Arlberg Railway
Encyclopedia
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n cities Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
and Bludenz
Bludenz
Bludenz is a town in the state of Vorarlberg in Austria. The town, surrounded by mountains, lies at the meeting point of five different valleys: The Klostertal, The Montafon, The Walgau, The Brandnertal, The Groß Walsertal....
, is Austria's only east-west mountain railway. The 135.7 km line is referred as Europe's most difficult mountain railway since it is threatened by avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
s, mudslides, rockfall
Rockfall
Rockfall or rock-fall refers to quantities of rock falling freely from a cliff face. A rockfall is a fragment of rock detached by sliding, toppling, or falling, that falls along a vertical or sub-vertical cliff, proceeds down slope by bouncing and flying along ballistic trajectories or by rolling...
s or floods. It is operated by the ÖBB
ÖBB
The Austrian Federal Railways is the national railway system of Austria, and the administrators of Liechtenstein's railways...
(Austrian Federal Railways) and frequented by international trains as well as by the Orient Express
Orient Express
The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
.
History and construction
By 1842 a railway over the ArlbergArlberg
Arlberg is a mountain range or massif between Vorarlberg and Tyrol in Austria.The highest peak is the "Valluga" at . The name Arlberg derives from the tradition of the "Arlenburg," who are said to have once established themselves on the Tyrolean side of the Arlberg passes . Another story derives...
Pass was under discussion, as the British sought a rail connection for traffic from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Two years later, in 1847, Carl Ganahl - a textile industrialist from Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
- decided to locally and privately support the construction, though at that time there were still too many technical reservations. On the other hand, the opening of the Semmering Railway
Semmering Railway
The Semmering railway, Austria, which starts at Gloggnitz and leads over the Semmering to Mürzzuschlag was the first mountain railway in Europe built with a standard gauge track. It is commonly referred to as the world's first true mountain railway, given the very difficult terrain and the...
in 1854 showed that a mountain railway over the Arlberg was possible.
Construction for the Arlberg railway started in 1880 and proceeded at a faster pace than planned. Completion was originally not expected until the fall of 1885, but already by May 29, 1883 the valley route from Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
to Landeck
Landeck
Landeck is a city in Tyrol, Austria with approximately 7,633 inhabitants. It is located at an elevation of about 820 m in the west of Tyrol, on the rivers Sanna and Inn...
in Tyrol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
was put into service. On September 21, 1884 the entire length was completed, including then single-track, 10.25 km (6.4 mi) long Arlbergtunnel
Arlbergtunnel (railway)
The Arlberg Railway Tunnel with a length of is the central part of the Arlberg railway in western Austria between the provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg. The tunnel runs through the Arlberg massif at the northeastern end of the Rhaetian Alps....
, construction of which had claimed 92 lives.
Development of the operation
With the opening of the Arlberg traffic, a completely new connection between Lake ConstanceLake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
and the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
was created. Traffic increased so rapidly that already by July 15, 1885 a second track through the tunnel was opened as it had been planned since the beginning of the project. The most renowned train of the Arlberg route was the Orient Express
Orient Express
The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, which had only first-class compartments and parlors.
From the start of the Arlberg railway traffic, the use of steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s led to serious problems: passengers and crews were exposed to the unhealthy effects of sulfurous acid
Sulfurous acid
Sulfurous acid is the chemical compound with the formula H2SO3. There is no evidence that sulfurous acid exists in solution, but the molecule has been detected in the gas phase...
, which condensed in the tunnel from the steam. The grades of up to 3.1% on the west ramp and 2.6% on the east ramp caused further troubles for the locomotives. Finally, on November 20, 1924, this problem was eliminated with the electrification
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
of the tunnel, followed by the ramp sections in 1925. The electrification of the railway was proceeded with foresight on the 15 kV
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
, 16 2/3 Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
system. From then on, many heavy trains could be pulled over the route once the tracks and civil engineering structures had been upgraded for the increased axle weights, including the Trisanna bridge at Wiesberg Castle in 1964.
Today, traffic through the tunnel has increased considerably compared to the beginnings, despite competition from road transport. This has made it necessary to widen the approach ramps to double track. Fast EuroCity
EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated EC, denotes an international train service within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains with the "IC" label, "EC" trains are international trains that meet certain criteria. The EuroCity label replaces the older Trans Europ Express name for...
trains from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
run over the Arlberg route. On the occasion of the World Ski Championships in 2001, the train station of St. Anton on the eastern side of the Arlberg Tunnel was completely reconstructed and the tunnel itself extended by a few hundred feet.
See also
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- Landeck-Zams railway stationLandeck-Zams railway stationLandeck-Zams is a railway station on the Arlberg railway between Innsbruck and Bludenz in Tyrol, Austria. It is frequented by more than 2000 travellers a day, whereby a majority of them are commuters that are working or studying in Innsbruck.- Operation :Beside its function as an important...