The ''Murtalbahn'' (literally translated, the Mur Valley Railway) is a
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
railway largely located in the
state of Styria in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. The line runs along the valley of the
River Mur
The Mur () or Mura (; ; ; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Müra''Novak, Vilko. 2006. ''Slovar stare knjižne prekmurščine''. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, pp. 262, 269. or ''Möra'') is a river in Central Europe rising in the Hohe Tauern national park of th ...
from the market town of
Unzmarkt
Unzmarkt-Frauenburg is a municipality in the district of Murtal in Styria, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is ...
through
Murau
Murau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Styria. It is the administrative seat of Murau District.
Geography
The historic town is located in mountainous Upper Styria in the valley of the Mur river between the Lower Ta ...
to
Tamsweg
Tamsweg () is a market town in the Austrian state of Salzburg near the border with Styria. It is the administrative centre of the eponymous Tamsweg District (''Bezirk'') and the largest town of the Salzburg Lungau region.
Geography
Tamsweg is loca ...
, which is just over the Styrian border in the
state of Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) (also known as ''Salzburgerland'') is a States of Austria, state (''Land'') of the modern Republic of Austria. It is officially named ''Land Salzburg'' to distinguish it from i ...
. The railway is operated by ''
Steiermärkische Landesbahnen'' (a railway operator owned by the state of Styria) and, with a total length of , it is the fourth-longest narrow-gauge railway in Austria.
History
The railway line between Unzmarkt and
Mauterndorf
Mauterndorf (Southern Bavarian: ''Mautndorf'') is a market town of the Tamsweg District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The municipality also comprises the Katastralgemeinden ''Faningberg, Neuseß'' and ''Steindorf''.
Geography
It is located in ...
was opened in October 1894.
In March 1973 the public passenger traffic was stopped on the section between Tamsweg and Mauterndorf. This section is operated today by
Club 760 under the name
Taurachbahn
The Taurach Railway (german: Taurachbahn) is a narrow-gauge museum railway in the Austrian state of Salzburg.
History
The Taurach Railway uses the section of the Murtalbahn from Tamsweg to Mauterndorf, which was closed for economic reasons in 19 ...
as a museum railway.
Special steam trains and amateur locomotive trips still operate over the route.
Accidents and incidents
On 9 July 2021, railcar VT 32 was derailed due to a fallen tree, with one carriage ending up on its side in the
Mur. Seventeen people, mostly young school-age children, were injured.
Operation
Five diesel-electric
railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...
s, introduced in 1981, are used to operate a service every two hours over the line. In the summer months the STLB operates weekend steam-hauled services between Murau, where the main workshop are, and Tamsweg.
Goods trains still operate on the railway, with trains hauled by diesel locomotives VL 14 and 15, built in 1966. Timber and petroleum tankers are the major goods transported.
The STLB invested in the railway, and the infrastructure is maintained to the standard of
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
mainline routes. There are good positions for photography by railway enthusiasts along the whole route, particularly in the valley between
Madling and Tamsweg.
Museum
A museum is maintained in the locomotive shed at
Frojach Katschtal station by Club 760.
Fleet
References
Sources
* Steiermärkische Landesbahnen (Herausgeber): Das Buch der Murtalbahn. Eigenverlag, 1994,
* Walter Kroboth, J.O.Slezak, H.Sternhart: Schmalspurig durch Österreich. Slezak, Wien 41991,
* Joseph O. Slezak, Hans Sternhart: Renaissance der Schmalspurbahn in Österreich. Slezak, Wien 1986,
* Markus Strässle: Schmalspurbahn-Aktivitäten in Österreich. Slezak, Wien 1997,
* Markus Strässle: Lokalbahnen in der Steiermark. Zeunert, Gifhorn 1995,
External links
Murtalbahn page from STLB web site(in German)
{{Authority control
Railway lines opened in 1894
760 mm gauge railways in Austria