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Southern Railway (Austria)
Overview
Native name	Südbahn (Österreich)
Status	Operational
Owner	Austrian Federal Railways
Line number	105 01
Locale	Vienna Lower Austria Styria
Termini	Wien Hauptbahnhof Border of Austria–Slovenia
Stations	82
Service
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight rail Intercity rail, Regional rail, Commuter rail
Route number	500 (Wien Hbf – Mürzzuschlag) 501 (Wien Hbf – Graz) 502 (Graz – Maribor/Bad Radkersdburg) 510 (Wien Hbf – Payerbach-Reichenau) 524 (Wien Meidling – Deutschkreutz) 600 (Wien Hbf – Tarvisio) 900 (Wien S-Bahn)
Operator(s)	Austrian Federal Railways
History
Opened	Stages between 1841–1848
Technical
Line length	259.7 km (161.4 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track • Wien Hbf – Werndorf, Lebring – Leibnitz Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	171 m
Electrification	15 kV 16.7 Hz AC
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph)
Maximum incline	2.81 %
Route map Legend km elev (M) or length (m) in metres Eastern Railway & Laa Eastern Railway S-Bahn trunk line to Wien Praterstern 0.000 Wien Hauptbahnhof 208 M right/left running change Wien Matzleinsdorfer Platz 209 M 2.442 Wien Matzleinsdorf 3.437 Wien Meidling 210 M Pottendorf Line to Wiener Neustadt Lokalbahn Vienna–Baden Vienna Connecting Railway (new route) to Wien Penzing Danube Lands Railway New Western Railway to St. Pölten via Lainz Tunnel 4.475 Wien Matzleinsdorf- Wienerbergbrücke Vienna Connecting Railway ( old route ) 5.220 Wien Hetzendorf 214 M 7.756 Wien Liesing Nord 8.240 Wien Atzgersdorf 221 M 8.607 Wien Liesing Frachtenbahnhof 9.611 Wien Liesing 225 M Liesing industrial railway Kaltenleutgeben Railway to Kaltenleutgeben Vienna Lower Austria state border 10.998 Perchtoldsdorf 12.946 Brunn-Maria Enzersdorf 219 M 15.209 Mödling 213 M Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram Laxenburg Railway to Laxenburg 19.304 Guntramsdorf-Thallern 215 M 19.903 Mödling 2 crossover 20.832 Gumpoldskirchen 218 M 22.134 Gumpoldskirchen Tunnel (Busserltunnel) 165 m 24.140 Pfaffstätten Baden freight yard 238 M 26.004 Baden bei Wien 241 M Lokalbahn Vienna Opera–Baden 26.737 Baden-Frachtenbahnhof 1 crossover 30.340 Bad Vöslau 250 M 32.434 Kottingbrunn 253 M 33.929 Leobersdorf 259 M Leobersdorf Railway to Weißenbach-Neuhaus Aspang Railway to Vienna central marshalling yard   Ebenfurth–Wittmannsdorf local railway Schneeberg Railway 38.382 Sollenau 274 M Felixdorf–Tattendorf local railway to Blumau-Neurißhof 39.682 Felixdorf 277 M Felixdorf–Feuerwerksanstalt military railway 42.612 Theresienfeld 282 M 43.118 Felixdorf 2 crossover 45.540 Wiener Neustadt Nord 275 M Pottendorf Line to Wien Meidling 47.000 Wiener Neustadt Hbf-track group 200 48.118 Wiener Neustadt Schneeberg │ Wiener Neustadt Hauptbahnhof 268 M Schneeberg Railway to Puchberg am Schneeberg Wiener Neustadt yard exit tracks Wiener Neustadt–Sopron railway Aspang Railway to Aspang-Markt 50.700 Wiener Neustadt Hbf-track group 700 51.367 Wiener Neustadt yard entrance tracks A 2 Süd Autobahn 56.952 Wiener Neustadt 2 crossover St. Egyden 326 M Willendorf–Neunkirchen railway 62.574 Neunkirchen N.Ö. 369 M 64.600 Rohrbach bei Ternitz 67.051 Ternitz 393 M 69.892 Pottschach 398 M 73.149 GIG Karasek siding 74.902 Gloggnitz 439 M Semmering Base Tunnel (under construction) 77.694 Schlöglmühl 457 M 77.831 substation siding 81.961 Payerbach-Reichenau 494 M 84.798 Küb 543 M 88.222 Eichberg 608 M 92.284 Klamm-Schottwien 699 M 97.574 Breitenstein 794 M 102.098 Wolfsbergkogel 883 M 103.412 Semmering 894 M old and new Semmering Tunnels 1,434 m 1,512 m Lower Austria Styria state border 898 M Feistritzwald Railway 107.685 Steinhaus 836 M 110.486 Spital am Semmering 789 M Semmering Base Tunnel (under construction) 116.100 Mürzzuschlag freight yard 116.727 Mürzzuschlag 681 M Mürzzuschlag–Neuberg railway to Neuberg Ort 118.373 Böhler siding 120.613 Hönigsberg 658 M 123.618 Langenwang halt & loading place 124.000 Mürzzuschlag 2 crossover 125.045 125.100 chainage change (−55 m) 128.462 Krieglach 612 M 132.709 Mitterdorf-Veitsch 592 M 135.070 Wartberg im Mürztal 582 M 140.098 Kindberg 566 M 144.216 Allerheiligen-Mürzhofen 548 M 146.694 Marein-St. Lorenzen 532 M 148.503 siding 150.582 Kapfenberg Fachhochschule 518 M 150.583 Böhler siding 153.645 Kapfenberg 509 M Thörlerbahn to Au-Seewiesen 156.629 Bruck an der Mur Frachtenbahnhof 493 M 157.858 Bruck an der Mur 489 M Bruck an der Mur–Leoben railway to Leoben 159.740 Bruck an der Mur-Übelstein 163.392 Stausee 167.581 Pernegg 474 M Mixnitz–Sankt Erhard railway 171.011 Mixnitz-Bärenschützklamm 466 M 179.231 Bauernfeind (Mondi) paper factory siding 183.022 Frohnleiten 427 M track laying 188.022 Badl-Semriach Kugelstein tunnel 400 m Badlwand gallery 190.814 Peggau-Deutschfeistritz 402 M Peggau–Übelbach railway to Übelbach 193.452 A 9 approach road Pyhrn Autobahn 194.615 Stübing 195.428 195.600 chainage change (−172 m) 200.710 Gratwein-Gratkorn 381 M 200.024 200.200 chainage change (−176 m) 202.755 Judendorf-Straßengel 377 M 203.532 Neuber siding 207.191 Gösting 209.485 Graz railway yard 368 M 210.700 Graz freight yard 368 M 211.355 Graz 364 M 211.549 Köflach Railway to Köflach & Wies-Eibiswald Marienhütte siding 212.937 Graz Hart loading point Styrian Eastern Railway to Szentgotthárd 213.070 Graz Don Bosco 213.323 Koralm Railway to Klagenfurt ( under construction ) 216.158 Graz Puntigam 347 M 218.405 Feldkirchen-Seiersberg 339 M A 2 220.123 Graz Airport-Feldkirchen 332 M 220.654 Abtissendorf 331 M 224.203 Kalsdorf 326 M 225.000 Kalsdorf-Süd Kalsdorf Terminal & Graz Süd CCT 229.525 Werndorf 301 M to Koralm Railway 230.715 230.684 chainage change (+31 m) 231.670 Steweag-Steg siding 234.962 Wildon 298 M 238.442 Lebring-Sankt Margarethen 291 M 240.750 Gralla 288 M 244.335 Kaindorf an der Sulm 281 M 245.177 Wildon 3 crossover Sulm Valley Railway to Pölfing-Brunn 246.756 Leibnitz 275 M 249.454 Wagna 251.750 Retznei 271 M 253.948 Ehrenhausen 260 M Radkersburg Railway to Bad Radkersburg 257.915 Spielfeld-Straß 263 M 260.127 Austria Slovenia national border Spielfeld-Straß–Trieste railway to Maribor–Ljubljana–Trieste km elev (M) or length (m) in metres Source: Austrian railway atlas This diagram: view talk edit

The Southern Railway (German: Südbahn) is a railway in Austria that runs from Vienna to Graz and the border with Slovenia at Spielfeld via Semmering and Bruck an der Mur. Along with the Spielfeld-Straß–Trieste railway (lying largely in Slovenia), it forms part of the Austrian Southern Railway that connected Vienna with Trieste, the main seaport of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, via Ljubljana. A main obstacle in its construction was getting over the Semmering Pass over the Northern Limestone Alps. The twin-track, electrified section that runs through the current territory of Austria is owned and operated by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and is one of the major lines in the country.

History

• 1829: Austrian railway pioneer Franz Xaver Riepl proposed a railway connection from Vienna to the Adriatic Sea, bypassing the Eastern Alps and running via Bruck an der Leitha, Magyaróvár and Szombathely (through the west edge of Hungary, avoiding the Alps), and then Maribor and Ljubljana to Trieste. His plans were adopted by entrepreneur Georgios Sinas. At the same time plans for a direct connection through the Alps were developed and promoted by Archduke John of Austria to open up the Styrian lands beyond Semmering Pass.
• 1836: Sinas had engineer Matthias von Schönerer build the first stretch of line from Vienna to Győr (Raab), Hungary with a branch-off to Bratislava.

• 1838: Sinas established the private Wien-Raaber Eisenbahn (WRB) company with 12.5 million florins of share capital.
• 1839: Departing from the original plans of a connection via Hungary, construction works started on the initial section which ran southwards between Baden, Lower Austria and Wiener Neustadt. Schönerer had travelled to the US, where he bought a used steam locomotive named Philadelphia, built by the Norris Locomotive Works in 1837.
• 16 May 1841. This section opened. Soon after, the railway was extended to Mödling and Neunkirchen.
• 1841: Ghega started to survey the terrain of the Semmering Pass.
• 5 May 1842: The line from Wien Südbahnhof (Southern Station) was completed to Gloggnitz at the northern foot of the Semmering Pass. Most goods traffic ran on the parallel Wiener Neustadt Canal (also leased by Sinas), but passenger figures continuously increased.
• 1844: Sinas had the construction of the railway to Hungary (the present-day Eastern Railway) resumed.
• 21 October 1844: South of the Semmering Pass, the line from Graz northward to Mürzzuschlag (decided on by the Austrian government) (led by engineer Carl Ritter von Ghega) opened.
• 2 June 1846: The southern continuation to Celje was inaugurated.
• March 1848: The Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire started.
• 1849: Extended to Ljubljana. Passengers still had to use the stagecoach across the Semmering Pass
• 1853: The k.k. Südliche Staatsbahn nationalised the Vienna–Gloggnitz line.
• 1848 to 1854: The section over the Semmering Pass was built.
• 17 July 1854: The direct railway connection from Vienna to Ljubljana was inaugurated.
• 1854 to 1857: The final section across the Karst Plateau was built.
• 12 July 1857: The first through train from Vienna to Trieste ran.
• 23 May 1858: The railway was sold to the newly established Austrian Southern Railway stock company.
• 1 June 1859: The last section of the North Italy extension was finished near Magenta, Lombardy.
• 4 June 1859: The Austrian Army was defeated at the Battle of Magenta.
• 1859: In the Second Italian War of Independence Austria lost Lombardy and with it the Lombardy section of the Southern Railway.
• 1860: The connection to Milan was opened.
• 1866: The Peace of Prague ended the Third Italian War of Independence. Austria lost Venetia and with it the Venetia section of the Southern Railway.

• 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain. Dissolution of Austria-Hungary after World War I. Austria lost all the Southern Railway south of the station at Spielfeld, Styria, which became a border station to Šentilj in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929, present-day Slovenia).
• 1923: The Austrian Federal Railways took over.
• 1945 and after: During the Cold War trade between Vienna and Trieste was mainly run through Tarvisio.
• 1963: By now the tracks from Vienna through Tarvisio to Trieste had been electrified.
• 1966: By now the tracks from Vienna to Graz and Yugoslavia had been electrified.
• 2007: Border controls were abolished with Slovenia's accession to the Schengen Area.
• 12 September 2007: A very high value collectors' coin (the Austrian Southern Railways Vienna-Triest commemorative coin) was minted: its obverse shows the locomotive "Steinbrück" with one of the typical viaducts of the Semmering Railway in the background. The engine “Steinbrück” can be seen today in the Technical Museum in Vienna. It is the oldest existing locomotive built in Austria; it was built in 1848 for the Southern Railway.

Upgrading

The railway is currently being upgraded with the Semmering Base Tunnel scheduled to be opened in 2030 as well as the new Koralm Railway branch-off to Klagenfurt, Carinthia scheduled to fully open in 2025, in total cutting travel time between Graz and Klagenfurt to 45 minutes from 3 hours and travel time between Vienna and Klagenfurt down to 2 hours and 40 minutes. The section Meidling-Mödling is being upgraded to quadruple-track railway to facilitate more trains.

The section from Graz to the Slovenian border, which had been downgraded to a single track railway in the 1950s, is currently again enlarged to double track.

Train service

There are ÖBB Railjet high-speed trains operating between Vienna and Graz.

Within the Vienna metropolitan region, the sections between new Vienna Central Station, Wien Meidling, Mödling, Leobersdorf and Wiener Neustadt Hauptbahnhof are part of the suburban Vienna S-Bahn railway network.

Notes

1. formerly Guntramsdorf an der Südbahn
2. Operating from 1916 until about 1918, dismantled in 1923
3. station until June 2012
4. closed 15 October 1945
5. former station
6. closed 28 May 1967
7. closed 21 March 1966
8. closed 30 May 1965
9. closed 1996
10. closed 1945

References

1. Friedrich, Paul; Slezak, Josef Otto (1990). Kanal, Nostalgie, Eisenbahn (in German). Vienna: Verlag Slezak. pp. 134, 136–137, 139. ISBN 3-85416-153-0., which refers to: Witz, Johann (1974). "Zwischen Wöllersdorf und Blumau. Die Militärschleppbahnen auf dem Steinfeld". Eisenbahn (in German) (12): 181–184. ISSN 0013-2756. and Witz, Johann (1975). "Zwischen Wöllersdorf und Blumau. Die Militärschleppbahnen auf dem Steinfeld". Eisenbahn (in German) (1–2): 4–6. ISSN 0013-2756. (section: Strecke Wöllersdorf↔Mittel)
2. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland [Austrian railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2010. pp. 18–24, 26–31, 98, 99, 106. ISBN 978-3-89494-138-3.
3. "Südstrecke Wien–Villach". ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-20.

External links

• Media related to Südbahn (Austria) at Wikimedia Commons
• Wien-Südbahnhof: Photogallery and documentation about the Vienna Southern Railway Station (Wien-Südbahnhof) by Martin Frey and Philipp Graf
• Documents and clippings about Southern Railway in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

• Railway lines in Austria
• Lower Austria
• Styria
• Baden District, Austria
• Bruck-Mürzzuschlag District
• Murtal District
• Mödling District
• Neunkirchen District, Austria
• Wiener Neustadt-Land District