| Schneeberg Railway - main section Wiener Neustadt−Puchberg am Schneeberg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Puchberg am Schneeberg station Left: the tracks of the cog railway. Right: the standard gauge railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line number | 163 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 28.205 km (17.526 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minimum radius | 150 m (490 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum incline | 5.2% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Schneeberg Railway (German : Schneebergbahn) is a local railway line in Lower Austria running from Wiener Neustadt to the Hochschneeberg mountain.
Between Wiener Neustadt and Puchberg am Schneeberg (the main section) it runs as a standard gauge adhesion railway, and on the Puchberg am Schneeberg–Hochschneeberg extension as a narrow-gauge cog railway . [1] The main section from Wiener Neustadt to Puchberg am Schneeberg had a branch to Wöllersdorf from the outset. The section built later from Sollenau to Feuerwerksanstalt (extension) is now closed and renaturalised.
The line's name - the Schneeberg Railway (Schneebergbahn) - was not only used in the title of the original operating company, the Schneeberg Railway Company Limited, (Actiengesellschaft der Schneebergbahn), but has also been adopted by its latest operator, the Lower Austrian Schneeberg Railway Company (Niederösterreichsche Schneebergbahn GmbH or NÖSBB) founded on 1 January 1997. However, the NÖSBB uses the name Schneebergbahn only for the cog railway section of the route.
Whilst the operation of the standard gauge section of the Schneeberg Railway is handled by the ÖBB, the management of the narrow-gauge rack railway is carried out by the Lower Austrian Schneeberg Railway Company founded in 1997, in which the state of Lower Austria - in the guise of the "Lower Austrian Transport Organization Company" (NÖVOG) - and the ÖBB each have a 50 percent share. [2]
The journey time on the main section from Wiener Neustadt to Puchberg am Schneeberg takes regional trains approximately 45 minutes on the non-electrified single track. On average 15 to 20 Regionalzüge trains run in each direction daily.
The Schneeberg Railway on the extension line from Puchberg am Schneeberg to the Hochschneeberg is a narrow gauge rack railway that has become an important tourist attraction in southern Lower Austria, transporting 120000–130000 registered guests per year. [2]
The journey up the mountain takes 53 minutes using modern coaches. Heritage trips using steam traction and the original carriages still take 1 hour, 17 minutes. The trains to the Hochschneeberg run hourly depending on demand. Adverse weather conditions can cause restrictions or changes to the train service. Services are operated from late April to late October depending on the weather. In addition, in April, special trips to the Hengst Hut are added. [3]
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The Austrian Federal Railways, now commonly known as ÖBB, is the national railway company of Austria, and the administrator of Liechtenstein's railways. The ÖBB group is owned entirely by the Republic of Austria, and is divided into several separate businesses that manage the infrastructure and operate passenger and freight services.
Puchberg am Schneeberg is a town in the south-eastern part of Lower Austria with approximately 2650 inhabitants. It is situated about 80 Kilometres from Vienna. The highest point of Puchberg is the Schneeberg with 2076 m, the highest mountain of Lower Austria.
The Schneeberg Railway is one of three rack railways in Austria still operating, and runs from the small town of Puchberg am Schneeberg in Lower Austria up to a plateau beneath the Schneeberg summit. At 2,076 metres (6,811 ft), the Schneeberg is the highest mountain in Lower Austria. The other two working cog railways in Austria are the Schafberg Railway and the Achensee Railway.
The Mariazell Railway is an electrically operated 760 mm narrow-gauge railway which connects the Lower Austrian capital of Sankt Pölten with the Styrian pilgrimage centre of Mariazell. The line was opened in stages between 1898 and 1907, and had a, now closed, branch to Wieselburg an der Erlauf. The railway is operated by NÖVOG, which is owned by the provincial government, and is a part of the Verkehrsverbund Niederösterreich-Burgenland.
Rail transport in Austria is mainly provided by Austria's national rail transport company, the Austrian Federal Railways, which also manages rail transport in Liechtenstein. The Austrian railway network has a length of 6,123 km (3,805 mi), 3,523 km (2,189 mi) of which are electrified. Most lines are in 1,435 mmstandard gauge, while especially in the Alpine region there are several narrow-gauge railway lines and funiculars.
The Steyr Valley Railway was a 760 mm narrow gauge railway in Upper Austria, which ran along the valley of the River Steyr from Garsten through Steyr, Grünburg and Molln to Klaus, with a branchline to Sierning and Bad Hall. A section of the line has been retained as a museum railway.
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The Gutenstein Alps are a mountain range in the Eastern Alps in Central Europe, and the northeasternmost part of the Northern Limestone Alps, reaching heights over 1,000 m.
The Rax-Schneeberg Group is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps on the Styrian-Lower Austrian border in Austria.
NÖVOG is a public transport operator, owned by the provincial government of Lower Austria. It holds concessions for a number of regional and heritage railways.
Trams in Vienna are a vital part of the public transport system in Vienna, capital city of Austria. In operation since 1865, with the completion of a 2 km (1.2 mi) route to industrial estates near Simmering, it reached its maximum extent of 292 km (181.4 mi) in 1942. In February 2015, it was the fifth largest tram network in the world, at about 176.9 kilometres (109.9 mi) in total length and 1,071 stations.
The first railway in Austria was the narrow-gauge line from Gmunden in the Salzkammergut to Budweis, now in the Czech Republic, this was 1,106 mm gauge. Some two dozen lines were built in 760 mm gauge, a few in 1,000 mmmetre gauge gauge. The first was the Steyrtalbahn. Others were built by provincial governments, some lines are still in common carrier use and a number of others are preservation projects. The tramway network in Innsbruck is also metre gauge; in Linz the rather unusual gauge of 900 mm is in use.
Vienna's Hausberge are the mountains of Raxalpe, Schneeberg and Hohe Wand in the south of the state of Lower Austria. These mountains may be reached from Vienna in about an hour and are therefore a popular recreation area for the Viennese.
The BBÖ 478 was a class of fifty 0-8-0T shunting locomotives of the Bundesbahnen Österreich (BBÖ).
The kkStB 6 was a class of 68 express passenger 4-4-0 locomotives of the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways.
