Current timetable (Amstetten – Selzthal) of the ÖBB
• Current timetable (St. Valentin – Selzthal) of the ÖBB
• Article about the Rudolfsbahn
• Remains of the Rudolfsbahn in the Tarvisio area
• Photo album: Gesäusebahn from Kleinreifling to Selzthal - Eisenbahn, photographed on a section of the Rudolfsbahn
• Article on the cessation of passenger traffic. Kleine Zeitung , June 30, 2009, archived from the original on January 16, 2014 . 

1. ↑ Timetable 130 Amstetten - Kleinreifling - Selzthal Rudolfsbahn . ÖBB, as of March 5, 2018 (pdf, oebb.at, accessed June 29, 2018).
2. ↑ Timetable 131 St.Valentin - Steyr - Kleinreifling - Selzthal. ÖBB, as of March 5, 2018 (pdf, oebb.at, accessed June 29, 2018).
3. ↑ Setting the Gesäusebahn: the beginning of the end. In: www.fahrgast-steiermark.at. Fahrgast Steiermark, 2009, accessed on January 17, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Timetable Amstetten - Kleinreifling - Selzthal. ÖBB, accessed on January 17, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Andreas Kössl: Ybbstal - timetable change ensures connection for commuters. In: noen.at. Niederösterreichische Nachrichten, October 17, 2017, accessed on January 17, 2018 .