AUSTRIAN private passenger operator Westbahn launched services on March 1 between Vienna and Villach using the recently-opened 130km Koralm Railway between Graz and Klagenfurt.
Westbahn will operate five services in each direction every day on the new route from May 29. Departing from Vienna main station, the trains will also stop at Vienna Meidling, Wiener Neustadt, Semmering, Bruck an der Mur, Graz, Kühnsdorf, Klopeiner See, Klagenfurt, and Pörtschach am Wörthersee.
From the launch date until later this month, three train pairs will run each day, calling at Payerbach-Reichenau instead of Semmering. From March 26 services will increase to five train pairs each day at weekends (Friday-Sunday), on public holidays and during school holidays, before five daily services commence on May 29.
Westbahn says the journey time from Vienna to Villach, including seven stops, is 3h 30min, with the fastest journey time between Klagenfurt and Wiener Neustadt 2h 38min. Direct journeys between Vienna and Kühnsdorf and Klopeiner See can be completed in less than 3 hours.
Services are being operated by three Smile single-deck 250km/h EMUs ordered from Stadler in March 2025. The 11-car trains, which each have 422 seats, Wi-Fi, power outlets at every seat, and step-free access, are similar to the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) Giruno EMU.
“For the first time, Westbahn is connecting Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt and Villach with a through service,” says Westbahn managing director, Thomas Posch. “This sets new standards in comfort, service and travel quality.”
Open access
Westbahn is competing on the Koralm Railway with incumbent operator Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) which operates Railjet and Railjet Xpress services, though with different stopping patterns.
The new open-access services have been welcomed by the Association of New Rail Entrants (AllRail) which points out that Westbahn operates without taxpayer funding, while ÖBB runs long-distance trains over the same route under directly awarded, subsidised contracts.
"The Koralm Railway is not only a major infrastructure project, it is a real-world test whether PSO concession services costing the taxpayer are justified or not,” says Nick Brooks, secretary general of AllRail. “In the EU single market, why should the taxpayer fund one operator when the other proves that this is not necessary?”
