Arlberg railway

The Arlberg Railway is Austria’s only east–west mountain railway, running 137 kilometres between Innsbruck and Bludenz. It crosses the high Arlberg Pass, where gradients reach 3.4 per cent on the western slope and 2.6 per cent on the eastern. The line is threatened each year by avalanches, rockfalls and floods that can close sections for weeks. Operated by the Austrian Federal Railways, it carries international expresses such as the Orient Express alongside regional trains. The route includes the 10.2-kilometre Arlberg Tunnel, once the longest in the Alps, and the later Wolfsgruben Tunnel added for the 2001 Ski World Championships. The railway’s history began in the 1840s when British merchants wanted a link from England to Egypt. In 1847 the Feldkirch industrialist Carl Ganahl pushed for private funding despite the technical risks. Government backing arrived in 1872 when Trade Minister Anton Freiherr von Banhans secured 42 million florins. Construction started in 1880 under Julius Lott and finished three years early, at a cost of 38 million crowns. Ninety-two workers died building the summit tunnel, which rises to 1,311 metres above sea level. Today the line carries EuroCity and Railjet trains from Vienna to Vorarlberg every hour. Stations such as St Anton were rebuilt in 2001 to handle larger crowds, and the tunnel was lengthened to 10.65 kilometres. Sections between Landeck and Ötztal are being upgraded to double track to increase capacity. The surrounding valleys offer dramatic Alpine scenery, with peaks above 2,400 metres visible from the carriages.