100 years of the Höllental railway

Why pick up speed?

• here is the NiederösterreichCARD valid
• serves as a feeder to the Rax cable car
• the first museum railway in Lower Austria
• Original railcars from the founding period are still in use today
• 5 km track length

A journey through time on rails

The first plans for a railway from Payerbach via Reichenau to Hirschwang were drawn up as early as 1885. However, projects such as a cog railway to the Raxplateau failed due to a lack of permission from the landowners.

In 1916, the wood grinding company Schoeller & Co. applied for a material railway to connect to the southern railway, which was opened in 1918. Remarkable: Three electric locomotives from 1903, the oldest operational narrow-gauge electric locomotives in Europe, were in use - one of which still runs regularly today.

As winter tourism grew, the idea of using the narrow-gauge railway for passenger transport arose. Conversion to a local railway began in 1922 and the line began scheduled operation in 1926. Two railcars and four sidecars connected the Südbahn with the newly opened Rax cable car - Austria's first passenger cable car, which is also celebrating its 100th anniversary. The railway offered hikers, tourists and skiers a comfortable journey and also transported goods.

In 1963, the railway authorities discontinued passenger transport due to safety issues, but freight transport continued until 1982.

The Höllentalbahn as a museum railway

In 1977, the Austrian Society for Local Railways (ÖGLB) was founded to preserve the railway. The first museum season with steam operation began in 1979. Since 2005, the railway has been running electrically again and presents itself as a living piece of technical history.

Particularly worth seeing:

• Railcar TW 1: Reconstruction of an original from 1926
• Electric locomotive E1: built in 1903, the oldest operational narrow-gauge electric locomotive in Europe.
• Reichenau converter station: Converts three-phase current into direct current for the overhead line.

Thanks to the NiederösterreichCard , passenger numbers increased significantly from 2022, and in 2023 the railway had its most successful season since the museum began operating.

The ride on the Höllentalbahn railway

The 5 km long route leads through the picturesque Höllental valley, past the Artzberghöhe, the Schwarzaviaduct of the Semmering railway and the Thalhofschleife. Large windows provide unique views of the Rax massif and the former spa town of Reichenau. A guided tour of the coach house in Hirschwang is also possible today.

The terminus in Hirschwang is just a ten-minute walk from the Rax cable car - so just like in the past, the Höllentalbahn can still be used today as a comfortable way to reach the Rax. A piece of nostalgia that combines past and present. For excursions, there are practical combination tickets that combine the journey on the Höllentalbahn with the Rax cable car or the exhibition in the castle.