The St. Margrethen–Lauterach line (german: Bahnstrecke St. Margrethen–Lauterach) is a long, part

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

part

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

ed, electrified railway line in the

Alpine Rhine Valley The Alpine Rhine Valley (german: Alpenrheintal) is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the part of the Alpine Rhine (german: Alpenrhein ) between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and the Alpine Rhine's mouth at ...

, near

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

. The route is owned and operated by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and is mainly used by the border station in

St. Margrethen St. Margrethen (Saint Margrethen/Sankt Margrethen) is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Geography St. Margrethen has an area, , of . Of this area, 28.3% is used for agric ...

. The line connects the Chur–Rorschach line at the border station in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

canton of St. Gallen with the Lauterach Nord junction in

Lauterach Lauterach is a town in the district of Bregenz in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Honorary consulates of Finland, and the United Kingdom are located in Lauterach. The Lauterach Transmitter is a 116 m tall broadcasting facility. ...

in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where it joins the Vorarlberg line.

History

The Vorarlberg Railway () opened the cross-border line between Austria-Hungary and Switzerland on 23 November 1872. The first through express train between Zürich and Munich ran just under a year later, on 1 November 1873. The line, as with most of the Austrian railway network, was nationalized prior to World War I. The line was electrified on 2 January 1949. Between 2010 and 2013, the Alpine Rhine bridge was replaced by a new one and the adjacent Lustenau Markt station was suspended. Between 2016 and 2021, Lustenau station was modernized. In 2021, the section between Lustenau and Lauterach was renewed, including the reconstruction of Hard-Fussach station and upgrade of the section between this station and Lauterach West to two tracks. The new station (replacing the former Lauterach West station) was introduced. Additional measures taken included improved noise protection for residents and flood protection.

Route

The line diverges from the Chur–Rorschach line at St. Margrethen and runs eastward over the single-tracked bridge across Alpine Rhine (which forms the

Austria–Switzerland border The modern states of Austria and Switzerland share a border with a length of

) and across the tracks of the International Rhine Regulation Railway to Lustenau. East of the bridge, the line now turns north. Between Lustenau station and Hard-Fussach station, it follows the artificial Rhine canal in northward direction, before turning towards east again as a double tracked railway. East of Lauterach Unterfeld station, it connects to the Vorarlberg railway line in both northward and southward direction via two connectors.

Services

local passenger service with intermediate calls en route is provided by the S3, which operates every half-hour between St. Margrethen and Bregenz, and R5 of

Vorarlberg S-Bahn The Vorarlberg S-Bahn is a label for regional rail services in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is integrated into the which manages ticket pricing, and is operated by the state-owned ÖBB and privately owned Montafonerbahn (mbs). In addit ...

. Additionally some trains of the S7 service of

St. Gallen S-Bahn The St. Gallen S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn St. Gallen) is an S-Bahn-style commuter rail in Eastern Switzerland and neighbouring areas. The network connects stations in the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Glarus, Gris ...

Bodensee S-Bahn The Bodensee S-Bahn is an international marketing effort grouping various S-Bahn and regional rail services around Lake Constance (german: Bodensee). Services With a few exceptions, most services marketed as part of the Bodensee S-Bahn belong to ...

and long-distance

EuroCity EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteri ...

trains (Zürich–Munich) operate over the route but make no intermediate stops: *

(EC): – – – – – – *

: **: – – **: (St. Margrethen –) Lustenau – – – *

: : ( – –) – – (– St. Margrethen –Bregenz – Lindau-Reutin)

References

External links

*
Konsequenter Ausbau des Bahnangebots in Vorarlberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Margrethen-Lauterach line Railway lines in Austria Transport in Vorarlberg Railway lines in Switzerland International railway lines Cross-border railway lines in Austria Cross-border railway lines in Switzerland Railway lines opened in 1872 1872 establishments in Austria-Hungary