Since the opening of the
Suez Canal in 1869, the
Cisleithanian government of
Austria-Hungary had urged for a direct connection of the restored main Austrian seaport at
Trieste with the
Bohemian coalfields and iron works in the northern parts of the Monarchy. After lengthy discussions, the building of the
Tauernbahn was set up as a part of the larger "New Alpine Railways" investment project, pushed by the newly established
k.k. Railway Ministry under
Heinrich von Wittek from 1901 onwards. In 1901 plans for new Alpine railways (
Neue Alpenbahnen) were published. The Tauern railway was the most important and it was opened in 1909 for passengers and freight. Construction was executed by the public
Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways to achieve an alternative route bypassing the
Southern Railway line from
Vienna to Trieste via the
Semmering railway operated by the private
Austrian Southern Railway company. Other sections built in the course of this infrastructure investment were the
Karawanks Railway from
Villach to
Jesenice, continued by the
Bohinj Railway (
Wocheiner Bahn) leading through the
Julian Alps to Trieste, as well as the railway line from the city of
Linz across the
Pyhrn Pass to the
Selzthal rail hub. Construction of the Tauern Tunnel began on 24 June 1901, the northern ramp from Schwarzach-St. Veit was built from 1902 onwards. Significant construction cost overruns triggered fierce debates in the Austrian
Imperial Council, nevertheless on 20 September 1905 the first section of the line up to
Bad Gastein station was ceremonially opened by Emperor
Franz Joseph I, Minister-President
Paul Gautsch von Frankenthurn, and Archbishop Cardinal
Johannes Katschthaler. The southern ramp down to Spittal an der Drau was erected from 1906 under the supervision of the Viennese engineer and entrepreneur
Wilhelm Carl Gustav von Doderer, father of the writer
Heimito von Doderer. The railway line was completed in 1909 and inaugurated by the emperor at Spittal station on 5 July. The tunnel itself had been built double-track, the northern and southern sections only single-track. The
Obervellach station near the southern tunnel exit, situated on a slope above the village, from 1931 could be reached by a
cable car, that was dismantled in 1976. In 1999 the Obervellach station was finally abandoned and relocated to
Mallnitz. In 1933-35 the Tauern Railway line was completely electrified. From 1969 onwards further sections were restored to double track including several new passages, viaducts and straightenings to cope with the high traffic load and to allow higher travelling speeds. The southern ramp down to
Pusarnitz was completed double-track in 2009, while parts of the former track bed between Mallnitz and Obervellach were turned into a hiking trail. A new double-track bridge in the Gastein valley was put into operation in 2016. ==Rail service==