Schneeberg Railway

A historic rack railway line with demanding alpine engineering

For more than a century, the Schneeberg cog railway has been one of Austria’s most impressive mountain railways. As a pioneering engineering project, it opened access to the highest mountain in Lower Austria and has significantly shaped the region’s tourism development. The 9.75 km cog railway line, built between 1895 and 1897, connects Puchberg am Schneeberg station at 577 m above sea level with Hochschneeberg station at 1,796 m above sea level, the highest railway station in Austria.

The line has a track gauge of one meter, with rails mounted on steel sleepers. The rack railway system is double Abt system, and the alignment requires gradients of up to 19.7% in the rack section. These steep gradients place particularly high demands on the track structure, rack system, and maintenance.

After responsibility for the line was transferred from ÖBB to the Lower Austrian Transport Organisation Company (NÖVOG) in 2010, renewal and maintenance measures have been carried out continuously. The current construction project focuses on a particularly exposed section that was last renewed in 2000 and now requires substantial infrastructure upgrades.

Rail-based construction logistics in challenging alpine terrain

The Bahnbau Ost division of SWIETELSKY Bahnbau Österreich at the Fischamend location has been commissioned by NÖVOG to renew the rack railway track system on the Schneeberg. The main construction works will take place during the line closure from 4 November 2025 to 17 April 2026.

The construction area lies at elevations between 1,600 and 1,800 meters above sea level and covers approximately 570 meters of track. The section includes two tunnels, each around 200 meters long, with an open section between them. Combined with the steep longitudinal gradient, this creates two major project challenges. First, all construction logistics are strictly rail-based, as materials, equipment, and personnel can only be transported by train. Second, the project must account for rapidly changing high-alpine weather conditions, which can directly impact construction processes and schedules.

Comprehensive renewal of track, rack system, and infrastructure

From a technical perspective, the project includes precise surveying and staking works as well as the sectional reconstruction of the track superstructure. The plan includes 280 meters of track on Y-shaped steel sleepers, including ballast bed replacement, and 290 meters of track on steel box sleepers, including ballast renewal. In parallel, 570 meters of double rack rails will be installed, along with approximately 48 longitudinal displacement anchors made from HEM beams embedded in the rocky subsoil.

In addition, cable infrastructure will be renewed, including 240 meters of cable troughs and approximately 3,000 meters of KSR conduit piping. All construction supply and logistics will be carried out exclusively via the rack railway using cog railway vehicles and construction wagons.

This project will sustainably improve operational safety along a heavily used and weather-exposed section