The Schwarzach St. Veit - Wörgl line is a very scenic east-west main line between the Vorarlberg and Tirol and the rest of Austria. It's a 126km, double-track, electric route climbing over the 970m Hochfilzen Pass in the heart of the Alps, serving the resort towns of Kitzbühel, St Johann and Zell am See.
The Schwarzach - Wörgl line, also known as the Giselabahn, was opened in the 1870s to link Salzburg and Innsbruck without leaving Austrian territory. A route via Rosenheim and Kufstein had been open since 1860, and remains the fastest and most direct route today, but is mostly in Bavaria. Austria's former ally Bavaria had recently joined with Prussia and the other German states to form a united Germany. As Austria and Prussia were great rivals the Austrians probably had valid concerns over their future use of the direct line and needed a more secure alternative.
The Giselabahn also forms a useful link between the Tirol and southern and south-eastern Austria with connections to the Tauern main line at Schwarzach and to the Selzthal line at Bischofshofen.
The line remains the only link between Innsbruck and Salzburg that runs entirely on Austrian territory but has lost much of its importance in recent years. As border controls have been relaxed, more traffic has used the faster "Korridor" route via Küfstein and Rosenheim, turning the Giselabahn into a bit of a backwater.
In the autumn of 2014 engineering work closed the route through Germany for several days, resulting in much heavier traffic on the Schwarzach route.
The Giselabahn also forms a useful link between the Tirol and southern and south-eastern Austria with connections to the Tauern main line at Schwarzach and to the Selzthal line at Bischofshofen.
The line remains the only link between Innsbruck and Salzburg that runs entirely on Austrian territory but has lost much of its importance in recent years. As border controls have been relaxed, more traffic has used the faster "Korridor" route via Küfstein and Rosenheim, turning the Giselabahn into a bit of a backwater.
In the autumn of 2014 engineering work closed the route through Germany for several days, resulting in much heavier traffic on the Schwarzach route.