Tauern Rail Tunnel
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The Tauern Railway Tunnel () in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
is the longest tunnel of the
Tauern Railway The Tauern Railway () is an Austrian railway line between Schwarzach- Sankt Veit in the state of Salzburg and Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia. It is part of one of the most important north–south trunk routes (''Magistrale'') in Europe and als ...
crossing the
main chain of the Alps The main chain of the Alps, also called the Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the drainage divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest p ...
. Currently, it has a length of . The highest point of the tunnel, which is also the highest point in all of the railway line, is at above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
. The tunnel's north entrance is at Böckstein in the valley of
Bad Gastein Bad Gastein ( is a spa town in the St. Johann im Pongau District. Picturesquely situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it is known for the Gastein waterfall and a variety of grand hotel buildings. Geography Bad Gastein i ...
in the state of
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
, while the south entrance is near
Mallnitz Mallnitz is a municipality in the Spittal an der Drau District in Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range stretching southwards down to Obervellach on the Möll river and separating the A ...
in
Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
. The construction of the Tauern Railway Tunnel was first mooted during the late nineteenth century, although actual work on its construction was started in July 1902. The excavation was performed via a labour intensive process by a mostly
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
workforce overseen by the civil engineer Karl Wurmb. It was effectively finished during 1906, and formally opened three years later by Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria. While trains were initially operated by
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
s, the tunnel and wider line alike were
electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
during the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
, after which it was almost exclusively operated by electric traction instead. One particularly noteworthy service that has long used the Tauern Railway Tunnel was the ''Autoschleuse'' or ''Tauern Motorail''
car shuttle train A car shuttle train, or (sometimes) car-carrying train, is a shuttle train used to transport accompanied cars (automobiles), and usually also bicycles and other types of road vehicles, for a relatively short distance. Car shuttle trains usual ...
service, launched amid the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, which carries motor vehicles between either side of the tunnel via specialised trains. Various road vehicles from buses and lorries to bikes can be carried upon cars designed to facilitate their rapid loading and unloading. On 12 August 1947, a bomb exploded under a British military train carrying 175 people from
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
in close proximity to the tunnel. Between 2000 and 2004, the Tauern tunnel underwent extensive renovation works, which included the shortening of the tunnel and the relocation of the northern entrance, the replacement of much of the rail infrastructure present, and new fire management systems being installed.


Construction

Plans for the construction of an interconnection railway line between the terminus of the
Austrian Western Railway The Western Railway () is a two-track, partly four-track, electrified railway line in Austria that runs from Vienna to Salzburg via St. Pölten and Linz Hauptbahnhof and is one of the major lines of Austria. It was originally opened as the ''Empr ...
at the city of
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
and
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
leading to the Southern Railway existed as early as the 1880s. The most challenging geographical obstruction to the envisioned line was the
High Tauern The High Tauern (plural, pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salz ...
mountain range, which would need to be traversed by a sizable tunnel of around five miles in length, roughly one-tenth of the overall mileage of the line. Furthermore, the local
geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
featured numerous
hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...
s. Despite this challenge, it was foreseen that such a railway would be especially important for the transportation of goods between the industrialised north of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
and
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, which was then host to the empire's principal seaport on the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
. Pressure for Austria to proceed with such a venture had increased considerably after their
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neighbours had fulfilled the remarkable engineering achievement embodied by the completion of the lengthy
Gotthard Tunnel The Gotthard Tunnel (, ) is a railway tunnel that forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through the Saint-Gotthard Massif in order to bypass the St Gotthard Pa ...
on 1 July 1882. Accordingly, serious planning for the Tauern railway line and tunnel commenced in the early 1890s. During July 1902, excavation work on the tunnel commenced from the northern side; boring activity at the southern side started in October of that same year. The work was supervised by the noted civil engineer Karl Wurmb (1850-1907), whilst a mostly
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
workforce undertook most of the backbreaking labour involved. Unlike the majority of tunnels along the line, Tauern Tunnel was equipped with the Saccardo system of ventilation. Despite numerous difficulties encountered during its construction, the tunnel was effectively finished during 1906. On 5 July 1909, the official opening of the Tauern Railway line and tunnel alike occurred, the ceremony being attended by various dignitaries, including Emperor Francis Joseph. Although the majority of the line's sections were originally built as a single track, the tunnel was equipped with a pair of tracks throughout from the start of operations.


Operational history

Between 1925 and 1935, work was undertaken to electrify the tunnel along with the rest of the line. This scheme included the construction of a power station to produce the needed energy to the west of
Mallnitz Mallnitz is a municipality in the Spittal an der Drau District in Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range stretching southwards down to Obervellach on the Möll river and separating the A ...
. Due to a high degree of pre-existing infrastructure, the cost of the whole line's electrification did not exceed £400,000; it reportedly reduced the journey times of passenger trains across the whole route by twenty-five per cent as well as freight trains by fifty per cent. As a natural consequence of this work, steam locomotives no longer traversed the tunnel, having been replaced by electric counterparts; as such, the air intakes that were formerly needed to supply the tunnel with additional fresh air were deemed to be surplus to requirements. During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the ''Autoschleuse'' service, carrying motor vehicles between either side of the tunnel by trains, commenced. Also referred to as the ''Tauernschleuse'' service, or in English as ''Tauern Motorail'', the service consists of a specially adapted
car shuttle train A car shuttle train, or (sometimes) car-carrying train, is a shuttle train used to transport accompanied cars (automobiles), and usually also bicycles and other types of road vehicles, for a relatively short distance. Car shuttle trains usual ...
, which have been designed to facilitate the rapid loading and unloading of large amounts of road vehicles, including larger types such as buses and lorries. While passengers used to originally stay within their vehicles throughout the journey, changes in safety legislation have led to the passengers being carried within several passenger carriages instead, as the road vehicles are required to be unoccupied while traversing the tunnel. On 12 August 1947, a bomb exploded under a British military train carrying 175 people from
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to
Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...
in close proximity to the tunnel. The bomb, which detonated underneath the baggage compartment, injured one soldier; a second bomb was present but failed to explode. It was apparently intended for the train to derail and fall over a steep cliff. The terrorist group
Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
was later implicated in the attack. Between 2000 and 2004, the Tauern tunnel underwent extensive renovation works. During these works, the northern tunnel entrance was substantially altered as a means of rectifying a rather notorious curve near to this entrance which had caused numerous trains to derail over the years. As the first part of the tunnel was not particularly deep underground, it was permanently dug open, effectively moving the tunnel entrance southwards by 179 metres and shortening the tunnel's length from 8,550 to 8,371 metres. The edifice of old tunnel entrance was left intact in its original location, albeit with no operational purpose; it presently stands as a
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
arch. This period of renovation also saw the replacement of all the rails and power lines inside the tunnel, while damaged sections of tunnel wall were repaired, and fire detection systems were installed. The tunnel is closing from November 18 2024 for further modernisation, with reopening planned for 14 July 2025.


Safety issues

Following a large number of serious accidents in other tunnels, such as Austria's
Tauern Road Tunnel The Tauern Road Tunnel is located on the Tauern Autobahn (A10) in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. The use is subject to a toll road, toll. With a length of (3.07 miles), the tunnel ranks as one of the longest frequently ...
on 29 May 1999, as well as in other countries, (
Mont Blanc Tunnel The Mont Blanc Tunnel (, ) is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under Mont Blanc in the Alps. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian Traforo T1 ...
on 24 March 1999, and
Gotthard Tunnel The Gotthard Tunnel (, ) is a railway tunnel that forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through the Saint-Gotthard Massif in order to bypass the St Gotthard Pa ...
on 24 October 2001), the Austrian government undertook a comprehensive evaluation of safety conditions and requirements in respect to tunnels, both for road and railway traffic, to reduce such occurrences. In particular, concerns were drawn to the large amounts of
dangerous goods Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabically abbreviate ...
that were regularly being transported via such tunnels. Accordingly, scheduled renovations in the decades following these events have seen the installation of extensive safety-related systems, including fire detection sensors, emergency reporting systems and escape route indications. Special fire extinguishing trains have also been positioned on stand-by at both ends of the tunnel. The Tauern Railway's car transport service also saw some changes to implement the new safety regulations issued around this time. Formerly, passengers using the ''Autoschleuse'' were allowed to stay in their cars during the eleven minute journey; nowadays, all passengers have to get into a passenger carriage directly behind the locomotive.


References


External links

{{coord, 47.0361, N, 13.156, E, source:dewiki_region:AT_dim:9000_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Buildings and structures in Salzburg (federal state) Railway tunnels in Austria Tunnels completed in 1909 Goldberg Group Tunnels in the Alps Transport in Salzburg (federal state) Car shuttle trains