Lower Inn Valley Railway
The Lower Inn Valley Railway (Template:Lang-de) 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 |
| Status | Operational |
| Owner | Austrian Federal Railways |
| Line number | 302 01 Border near Kufstein–Wörgl Hbf 101 04 Wörgl Hbf–Innsbruck 101 15 Beschleunigungsgleis Wörgl Hbf – Wörgl Kundl |
| Locale | Tyrol |
| Termini |
|
| Stations | 21 |
| Service | |
| Type | Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight rail Intercity rail, Regional rail, Commuter rail |
| Route number | 300 Salzburg Hbf - Brennero/Brenner 301 Jenbach - Telfs-Pfaffenhofen / Steinach in Tirol |
| Operator(s) | Austrian Federal Railways |
| History | |
| Opened | 24 November 1858 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 75.130 km (46.684 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Double track |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Operating speed | 160 km/h (99 mph) |
|} 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
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
- ^ "Newsletter" (PDF) (in German). Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- ^ "Die Neue Unterinntalbahn (the new Lower Inn railway)" (PDF) (in German). Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
