The Austrian Southern Railway (german: link=no, Österreichische Südbahn) is a long double track railway, which linked the capital

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

with

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, former main seaport of the

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, by railway for the first time. It now forms the Southern Railway in Austria and the

Spielfeld-Straß–Trieste railway The Spielfeld–Trieste railway is a double-track, electrified main line in parts of Austria, Slovenia and Italy today, which was built as a section of the Austrian Southern Railway (''österreichische Südbahn'' Vienna–Trieste) by the state-owne ...

in Slovenia and Italy.

Construction and history

*1829: Austrian railway pioneer

Franz Xaver Riepl Franz Xaver Riepl (29 November 1790 – 25 April 1857) was an important Austrian geologist, railway pioneer and metallurgical specialist. Life Riepl was born in Graz, Styria where his father worked as a building inspector. He attended the m ...

proposed a railway connection from Vienna to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

, bypassing the

Eastern Alps Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in t ...

and running via

Bruck an der Leitha Bruck an der Leitha ( bar, label=Central Bavarian, Bruck aun da Leitha; "Bridge on the Leitha") is a town in the state of Lower Austria of Austria on the border of Burgenland, marked by the Leitha river. In 2018 it had a population of around 8,00 ...

, Magyaróvár and

Szombathely Szombathely (; german: Steinamanger, ; see also other alternative names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by t ...

through the west edge of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, and then via Maribor and Ljubljana to Trieste. His plans were adopted by entrepreneur

Georgios Sinas Georgios Sinas ( el, Γεώργιος Σίνας, german: Georg Sina; 20 November 1783 – 18 May 1856) was a Greek- Austrian entrepreneur and banker. He became a national benefactor of Greece and was the father of another Greek national benefacto ...

. 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 Semmering () is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connecting Lower Austria and Styria, between which it forms a natural border. Location Semmering Pass is located west of Sonnwendstein and Hirschenkogel and east of the P ...

. *1839: Departing from the original plans of a connection via Hungary, construction works started on the initial section which ran southwards between

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

and

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

. *1841:

Carl Ritter von Ghega Karl Ritter von Ghega or Karl von Ghega (10 January 1802 – 14 March 1860) was an Austrian nobleman and the designer of the Semmering Railway from Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag. During his time, he was the most prominent of Austrian-Albanian rail ...

started to survey the terrain of the

. *5 May 1842: The line from ''

Wien Südbahnhof Wien Südbahnhof (German for ''Vienna South Station'') was Vienna's largest railway terminus. It closed in December 2009 and was demolished in 2010 to be replaced with a new station, Wien Hauptbahnhof. It was located in Favoriten, in the south ...

'' (Southern Station) was completed to

Gloggnitz Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria. Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the highest mountains in Lower Austria, Mount Rax (20 ...

at the northern foot of the Semmering Pass. *21 October 1844: South of the Semmering Pass, the line from Graz northward to

Mürzzuschlag Mürzzuschlag is a town in northeastern Styria, Austria, the capital of the former Mürzzuschlag District. It is located on the Mürz river near the Semmering Pass, the border with the state of Lower Austria, about southwest of Vienna. The popu ...

(decided on by the Austrian government)) opened; its construction was led by von Ghega. *2 June 1846: The southern continuation to Celje was inaugurated. *1849: The line was extended to

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

. *1848 to 1854: The section over the

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 The Karst Plateau or the Karst region ( sl, Kras, it, Carso), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills su ...

was built. *12 July 1857: The first

through train A through service is a concept of passenger transport that involves a vehicle travelling between lines, networks or operators on a regularly specified schedule, on which the passenger can remain on board without alighting. It may be in form of eithe ...

from Vienna to

ran. *23 May 1858: The railway was sold to the newly established Austrian Southern Railway Company. *1919: In the

Treaty of Saint-Germain A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Austria-Hungary was dissolved. Austria lost all of the Southern Railway south of the station at

Spielfeld Spielfeld ( Slovene: ''Špilje'') is a former municipality in the district of Leibnitz in Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Straß in Steiermark. It was an Austria-Sloveni ...

(Špilje), which became the new

border station A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods Border control, are inspected and allowed (or denied) passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controll ...

to the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

(Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929, present-day Slovenia). *1923: The

Austrian Federal Railways Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

took over the Austrian section. *1966: The tracks from Vienna to Graz and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

were completely electrified. *2007: Border controls were abolished with Slovenia's accession to the Schengen Area.

Borovnica viaduct

The 561 m long and 38 m high Borovnica railway viaduct (also known as Franzdorfer viadukt in German) in Borovnica, Slovenia, was completed in 1856. The viaduct was badly damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and demolished completely a few years after.

Current

The section from Graz to the Slovenian border (near

Šentilj v Slovenskih goricah Šentilj v Slovenskih Goricah ( or ; sl, Šentilj v Slovenskih goricah, in older sources ''Sveti Ilj v Slovenskih Goricah'', german: Sct. Egidi in Windischbüheln) is a town and the administrative seat of the Municipality of Šentilj in northeaste ...

), which had been downgraded to a single track railway in the 1950s, is currently again rebuilt as a double track line. On the Slovenian section, work is in progress to upgrade and renovate

Pragersko railway station Pragersko railway station ( sl, Železniška postaja Pragersko) is a significant railway station in Pragersko, Slovenia. It forms the junction between the main line from Ljubljana railway station, Ljubljana to Maribor railway station, Maribor, and ...

as well as the line and

railway crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...

s from Maribor to Celje. A new viaduct and tunnel are being built between Maribor and Pesnica. The old route will be turned into a bike path. The upgrades in

Maribor railway station Maribor railway station ( sl, Železniška postaja Maribor) is the main railway station in Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a count ...

, Slovenska Bistrica railway station, Poljčane railway station and Celje railway station have already been completed.

Management

Infrastructure and transport management on the line is now provided by three railway companies:

(ÖBB) for the Austrian section,

Slovenske železnice Slovenian Railways ( sl, Slovenske železnice, ''SŽ'') is the state railway company of Slovenia, created in 1991. Slovenia is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Slovenia is 79. History What is no ...

(SŽ) for the Slovenian one, and Italian railway infrastructure manager

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) is the Italian railway infrastructure manager, subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), a state-owned holding company. RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it provides signalling, maintenance and other se ...

(RFI) for the

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the Italy (geographical region) ...

n section.

Sources

* Dietrich, Herbert. ''Die Südbahn und ihre Vorläufer''. Wien, 1994. * ''Mit Volldampf in den Süden : 150 Jahre Südbahn Wien-Triest''. Wien, 2007 * Brate, Tadej. ''Die Geschichte der slowenischer Eisenbahnen auf Ansichtkarten'', Celjska Mohorjeva družba, Celje. 2013. , {{ISBN, 978-961-278-064-7 Railway lines in Austria Railway lines in Slovenia Railway lines in Italy