Lower Inn Valley Railway

This article is about the existing line of the Lower Inn Valley railway. For the high-speed line, see New Lower Inn Valley railway.
Lower Inn Valley railway to the north of the Inn at Fritzens. Work on the New Lower Inn Valley Railway is under way next to the line.

The Lower Inn Valley Railway (German: Unterinntalbahn) is a two-track, electrified railway line that is one of the major lines of the Austrian railways. It was originally opened as the k.k. Nordtiroler Staatsbahn (Imperial and Royal North Tyrolean State Railway). It begins at the German border near the Austrian city of Kufstein as a continuation of the Rosenheim–Kufstein line and runs in a generally south-westerly direction through Tyrol along the Inn valley to Innsbruck. The line is part of the Line 1 of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). The line is owned and operated by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB).

History

Lower Inn Valley Railway
Overview
Other name(s) Bahnstrecke Kufstein–Innsbruck
Native name Unterinntalbahn
Type Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight rail
Intercity rail, Regional rail, Commuter rail
Status Operational
Locale Tyrol
Termini Border of Germany–Austria
Innsbruck
Stations 21
Line number 302 01 Border near Kufstein–Wörgl Hbf
101 04 Wörgl Hbf–Innsbruck
101 15 Beschleunigungsgleis Wörgl Hbf – Wörgl Kundl
Operation
Opened 24 November 1858
Owner Austrian Federal Railways
Operator(s) Austrian Federal Railways
Technical
Line length 75.130 km (46.684 mi)
No. of tracks Double track
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Electrification 15kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead line
Operating speed 160 km/h (99 mph)
Route number 300 Salzburg Hbf - Brennero/Brenner
301 Jenbach - Telfs-Pfaffenhofen / Steinach in Tirol

The line was the first railway in western Austria, opened on 24 November 1858. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria had ordered its construction in 1853.

New line

Concrete shell for the New Lower Inn Valley railway

In order to increase the capacity of the track and in preparation for the construction of the Brenner Base Tunnel a new high-speed line has been built between Kundl1 junction and Fritzen-Wattens 1 junction (at Baumkirchen). It was opened on 9 December 2012 for scheduled traffic. The great majority of this line has been built in tunnel in order not to increase noise pollution in the Inn valley. The new route is designed for mixed traffic up to 250 km/h and is fitted with ETCS Level 2 signalling system.[1][2] An extension of the new line from Kundl/Radfeld to Brannenburg is in the planning phase.

References

  1. "Newsletter" (PDF) (in German). Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  2. "Die Neue Unterinntalbahn (the new Lower Inn railway)" (PDF) (in German). Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH. Retrieved 11 February 2010.

Coordinates: 47°15′48″N 11°24′04″E / 47.2633°N 11.4010°E / 47.2633; 11.4010

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