Austria's Railway History: Building Tracks And Connections

The history of railways in Austria goes back to at least 1810, when a line at Ore Mountain in Styria was recorded. The first public railway in the country was a 129 km horse-drawn line from Budweis to Linz, which opened in 1832 and was the first in continental Europe. The first steam-hauled line, meanwhile, opened in 1837 between Floridsdorf and Deutsch Wagram. The Austrian Empire began expanding its railway network in 1841, with the first segment connecting Vienna and Győr. The railways were heavily influenced by German practices, and after the First World War, the network took on its present shape. Today, the national railway company of Austria is the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB).

The first public railway in Austria was a horse-drawn line from Budweis to Linz, built in 1832

The first public railway in Austria was a horse-drawn line connecting Budweis (now České Budějovice in the Czech Republic) to Linz, built in 1832. The railway was 128.8 kilometres (80 miles) long and was the second interurban railway in continental Europe, after the French Saint-Étienne to Andrézieux Railway, which opened in 1827. The Austrian railway was built to an unusual gauge of 1106mm.

The horse-drawn line from Budweis to Linz was extended to Gmunden in 1836, nearly doubling its length. A small part of the original line has been restored and operates as a working museum.

The first railway in Austria was a 22-kilometre (14-mile) horse-drawn line built at the Eisenerz mine in Styria in 1810 for the transport of iron stones. However, the first line that was incorporated into the modern Austrian railway network was a steam-hauled, standard-gauge (1435mm) line that opened in 1837 between Floridsdorf (near Vienna) and Deutsch Wagram, a distance of 13km.

Matthias Schönerer, one of the Austrian Empire's most renowned railway engineers, was responsible for building the first segment of the railway connecting the capital city of Vienna with the Hungarian city of Győr in 1841. This initial section was constructed between the town of Baden, 16 miles south of Vienna, and the Austrian city of Wiener Neustadt. Schönerer also played a major role in building the Empress Elisabeth Railway between Vienna and Linz and the Emperor Franz Joseph Railway between Vienna and the present-day Czech city of Cheb.

The first steam-hauled line opened in 1837 between Floridsdorf and Deutsch Wagram

The first steam-powered railway in Austria opened in 1837 between Floridsdorf and Deutsch Wagram. This inaugural stretch of track was financed by banker Salomon Mayer von Rothschild and designed by Franz Xaver Riepl. The railway was known as the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (or Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn in German).

The line was the second solely steam-powered railway on the continent, following the inauguration of the Belgian Brussels–Mechelen railway line in 1835. The first stretch of the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway was followed by an extension to Vienna in 1838, and then a track through Břeclav to Brno in 1839.

The railway was intended to connect Vienna with the salt mines in Bochnia near Kraków. However, the line never directly reached Kraków. The first rail connection to Kraków was provided by the Prussian Wilhelmsbahn and Oberschlesische Eisenbahn (Upper Silesian Railway).

The oldest continually working steam engine in the world is also in Austria: the GKB 671, built in 1860, has never been taken out of service and is still used for special excursions.

The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) is the national railway company of Austria

First Period (1923-1938)

The Austrian Federal Railways was first formed in 1923, using the Bundesbahn Österreich name, as a successor to the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways (kkStB). This company took over the assets of the Austrian rump of the kkStB, which remained in state control under the name Deutschösterreichische Staatsbahnen (DÖStB) after the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I. The DÖStB was renamed the Österreichische Staatsbahnen (ÖStB) in 1919. The Bundesbahn Österreich also took over the assets of the Südbahn (Austrian Southern Railway), together with other minor railways.

Second Period (1947-present)

In 1938, Austria was annexed into the Third Reich, and the Bundesbahn Österreich was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. During World War II, about 41% of the Austrian railway network was destroyed. In 1947, the company was reformed using the slightly different name Österreichische Bundesbahnen and the abbreviation ÖBB. Their infrastructure was rebuilt and electrification was accelerated. Since then, the ÖBB has undergone several restructurings and rebrandings, including the introduction of its current logo in 1998.

Current Operations

As of 2009, the state-owned Austrian network's infrastructure is managed by ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, which was formed from former infrastructure-related units including Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH. It now manages 9,740 km of track, 788 signal boxes, 247 tunnels, 6,207 bridges, and eight hydro-electric power (hep) stations for the 16.7 Hz electrification system, and two hep stations for 50 Hz power generation. In 2013, ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG carried 469 million passengers, of which 235 million were bus passengers. The ÖBB has 4,859 km of track, 1,128 train stations, 2,799 passenger vehicles, and 26,518 freight wagons. ÖBB's bus services travel 52,500,000 km per year.

The first segment of the railway connecting Vienna and Győr was constructed by Matthias Schönerer

The Austrian Empire expanded its railway network in the 19th century, with the first segment of the railway connecting Vienna and Győr being constructed by Matthias Schönerer. Born in Vienna in 1807, Schönerer was an Austrian engineer and one of the country's most important railway pioneers. He had already established a reputation as one of the Austrian Empire's most renowned railway engineers before taking on the Vienna-Győr project.

The Vienna-Győr railway was part of the Austrian Empire's efforts to expand its railway network in response to increasing industrialization and trade within Europe. The line formed part of the Austrian Southern Railway, which provided regular services between Vienna and the empire's primary port city of Trieste. The construction of this railway was a significant undertaking, with Schönerer facing financial and technical difficulties. However, he successfully completed the project, including the construction of the first railway tunnel in Austria, located in the town of Gumpoldskirchen.

Schönerer's earlier construction projects included the Budweis-Linz-Gmunden wagonway, a horse-drawn line considered the first railway built in continental Europe. He also played a pivotal role in building the Empress Elisabeth Railway between Vienna and Linz and the Emperor Franz Joseph Railway between Vienna and Cheb (in the present-day Czech Republic). These projects contributed to the expansion of Austria's railway network and solidified Schönerer's legacy as a pioneer in railway engineering.

The completion of the first segment of the Vienna-Győr railway marked a significant milestone in the development of Austria's transportation infrastructure. It connected the capital city of Vienna with the crucial Hungarian city of Győr, which served as the halfway point between Vienna and Budapest. This railway line facilitated trade, travel, and industrialization within the Austrian Empire and beyond. Matthias Schönerer's expertise and dedication as a railway engineer left a lasting impact on the country's railway system, and he is remembered as one of the key figures in the history of Austrian railways.

The Imperial-Royal State Railways was the state railway organisation in the Austrian part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

The Imperial-Royal State Railways, or k.k. Staatsbahnen, was the state railway organisation in the Austrian part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The Austrian railway system was nationalised in 1884, with the Imperial-Royal State Railways taking control of the country's railways. This move brought all railway operations under a single authority, and the organisation oversaw the construction and operation of railways within the Austrian Empire.

The establishment of the Imperial-Royal State Railways was a significant development in the history of railways in Austria. It marked a period of expansion and modernisation of the country's railway network.

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