Westbahn (Austria)

This article deals with a main line of the Austrian rail network; the private railway company see Westbahn (company) .

Old West Railway: Vienna West - Wagram - Linz - Salzburg New West Railway: (Vienna Meidling - Tullnerfeld) - Wagram - Linz
Route number (ÖBB) :	101  01 , 101  02 , 101  13 , 103  01 , 103  02 , 123  01 , 130  01
Route number :	* Line 1 (Alte Westbahn): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 4011, 4012, 4013, 4014, 4015 Line 30 (Neue Westbahn): 2305, 2306, 2307, 4301 Line 3 (traffic jam track): 2035, 1036 Line 23 (local traffic track): 2231
Course book route (ÖBB) :	100 (Vienna Airport (VIE) –Linz) 101 (Linz – Salzburg) 110 (Wien Westbf – St. Pölten) 111 (Vienna Airport (VIE) –St. Pölten)
Route length:	312.2 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Network category :	A.
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	13  ‰
Minimum radius :	275 m
Top speed:	250 km / h
Dual track :	continuous
Legend 0.000 Vienna Westbf 208  m above sea level A. 1.013 Vienna Westbf Fbf Suburban line from Vienna Heiligenstadt 2.553 Vienna Penzing 207  m above sea level A. Southern runway from Vienna Hbf Schnellbahn trunk line from Vienna Floridsdorf 3.437 Vienna Meidling 210  m above sea level A. Pottendorfer line to Ebenfurth , Wiener Neustadt 3,967 Üst Penzing 1 Südbahn to Graz Hbf Connecting track Donauländebahn 4.607 0.000 km change 0.071 Lainzer Tunnel Ostportal (9.434 km) 0.215 Start of ETCS L2 Connection loop Donauländebahn from Vienna Zvbf 0.679 Junction Hetzendorf junction 2.022 Üst node Hetzendorf 1 4.397 Baumgartenstrasse (closed in 1950, until April 30, 1939: Baumgarten ) 5,200 Vienna Hütteldorf freight train group Wiener Stadtbahn (from 1898) / Wiener Elektro Stadtbahn (from 1925) 5.846 Vienna Hütteldorf 213  m above sea level A. 6.900 Hütteldorf-Bad 7.151 Üst node Hetzendorf 4 Alte Westbahn (switch hall) / local traffic track 8.112 Weichenhalle Portal (2.176 km) 7.885 Vienna Wolf in der Au 222  m above sea level A. Lainzer Tunnel (west portal) New Westbahn from Vienna Meidling 9,362 Junction Hadersdorf ("Weichenhalle") New western railway to Tullnerfeld 9.238 Vienna Hadersdorf 230  m above sea level A. 9.536 Üst Vienna Hütteldorf 22 10.164 Wienerwaldtunnel (east portal, start of the SFS ) 9,940 Vienna Weidlingau 233  m above sea level A. 10,546 Üst node Hadersdorf 1 Provincial border Vienna / Lower Austria 10,952 Purkersdorf Sanatorium 238  m above sea level A. Alte Westbahn (switch hall) / local traffic track 11.091 11.750 Error profile (−659 m) 11,839 Under Purkersdorf 243  m above sea level A. 12,889 Purkersdorf center 248  m above sea level A. 16.014 Üst Unter Purkersdorf 1 16.865 Untertullnerbach 288  m above sea level A. 19,970 Tullnerbach - Pressbaum 317  m above sea level A. 21,283 Press tree 337  m above sea level A. 22,532 Dürrwien 23,540 Wienerwaldtunnel west portal 24.809 Rekawinkel 360  m above sea level A. 25.173 Rekawinkler Tunnel (307 m) 307  m above sea level A. 26,491 Small Dürreberg Tunnel (247 m) Eichgraben Viaduct (81 m) 29.931 Eichgraben - Altlengbach 31,120 Hutten 32,334 Below Oberndorf 285  m above sea level A. 34,300 Maria Anzbach 35.814 Hofstatt 256  m above sea level A. 36.865 Neulengbach city Laabenbach Viaduct (187 m) 38.006 Neulengbach Tullnerfelder Ostschleife to Tulln Tullnerfeld Railway from Tulln Factory connection 29.855 Tullnerfeld 186  m above sea level A. Tullnerfelder Bahn to Herzogenburg 35.840 Atzenbrugger Tunnel (2,460 m) 41,461 Ollersbach 38,441 Hankenfeld Tunnel (663 m) 40.171 Saladorfer Tunnel (729 m) 41,335 Üst Tullnerfeld 2 42.683 Reiserberg Tunnel (1,370 m) 43,558 Kirchstetten 45.660 Stierschweiffeld tunnel (3,293 m) 49.076 Boheimkirchen Perschling (117m) 49.846 Üst Tullnerfeld 4 50.775 Raingrubentunnel (2,775 m) 51.510 Schildberg (closed) 54.199 54.267 Error profile (−68 m) 54.445 Pottenbrunn New Westbahn from Tullnerfeld 55.925 Wagram node Freight train bypass after the Rohr node 5.712 Use node Wagram 2 Traisen Tullnerfeld Railway from Herzogenburg 60.563 St. Pölten Hbf 273  m above sea level A. Leobersdorfer Bahn to Hainfeld 61.262 St. Pölten Fbf Pummersdorf Tunnel 62.025 62.031 Flaw profile (−6 m) 62.070 Iceberg Arch Tunnel (460 m) 63.720 Junction St. Pölten 1 67.611 67.806 Defect profile (−195 m) 68.664 Prinzersdorf 256  m above sea level A. 70.990 Markersdorf ad Pielach 19,846 Exercise node Wagram 7 72.525 Üst Prinzersdorf 2 Radleitentunnel 74.035 Great Sierning Bründlkapelle tunnel Freight train bypassing the Wagram node 74,800 Knot tube 76.946 76.951 Defect profile (−5 m, only old Westbahn) Old or New West Railway (Loosdorf bypass) 75.428 Rohrer Tunnel (258 m) 77,550 Green tunnel 1 (250 m) 78.131 Loosdorf 79.923 Use knot pipe 3 Melk bypass 81.683 Wachberg tunnel 2 (1001 m) 82,434 Wachberg Tunnel 1 (292 m) 84.665 Melk (former train station) 83.930 Melker Tunnel (1845 m) 86,182 86,370 Flaw profile (−188 m) 86,565 Üst Loosdorf 3 86,436 Use knot pipe 6 91.925 92.230 Flaw profile (−305 m) 93.914 Pöchlarn 214  m above sea level A. Erlauftalbahn to Kienberg-Gaming (Old or new route) 97,300 Sittenberg Tunnel (4692 m) 98.220 Curved nut tree 99.368 Üst Pöchlarn 2 99.465 Üst Pöchlarn 12 102.521 Säusenstein 102.448 104.752 Fault profile (−2,304 m) 107.137 Ybbs on the Danube 226  m above sea level A. Ybbs 110.004 Junction Karlsbach junction 111,361 Neumarkt ad Ybbs - Karlsbach 113.607 Hubertendorf (closed) 113,400 Burgstaller Tunnel (2250 m) 115.776 115.795 Defect profile (−19 m) 116.295 Üst Karlsbach 13 116.921 Blind market 248  m above sea level A. 123,000 Amstetten East 124.558 Amstetten 273  m above sea level A. 127.287 Amstetten junction 11 Rudolfsbahn to Kleinreifling 129.880 Üst Amstetten 2 131.146 Wall - Oehling 134.975 Üst Amstetten 14 135.595 Aschbach 140.180 Krenstetten - Biberbach 141,579 141,586 Flaw profile (−7 m) 143.470 Junction St. Peter-Seitenstetten Ost (Old or new route) 144.245 St. Peter - Seitenstetten 145.269 St. Peter Green Tunnel (404 m) 147.230 147.428 Defect profile (−198 m) 147,600 Junction St. Peter-Seitenstetten West junction 147,900 St. Johann - Weistrach 153.018 Siebergtunnel (6480 m) 147.979 147.982 Flaw profile (−3 m) 154.038 City of Hague 157.498 Üst St. Peter-Seitenstetten West 13 160.026 162.161 Fault profile (−2,135 m) 161,578 161,567 Error profile (+11 m) 163.043 163.057 Defect profile (−14 m) Rudolfsbahn from Steyr , Kleinreifling 164.100 St. Valentine 268  m above sea level A. 165.840 St. Valentin-Enns Canal Bridge 166.180 (Enns bypass or old route) Donauuferbahn - loop Ennsdorf 167.736 Junction St. Valentin 11 to Sarmingstein 168,603 Ennsdorf Enns , state border Lower Austria / Upper Austria 170.973 Enns 172.649 Üst St. Valentin 3 174.030 Asten fishing 174.300 173.736 Error profile (+564 m) 175.640 176.378 Asten- St. Florian 178.030 Linz-Pichling 179.513 Asten-St. Florian 1 180.655 Linz Ebelsberg to Linz Vbf Ost and Linz Stahlwerke Traun 182.670 Linz Kleinmünchen to Linz Vbf West Summerau Railway from České Budějovice 188.051 188.000 Error profile (+51 m) 188.440 Linz Central Station 189.430 Linz central station west bridge Pyhrnbahn to Selzthal Linz local railway to Peuerbach 190.540 Beginning of LZB 192.020 Leonding 194.162 Üst Linz 2 195.902 Pasching 198.043 Hörsching 295  m above sea level A. 201,347 Oftering Connecting line from Pyhrnbahn 206.185 Marchtrenk 307  m above sea level A. Transfer to Wels Vbf 208.811 Marchtrenk junction 1 Wels Vbf 212.815 Wels central station 316  m above sea level A. Passau Railway to Passau Almtalbahn to Grünau im Almtal 220.017 Gunskirchen 345  m above sea level A. (Lambach bypass or old route) 225.672 Kalvarienberg tunnel (1410 m) Local train from Vorchdorf – Eggenberg ,   Trauntalbahn to Gmunden 226.109 Lambach 307  m above sea level A. 227.200 227.503 Flaw profile (−303 m) 227.633 Lambach Market Line improvement in Neukirchen near Lambach 230.454 Neukirchen near Lambach (new October 2012) 230.556 Haager Lies to Haag am Hausruck (isolated since October 2012) 233,498 Breitenschützing 235.120 Römerberg tunnel 710 m 236,662 236,940 Defect profile (−278 m) 237,442 Schwanenstadt 240.330 End of LZB Salzkammergutbahn from Schärding 243.292 Attnang-Puchheim 415  m above sea level A. Salzkammergutbahn to Stainach-Irdning 247,966 Vöcklabruck 435  m above sea level A. 250.233 Abzw Vöcklabruck 1 Kammerer Bahn to Kammer-Schörfling 252,182 252,200 Flaw profile (−18 m) 253,317 Timelkam 450  m above sea level A. Ampflwanger Bahn to Ampflwang 257.090 Neukirchen - Gampern 435  m above sea level A. 259.723 Redl Zipf 472  m above sea level A. 264,050 Vöcklamarkt 489  m above sea level A. Attergaubahn to Attersee 268.785 Frankenmarkt 511  m above sea level A. 274,577 Üst Frankenmarkt 2 275.637 Pondorf 562  m above sea level A. State border Upper Austria / Salzburg 278,440 Ederbauer (closed in 2010) 601  m above sea level A. State border Salzburg / Upper Austria 281,916 Oberhofen-Zell am Moos 571  m above sea level A. State border Upper Austria / Salzburg 285.216 Straßwalchen 542  m above sea level A. Mattig Valley Railway from Braunau am Inn 287,427 Steindorf near Straßwalchen 542  m above sea level A. 289.174 Neumarkt-Köstendorf ( Awanst ) 544  m above sea level A. Köstendorf node (planned) Seekirchnertunnel east portal (14,500 m, planned) 293,807 Weng 294,305 Üst Steindorf 2 296.136 Wallersee 299,445 Seekirchen am Wallersee 514  m above sea level A. Seekirchen Süd (planned) 302.782 Eugendorf 305.538 Hallwang - Elixhausen 493  m above sea level A. Seekirchnertunnel west portal (planned) Fischach Leitnerbauertunnel east portal (2,000 m, planned) 309,345 Üst Hallwang-E. 2 Leitnerbauertunnel west portal (planned) 309.933 Salzburg barracks Connection to Salzburg-Gnigl ​​(planned) 310.880 Junction Hallwang-E. 3 to Salzburg Gnigl ​​Vbf Kasern node (planned) formerly Salzkammergut local railway Salzburg-Tyrolean Railway from Wörgl Route to Salzburg Itzling 312.470 0.777 0.000 Salzburg Central Station 428  m above sea level A. Route to Rosenheim

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 '  N , 16 ° 20'  E

The Westbahn is an electrified main line in Austria from Vienna via St. Pölten and Linz to Salzburg . The line was built by the privately owned Kaiserin Elisabeth-Bahn and put into operation in 1860. Today the line is operated by ÖBB Infra and is part of their core network .

stretch

The Westbahn consists of the double-track Old Westbahn (route 1) and the double-track New Westbahn (route 30) . Wherever they run in parallel, the two lines form what is known as the four-track Western Railway.

To strengthen operations, the Westbahn is being supplemented by additional local routes, which are used as local traffic (route 23) from Vienna Hütteldorf to Unter- Purkersdorf or as a jam track (route 3) from Pottenbrunn via St. Pölten to Prinzersdorf.

At the eastern end of the Westbahn, the historic Vienna Westbahnhof , a terminus station, has been competing with the new Vienna Central Station , which was built as a through station, since December 2014 .

The railway company Westbahn GmbH, which has been operating since December 2011, has announced that it will continue to run its trains between Salzburg and Vienna from the Westbahnhof. Since the timetable change in December 2015, ÖBB has been running all long-distance traffic on the Westbahn in Vienna through the Lainzer Tunnel to Wien Meidling station and on to Vienna Central Station . Two long-distance trains every hour continue after the stop at the main train station to the airport VIE Wien station . From the end of 2017 to the end of 2019, Westbahn GmbH also had regular trains run from Vienna Praterstern , which occupied routes on the main S-Bahn line on their way west , on which they linked the main train station and other S-Bahn stations, their use was not possible with tickets from the transport association.

history

See also : "History" in the article Kaiserin Elisabeth-Bahn

The line was opened on December 15, 1858, from Wien Westbahnhof to Linz and from August 1, 1860, it was open to Salzburg. The onward route to Munich Central Station went into operation on August 12, 1860.

construction

The railway line was built by the privileged Kaiserin Elisabeth-Bahn company under Hermann Dietrich Lindheim . In addition to the Vienna - Salzburg route, it also included the Wels – Passau (1861), St. Valentin - Summerau -  Budweis (1872) railway . In addition, the lines Linz - Lambach - Gmunden and Linz - Budweis, the former horse-drawn railway Budweis - Linz - Gmunden had to be taken over by the kk privileged First Railway Company as a narrow-gauge railway (1857), although most of them had to be re-routed. The Kaiserin Elisabeth-Bahn managed numerous other routes, even today there are still a few boundary stones with the initials KEB . The name of the Elisabethbahn was simply replaced by "Westbahn" by the public.

opening

As early as 1851, a rail link was agreed in a state treaty between Bavaria and Austria ; In 1858 the Vienna - Linz line was completed. The route to Salzburg was opened to traffic in 1860. The journey from Vienna to Salzburg initially took nine hours. A few weeks before the official opening, Empress Elisabeth had already used the route to travel to her native Bavaria . At the official opening on August 12, 1860, Emperor Franz Joseph and King Maximilian II of Bavaria were present.

nationalization

In 1884 the railway line was transferred to state ownership (see kk Staatsbahnen ). The extension of the railway line on Austrian territory, the Salzburg-Tiroler Bahn ("Giselabahn") via Zell am See to Wörgl in Tirol (KEB since 1875), was also in government hands.

Expansion, electrification

The double-track expansion was completed on August 14, 1902 and took place gradually: Linz - Wels on August 7, 1870, St. Valentin - Linz on August 22, 1874, Wels - Lambach on November 1, 1898, Lambach - Attnang-Puchheim on August 14, 1874 August 1899, Attnang-Puchheim - Salzburg on August 14, 1902.

The electrification of the line was accelerated after the end of the First World War and the disappearance of coal reserves. It began from the west, but only shortly before the beginning of the Second World War : October 3, 1938 to Steindorf, October 6, 1941 to Attnang-Puchheim, May 15, 1949 to Linz, June 28, 1951 to Amstetten. Electrification was completed on December 19, 1952 with the inauguration of the Amstetten - Vienna Westbahnhof section of the line, which was almost entirely in the Soviet occupation zone.

During the management of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , numerous expansions and extensions were made. The Hutten and Ederbauer company turnouts were built and a new marshalling yard (north of the Westbahn) was built in Wels . The construction of a second marshalling yard was also started in Wels (south of the Westbahn), but this was no longer carried out due to the end of the war. The purpose of this plan was to get both a marshalling yard with rolling direction west-east (today's Vbf) and one in rolling direction east-west (planned) in Wels. The Linz Ost marshalling yard underwent a generous expansion through the establishment of the “ Hermann-Göring-Werke ” (today voestalpine ).

At a press conference in 1983 , Austria's Transport Minister Karl Lausecker presented detailed plans for the expansion of the Western Railway. The start of construction was expected in 1987, the commissioning should take place in 1992. New building sections were to be created between Attnang-Puchheim and Salzburg, expansion sections were planned between St. Pölten and Linz and between Linz and Attnang-Puchheim. The planned top speed was 250 km / h.

The Sittenberg Tunnel was opened as the first new section in 1994. In 1995 the Lambach bypass followed with the Kalvarienberg tunnel , 1997 Breitenschützing - Schwanenstadt with the Römerberg tunnel . Three years later the sections St. Pölten - Prinzersdorf and Groß Sierning - Pöchlarn with the structures Grüntunnel Rohr , Wachberg-Tunnel  II and Melker Tunnel were released for 200 km / h. Only a few months later, in 2001, followed Prinzersdorf - Groß Sierning and St. Peter-Seitenstetten - St. Valentin (green tunnels St. Peter and Siebergtunnel). Since 2003 (opening Amstetten - St. Peter-Seitenstetten) it is possible to drive from Amstetten to St. Valentin continuously at 200 km / h. In 2004 the two nodes Wagram and Rohr followed, and in 2007 the Enns bypass (St. Valentin - Linz Kleinmünchen) was opened to traffic.

As part of the renovation of the St. Pölten Hauptbahnhof station , two iceberg arch tunnels (a single-track for the jam track, a double-track for the two main tracks) were built west of St. Pölten and opened to traffic in 2010.

On December 9, 2012, a new epoch of the Western Railway began: On this date, the new line Vienna Hadersdorf - St. Pölten Hauptbahnhof through the Wienerwaldtunnel, which was passable at 230 km / h, was opened to traffic at the same time as the opening of the New Lower Inn Valley Railway and the increase in maximum speed between St. Valentin and Linz Kleinmünchen from 200 km / h to 230 km / h. Since that date, the railjet has made the route Vienna - Salzburg in 2 hours 22 minutes, and to Innsbruck it only takes a little more than 4 hours.

At Easter 2013 the two new tracks between Ybbs on the Danube and Amstetten were put into operation. In December 2014, the four-track expansion between Ybbs on the Danube and Amstetten with a length of 16.7 kilometers was completed. This makes it possible to drive on the new building sections without crossing them. Since then, the old route has been rehabilitated. Complete commissioning with all four tracks was planned for 2015. Due to construction work, the old route between Rekawinkel and Neulengbach was partially closed from February to June 2016 and fully closed from June to September 2016.

Old West Railway (route 1)

Departure of the imperial court train from Vienna's Westbahnhof, 1895

Regional train near Neulengbach

The route begins in Vienna Westbahnhof and first crosses the Vienna Woods . If the old western line used to run through St. Pölten, today it has been replaced by the expanded New West line from the Wagram to the Rohr node. After the completion of the St. Pölten freight train bypass (GZU) "Gap closure St. Pölten - Loosdorf" from the Wagram junction to the Rohr junction, the newly built route will be assigned to GZU route 1.

After the Rohr junction, the Westbahn runs through the Alpine foothills via Pöchlarn (with the branching off of the route into the Erlauftal to Kienberg-Gaming ), Amstetten , St. Valentin (the route branches off into the Ennstal via Steyr and Selzthal to Bischofshofen ) and Enns to Linz, where the routes through the Mühlviertel to České Budějovice ( Summerauerbahn ) and the Pyhrnbahn branch off. In Linz there is also a transition to the Linz Local Railway to Eferding . After Linz, the Danube and the Western Railway separate. While the former flows to Linz from the north-west, the Westbahn now turns to the south-west in the direction of Wels.

In Wels main station, the Westbahn is divided into the lines to Salzburg main station and Passau main station (see the route below). The Almtalbahn to Grünau im Almtal also starts here . The next junction is Attnang-Puchheim , where she with that of Stainach - Irdning to Ried im Innkreis leading Salzkammergutbahn is linked. Via Straßwalchen , where the Mattigtalbahn branches off to Braunau am Inn , the route continues to Salzburg Hbf, where the Westbahn ends.

The Alte Westbahn is almost exclusively used by S-Bahn, regional and REX trains as well as freight trains, mainly vehicles of the 4024 or 1144 series with double-decker push-pull trains or Tauri are used in front of the freight trains.

New Westbahn (route 30)

Vienna - St. Pölten

Westbahn on the way to Salzburg Hbf shortly after Tullnerfeld station

The new section Vienna - St. Pölten of the Neue Westbahn is a high-speed railway line in Austria . It leads from Vienna via the Tullnerfeld to St. Pölten and is part of the TEN project no. 17 “ Magistrale für Europa ”. The section was put into operation with the timetable change on December 9, 2012. The travel time without stopping between the newly opened Vienna Central Station and St. Pölten Central Station was reduced from 41 to 28 minutes; the one between Vienna Meidling and St. Pölten on 21 minutes.

The new section of the Neue Westbahn begins in the exit area of ​​the Wien-Meidling station and runs through the Lainzer Tunnel , which leads directly to the Hadersdorf junction. Up to the existing link with the Old West Railway, the route can be traveled at 160 km / h (even with branching points ). From the Hadersdorf junction, the actual high-speed route begins with the entry into the Wienerwald tunnel. From this point on, the route can be driven at 250 km / h. The route comes to the surface after almost 13 kilometers at Chorherrn in Tullnerfeld .

The regional train station Tullnerfeld was built in this area . The reactivation of the disused Tullner Westschleife will connect the high-speed line to the Franz-Josefs-Bahn and create the conditions for attractive regional traffic. After crossing three tunnels, which were built using the cut-and- cover method for noise protection reasons, the Perschling tunnel chain follows with three further tunnels. The route then leads to the Wagram junction near St. Pölten, which was the previous starting point for the New West Railway.

Simultaneously with the construction of the new high-speed line, the train stations in Vienna and St. Pölten were also renewed. The Vienna Central Station was put into partial operation on December 9, 2012, at the same time as the line was opened, and was completed by December 2015. The St. Pölten train station was rebuilt by the end of 2011.

St. Pölten - Ybbs on the Danube

Directly after the St. Pölten main station there is a right-hand bend that can be driven at only 80 km / h, after a short straight section the 460 m long iceberg arch tunnel, which was newly built until 2010/11 and is located in a left-hand bend, in which a 160 km / h can be accelerated. At the end of the arch the LZB begins, with which 200 km / h can be driven. The line runs on three tracks (traffic jam track St. Pölten main station - Prinzersdorf south of the existing line, with its own single-track iceberg arch tunnel) to Prinzersdorf, then double-track through the Markersdorf an der Pielach stop to the Rohr junction, where the two tracks are fanned out onto four tracks. Here the old west line branches off to the northwest to the Loosdorf station, while the new west line goes around the town to the south or under the Rohr green tunnel. In the northwest of Loosdorf, the two lines approach each other within a few meters, before the new line enters Wachberg Tunnel 2 in a slight left-hand curve. Shortly after its west portal, the Melker Tunnel, which takes its name from the town around, already follows. Immediately thereafter, there is a bridge over the Melk , before the existing line bends in an arc from the west next to the new line. Now the two lines run parallel through the Pöchlarn station until the new line enters the almost five-kilometer-long Sittenberg tunnel in a slight left curve. Shortly after the west portal, the new and existing lines meet again and about 2 km later you reach Ybbs station on the Danube. Shortly after the train station in Ybbs an der Donau, the route can be driven again at 250 km / h. The four-track gap closure to Amstetten went into operation in 2016.

Ybbs on the Danube - Amstetten

This project serves as a crossing-free link for the new lines between Vienna and Linz. The line runs from Ybbs south of the existing line, crosses between Hubertendorf and Kottingburgstall through a tunnel (Burgstaller Tunnel) under the existing line and the A 1 western motorway to the north. Then the route to Amstetten runs north of the existing route. The project borders on the already completed Sarling - Ybbs project in the east and on the already completed Amstetten West project in the west.

The two new tracks including the Burgstaller Tunnel have been in operation since Easter 2013. From this point on, the existing tracks were renewed and raised to a high-performance level. In December 2014, the entire section was put into operation with four tracks.

The completion of the work in 2015 will allow driving at 250 km / h.

Amstetten - Linz Kleinmünchen

From Amstetten station, the Westbahn runs again on four tracks and long-distance traffic can again accelerate to 200 km / h with line train control (LZB) as soon as the narrow left-hand bend directly at the western station exit at 160 km / h. The old and new west railways run parallel to St. Peter-Seitenstetten before the new line cuts a narrower curve from the existing line through the St. Peter green tunnel. At St. Johann-Weistrach, the two routes meet again for a few hundred meters. After the stop, the Alte Westbahn strives in the direction of Haag, while the Neue Westbahn enters the 6.5-kilometer-long Sieberg Tunnel to the north after a right-hand curve and a straight section. The two lines meet again at the north portal and run parallel to the St. Valentin train station. This is where the “Enns bypass” begins, which can be driven at 230 km / h and with which the new line in the area of ​​the port bypasses the Enns settlement areas. (In 2005, in the course of the four-track expansion between Ennsdorf and Enns, a junction was built in the direction of Mauthausen, which enables trains from Linz to be run directly in the direction of the Donauuferbahn.) At Asten, the old and new Westbahn meet again. From the Asten-Fisching 1 junction, only 200 km / h are allowed; from here the two lines run parallel to Linz Kleinmünchen, the current terminus of the four-track western railway.

Train protection

The New Westbahn was equipped with the European train control system ETCS Level 2 in the newly built section to St.Pölten Hbf in 2012 . The so-called registration route begins at the entrance to the Lainzer tunnel, which was equipped with both ETCS and the old PZB system. From the Hadersdorf junction, the route was originally intended to be secured exclusively with ETCS Level 2; However, it has been decided to set up signals as a fallback level. In 2019 ^[obsolete] the PZB line equipment including the light signals is to be removed and blocks are to be compacted.

The St.Pölten freight train bypass, which opened in December 2017, is the first route in Austria to be equipped exclusively with ETCS Level 2; trains without an ETCS-capable locomotive must use the existing route via St.Pölten Hbf.

From Abzw St.Pölten 1 to Linz Kleinmünchen and from Linz Hbf to Attnang-Puchheim, the line train control enables travel at up to 250 km / h.

Important connecting routes

Inner Austrian continuation to western Austria

The Westbahn continues in the main lines towards Rosenheim ("Deutsches Eck" to Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof or Munich Hauptbahnhof) and the Salzburg-Tiroler-Bahn (or Giselabahn) via Zell am See and Wörgl Hauptbahnhof , where the two meet Meet the branches via Rosenheim and Zell am See again, the Kufstein – Innsbruck (Unterinntalbahn) railway to Innsbruck, and then the Arlbergbahn (Innsbruck - Bludenz) to Vorarlberg, and the Lindau – Bludenz railway there .

Deutsches Eck

Due to the steep and bendy route of the Salzburg-Tiroler Bahn from Salzburg via Bischofshofen, Zell am See and Wörgl to Innsbruck, corridor trains were carried out early on over the flatter route via Freilassing in Bavaria and Rosenheim, from there through the Inn Valley via Kufstein to Innsbruck. However, it was necessary to change the direction of travel in Rosenheim (referred to as falling ). Therefore, the single-track Rosenheim loop was built in 1982 at the expense of ÖBB , on which corridor trains can continue in the same direction without touching Rosenheim station .

Day express trains with start or destination Inntal / Western Austria are mainly led via the Rosenheim loop, as the connection is around 90 minutes shorter, and attractive travel times can be offered. Important freight trains also take the route via the " Deutsche Eck ", such as the express postal trains that ran here until the 1990s . Almost all freight trains are currently running in an east-west direction over the Rosenheim loop, including the 120 km / h fast BEX direct freight trains.

St. Valentin - Gaisbach-Wartberg route

Train with class 206 locomotive near the city ​​of Haag , around 1900

In 1871, starting from St. Valentin in Lower Austria, the connecting line to Budweis was rebuilt by the KEB as a replacement for the horse-drawn railway . The connection from Linz to Gaisbach-Wartberg was not completed until a year later. Due to the political changes after the First and Second World War , the route completely lost its importance. In 1956 this was stopped after a car accident - a truck damaged the only road bridge near Ried in der Riedmark . Contemporary witnesses report that parts of the track remained intact until the late 1960s.

Rail replacement services were still offered until the 1960s. In 2006, the route was still recognizable in places through a few cuts and embankments in the landscape. In most areas, according to the word, grass has actually grown over the former route and the former course can only be guessed at. The remaining stretch from St. Valentin to Mauthausen is now - historically incorrect - part of the Danube Bank Railway . The section between Gaisbach-Wartberg ( Wartberg ob der Aist ) and Summerau is now assigned to the Linz -Summerau route known as the Summerauerbahn .

Importance and expansion

Vienna Westbahnhof in October 2005

Along with the southern line, the Westbahn is the main artery of Austrian rail traffic. The EU enlargement made them even more important. Not only does a large part of the inner-Austrian rail traffic take place on the Westbahn route, the important long-distance connections from Vienna , including to Hamburg , Dortmund , Cologne , Frankfurt am Main , Munich and Zurich, are also run on the Westbahn.

The Westbahn is an important section of the TEN line Paris - Bratislava / Budapest . In the long term, there should be direct connections with modern high-speed multiple units in this relation.

Expansion by 2010

To increase capacity, it has been upgraded to a high-speed line since 1990 . On the one hand, the existing double-track line is being upgraded to a high-performance level, and on the other hand, a new double-track line running close to the existing line between St. Pölten and Linz will be upgraded to four tracks. The new construction sections are designed for speeds of up to 250 km / h due to numerous new tunnels and route straightening. The ICE T , which has been running from Vienna to Frankfurt, Munich and Bregenz in Austria since the timetable change in 2006 , and the Railjet trains that have been running between Budapest, Vienna, Munich and Zurich since the timetable change in December 2008, could use this expansion status.

Expansion by 2018

Before the timetable change on December 9, 2012, the journey from Vienna to Innsbruck took four and a half hours; With the timetable change, the journey time was reduced to four hours and 15 minutes. Once the expansion measures have been completed, the travel time will be roughly a “1-2-4 scheme”, that is, the travel time from Vienna to Linz will only be one hour, to Salzburg two hours and to Munich or Innsbruck four hours.

With the timetable change on December 9, 2012, the new route Vienna - St. Pölten (travel time reduction 16 minutes) was opened. This section is driven at 230 km / h. The arched and mountain railway-like section through the Vienna Woods was supplemented by a new line through the Tullnerfeld ( Vienna Woods tunnel and Perschling tunnel chain ), which meets the route of the Old West Railway at St. Pölten .

In the course of the expansion, the Lambach - Breitenschützing section was brought to a high performance level and has been able to travel at speeds of up to 230 km / h since October 2012, the old route was recultivated by July 2013.

Since the Vienna Westbahnhof is a terminus station , long-distance trains with routes beyond Vienna and a train destination station in neighboring countries to the east (e.g. Budapest ) had to change the direction of travel in the Westbahnhof. Since the end of 2015, all long-distance trains, including all railjet connections, have not been routed from the Hadersdorf junction via Hütteldorf to the Westbahnhof as before, but through the Lainzer Tunnel via the Wien Meidling station to the newly built main station . This does not apply to trains operated by the private rail operator WESTbahn , which continue to only run between Vienna Westbahnhof and Salzburg Hauptbahnhof. From the end of 2017 to the end of 2019, the WESTbahn offered additional trains that alternated with the trains to Vienna Westbahnhof from the Hadersdorf junction via the Lainzer Tunnel in Vienna Meidling on the Vienna S-Bahn main line and were run to Vienna Praterstern .

Freight train bypass St. Pölten

In 2015 the four-track section Ybbs on the Danube - Amstetten was put into operation for a maximum of 250 km / h.

In 2016, the reconstruction of the east end of the Amstetten station was completed and, in addition to the connection of the four western railway tracks to the platforms, the necessary sufficient track lengths for the formation of freight trains were created and the switch configurations in the east of the station were changed.

In 2017, the St. Pölten freight train bypass (Wagram junction - Rohr junction) , which can be driven at a maximum of 120 km / h, was opened to traffic.

The east end of Linz Central Station was expanded to ten tracks by April 2018, thus establishing the connection for the four-track western line.

outlook

The Linz Kleinmünchen - Osteinfahrt Linz Hauptbahnhof section also includes the Linz marshalling yard and will only be accessible on two tracks for a longer period of time. In 2019, the expansion for a four-track western railway began at the western end of Linz's main train station. Then the section Linz Kleinmünchen - Linz Hauptbahnhof, which is currently under development, is to be structurally implemented.

Until 2026, the Westbahn will have four tracks continuously from Vienna to Wels, but not on a four-track route, but rather consist of two double-track lines that are linked at several operationally sensible points.

Another four-track expansion is planned between Straßwalchen and Salzburg (27 kilometers). The expansion is necessary because this section is also used by trains on the S2 line of the Salzburg S-Bahn . For this purpose, a new route will be laid between Köstendorf and Salzburg, which will lead around Seekirchen . This line is to be built from 2026.

Records

• On August 18, 2004, the ICE S set a new speed record for rail vehicles in Austria at 305 km / h in the section between Ybbs and Prinzersdorf near Pöchlarn (route km 91).
• On July 12, 2008, a four-part railjet set set a new speed record for an Austrian train in Austria at 275 km / h between St. Valentin and Amstetten.
• As part of the approval of the Neue Westbahn, trips with the ICE S were carried out at 330 km / h, and a new Austrian speed record was set with 336.4 km / h.
• Between kilometers 216.0 and 219.0 as well as between 221.1 and 223.2, all locomotives of the series 1016, 1116 and 1216 carried out the official acceptance run required for approval for 230 km / h at 253 km / h. Between the two sections, at Gunskirchen station, only 240 km / h are allowed.

See also

• List of railway lines in Austria

literature

• Alfred Horn: ÖBB Handbook 1993. Vienna, 1993.
• Elmar Oberegger: On the history of the “Empress Elisabeth Railway” (Budweis / Passau / Simbach am Inn / Wörgl-Amstetten-St. Pölten-Vienna Westbahnhof) (publications by the information office for Austrian railway history 8). Sattledt, 2007.
• Elmar Oberegger: On the prehistory of the Western Railway from Vienna to Salzburg. 1815–1856 (publications of the information office for Austrian railway history 12). Sattledt, 2008.
• Österreichischer Lloyd (Ed.): Vienna to Munich. Travel guide for all stations of the Kaiserin Elisabeth-Westbahn and the k. bair. State railway and Danube journey from Passau to Vienna . Literary and artistic department of the Austrian Lloyd, Trieste 1861 ( Lloyd's illustrated travel library , Volume VII.2).
• Description of the iron bridges on the Imperial and Royal Kaiserin Elisabethbahn on the route from Vienna to Salzburg. In:  Allgemeine Bauzeitung , year 1861, pp. 166–177 (online at ANNO ). .
• Michael Alexander Populorum: 150 Years of the Railway in Salzburg 1860–2010. A small obituary for the anniversary of the “Railway Development ” of the State of Salzburg in August 2010. Series of publications by the Documentation Center for European Railway Research (DEEF), Volume 1, 2010. Mercurius Verlag Grödig / Salzburg. Railway Research Austria.

Web links

Commons : Westbahn (Austria)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Project page: four-track expansion Linz – Wels of the ÖBB
• Project page four-track expansion Köstendorf - Salzburg of the ÖBB
• Current timetable (Vienna Airport (VIE) –Linz) in the ÖBB timetable
• Current timetable (Linz – Salzburg) in the ÖBB timetable
• Current timetable (Wien Westbf – St. Pölten) of the ÖBB
• Current timetable (long-distance / fast local traffic Vienna Airport (VIE) –St. Pölten) in the ÖBB timetable

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ederbauer (stop) . In: Salzburger Nachrichten : Salzburgwiki .
2. ↑ Railway Archives . (PDF) Upper Austrian Provincial Archives Linz, 2003, accessed on August 29, 2017 .  
3. ↑ ^{a b} Institute for Regional Studies of Upper Austria (Ed.): Upper Austrian Heimatblätter . 1960 ( online (PDF) in the forum OoeGeschichte.at [accessed on August 29, 2017] Volume 14, Issue 1, January – March).
4. ↑ In triumph over the line of demarcation. Maiden voyage on the electrified Amstetten – Linz line . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna June 29, 1951, p.  3 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
5. ↑ Good prospects for the Semmering base tunnel . In: ÖBB (Ed.): The Federal Railroad . August 1983, p.  541 .
6. ↑ Walter Fahrnberger: Track expansion is complete. In: NÖN . December 11, 2014, accessed August 29, 2017 .  
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Extension of the Ybbs – Amstetten line. ÖBB Infrastruktur Bau, accessed on February 18, 2016 .  
8. ↑ Rail replacement service from Rekawinkel Neulengbach. (PDF) Retrieved May 2, 2016 .  
9. ↑ New line Vienna - St. Pölten. (PDF; 2.58 MB) ÖBB Infrastruktur Bau, February 2009, accessed on August 29, 2017 (brochure, 12 pages).  
10. ^ Conversion of the St. Pölten main station. (PDF; 2.58 MB) ÖBB Infrastruktur Bau, September 2010, accessed on August 29, 2017 (project brochure, 8 pages).  
11. ^ Roman DOWN, Gerhard Fritze: The EU test of the GSM-R network of the ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG according to the TSI ZZS . In: signal + wire . tape 108 , no. 6 , 2015, ISSN  0037-4997 , p. 40-47 .
12. ↑ Line improvement Lambach – Breitenschuetzing. ÖBB Infrastruktur Bau, accessed on February 18, 2016 .  
13. ↑ St. Pölten: Freight train bypass opened - noe.ORF.at. Retrieved December 16, 2017 . 
14. ↑ Linz main train station east side - infrastructure.oebb.at. Retrieved October 6, 2018 . 
15. ^ ÖBB infrastructure - expansion of Linz – Wels. Retrieved October 6, 2018 . 
16. ^ ÖBB infrastructure - expansion Köstendorf - Salzburg. Retrieved October 6, 2018 . 
17. ^ New calculation of time on the western route: Vienna - St. Pölten in 25 minutes. ÖBB, accessed on September 17, 2012 .  
18. ↑ ? In: Rail transport currently . Edition 10/2000. Pospischil, 2000, p.  3 .