Scenic route
Erzbergbahn
Vordernberg → Eisenerz · Austria
- Distance
- 20 km
- Fastest time
- 1 h
- Top speed
- 40 km/h
- Operator
- Verein Erzbergbahn
- Train
- Heritage diesel · steam
- Countries
- Austria
- In service since
- 1891
- Runs
- select summer weekends (heritage operation)
- Highest point
- 1,204 m
The “Semmering of the ore” — a heritage line over the 1,204 m Präbichl pass beneath the terraced Erzberg, the ochre iron mountain worked for over 1,300 years.
Built in 1891 as an adhesion-and-rack line to carry iron ore off the Erzberg, the Erzbergbahn crosses the 1,204 m Präbichl pass between Vordernberg and Eisenerz. Regular traffic ended in 1988, but volunteers now run heritage diesel and steam trains over the switchbacks and through the Präbichl tunnel each summer, in the shadow of the terraced ochre mountain that has been mined for over 1,300 years.
Along the way
- Vordernberg engine shed
- Rötzgraben viaduct
- Switchbacks up to Präbichl
- Präbichl pass tunnel (1,204 m)
- The stepped Erzberg above Eisenerz
More scenic routes
- Glacier Express Zermatt → St. Moritz
- Bernina Express Chur → Tirano
- Bergensbanen Oslo → Bergen
- West Highland Line Glasgow → Mallaig
More train routes in Austria.