Route planning, construction, and commissioning The Vinschgau Railway was granted a concession 7 July 1903, as a state-guaranteed, standard-gauge
Austrian private local railway. The area was part of
Austria-Hungary until after World War I. The construction management of the line, which connected to the
Bozen (Bolzano)–Meran railway line (in operation since 1881) at Meran and continued its kilometer numbering, was entrusted to Konstantin Ritter von Chabert. On 1 July 1906, the Vinschgau Railway was inaugurated simultaneously with the new Meran train station. Operation was handled by the
Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways (kkStB). Originally, the railway line was planned to continue as the Reschenscheideck Railway (Reschen Watershed Railway), crossing the Reschen Pass into the valley of the
Inn and continuing to the
Landeck railway station on the
Arlberg railway. However, it was already recognized at the time that a profitable freight transport operation would never have been feasible, as the tariff distances from Bozen to Landeck were exactly the same as those of the
Brenner Railway. Thus, no advantage would have been gained, since the distances and therefore the costs would have been identical, and no competition would have arisen. The only benefit would have been a closer connection between the spa town of Meran and Landeck. However, as of 1917, the military also had an interest in a
Landeck–
Pfunds–Mals connection as a
military railway. The division of Tyrol after World War I prevented the realization of this project, although some construction work had already been carried out in the Landeck area (such as the construction of a tunnel). A connection with the
Rhaetian Railway was planned with the Ofenberg Railway project in Mals and with an extension of the
Lower Engadine line, opened in 1913, from the
Scuol-Tarasp railway station via
Martina to
Nauders or Pfunds. During World War I, this connection would have gained greater importance, as Tyrol was only accessible via the Brenner Railway. Construction work on this project only began in the spring of 1918, but by the end of the war, only parts of the substructure had been completed.
Traffic decline After Austria-Hungary's defeat in World War I, South Tyrol was occupied by Italy in November 1918 and annexed in 1920 under the
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Consequently, the railway line was taken over by the Italian State Railways (Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, FS) from 1918 onwards. During the next 60 years, the FS invested very little in the railway's infrastructure, although a five-track
turntable was built in Mals, specifically for turning
steam locomotives with
tenders. Rumors of closure surfaced repeatedly, and the topic had been under discussion since 1961. Nevertheless, in 1985, tunnel reinforcements and track renovations were carried out on individual sections, for example, between
Tschars (Ciardes) and
Kastelbell (Castelbello). On the other hand, much of the original equipment from 1905 was still in use on large parts of the line. The electrification of the Bozen–Meran line in 1934 made the Vinschgau Railway an expensive, isolated operation. Freight traffic had played virtually no role since the Vinschgau fruit cooperatives decided to switch their fruit transport to road. The railway was incurring increasingly high operating deficits. The FS were determined to streamline their operations and dismantle unprofitable infrastructure, particularly in peripheral areas. In 1987, the Val Venosta Railway was classified as a "dead branch" (Italian:
ramo secco) and slated for complete closure. for the Vinschgau Railway during the FS (Italian State Railways) era. From left to right: 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1985. This period was characterized by a lack of interest in the line on the part of the FS. In the late 1980s, during the summer months (a period of high tourist traffic), the train service was replaced by buses specially rented from
Lombardy. The reasons given for this were granting holidays to staff and carrying out tunnel maintenance work. In its final years under state ownership, the timetable consisted of only three train pairs on weekdays. The last scheduled train ran on 9 June 1990. Passenger transport was taken over by regional buses of the South Tyrolean bus company Südtiroler Autobus Dienst AG (Società Automobilistica Dolomiti, SAD). However, the dissatisfaction of the local population, as well as of tourists, with the increase in road traffic in the Vinschgau meant that the calls for a reopening of the railway line never completely ceased.
Renovation In 1999, the railway line became the property of the South Tyrol region, and from 2000 to 2004, it was comprehensively renovated under the management of STA on behalf of the
government of South Tyrol. Although the track superstructure had to be completely renewed along its entire length, it proved advantageous that the track infrastructure had not been dismantled in the preceding years. On the one hand, no land had yet been repurposed for other uses, such as road construction, and on the other hand, the railway had never completely faded from public awareness. Furthermore, the historical station and halt buildings were faithfully restored and, where necessary, supplemented with new structures in a uniform, modern design. The turntable at Mals station, which had allowed for the turning of locomotives, such as those with tenders, was preserved but not renovated.
Bike rental stations were established at several stations along the line. After the completion of the construction work, scheduled train services resumed on 5 May 2005. The initial forecasts for passenger numbers were far exceeded after only a short time. During peak hours and the tourist season, the railway soon reached its capacity limit. With the timetable change in December 2012, the Töll Brücke (Tel Ponte) stop was closed and the old Töll (Tel) station was reopened. The old station until then had only served as a passing loop. The track closure necessary for the required construction work was also used to lower the track bed of the Töll tunnel, making it suitable for electrification. In addition, two sidings for maintenance vehicles were built about southwest of Töll station.
2010 mudslide On 12 April 2010, a serious accident occurred on the railway line between
Latsch (Laces) and Kastelbell, in a gorge known as the Latschander. At 09:02, a
mudslide approximately wide and high struck regional train R108, which was traveling from Mals toward Meran. The mass of mud and debris tore the front section of the
articulated railcar ATR 100-007 from the tracks, causing the entire train to derail. Only a few trees on the riverbank prevented the railcar from plunging into the Etsch. A train traveling in the opposite direction had passed the same spot without incident just a few minutes earlier. The accident was triggered by a defective valve in the irrigation system of an orchard above the accident site. This allowed large quantities of water to seep into the hillside, ultimately causing the landslide. Nine people were killed in the accident; all 28 other people on board were injured, seven of them seriously. This was the most serious railway accident in the history of South Tyrol. Regular train service resumed on 2 June 2010. A memorial stone on the opposite bank of the Etsch between Kastelbell and Latsch commemorates the tragedy.
Electrification In April 2014, the South Tyrolean regional councilor Florian Mussner stated that with approximately 2 million passengers annually, the capacity limits of the diesel train sets had been reached, particularly during peak hours and the tourist season, and therefore classified the electrification of the Vinschgau Railway as a priority. The South Tyrolean regional government consequently decided on 16 December 2014, to electrify the railway line in the following years. Electrification will increase capacity to up to 276 seats per train, allow for a continuous half-hourly service, and enable efficient through-running of trains between Mals and Bozen. The chosen traction power system is
25 kilovolts alternating current with a frequency of 50 Hertz, which is why the
Stadler FLIRT trains already operating on other lines in South Tyrol were technically upgraded accordingly for future operation. In addition, it was decided to install
European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 as the train control system and
Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R) as the data and communication system. As part of the work that began in 2016, which necessitated temporary line closures, all stations that were not yet adequately equipped initially received extended platforms and, where necessary,
underpasses. In 2018, the
Marling (Marlengo) reversing tunnel was lowered. In 2019, the line was straightened between
Laas (Lasa) and
Schlanders (Silandro), and the Staben stop in
Naturns (Naturno) was closed. The old Schnalstal station in
Schnals (Senales), which had most recently only been used as a
passing loop, was reopened in its place under the new name Staben station. Also in 2019, major reconstruction work began at the Mals terminus, which included adjustments to the platforms, the depot, and the Tartsch (Tarces) siding. The construction at Mals was completed in 2020. From November 2021 to the beginning of October 2023, the tunnel profile was widened in the Josefsberg (Monte Giuseppe) and Töll tunnels to increase safety in the event of an evacuation, and a pedestrian walkway with a handrail was installed in each. During this time, the Y-shaped steel
sleepers were replaced with
concrete sleepers on the Meran–Töll section. In June 2023, the installation of the masts for the
overhead line began. On February 16, 2025, a final closure of the Laas–Mals section began, lasting more than a year. According to plans, this was supplemented by a closure of the Meran–Laas section from 26 October 2025 to the end of March 2026, serving for the final construction work, technical installations, and a testing phase. == Operation ==