Westbahn Plans New Train Services to East Tyrol, Carinthia, and Budapest
Investor Hans Peter Haselsteiner’s privately owned Westbahn is setting its sights on new destinations. Official filings with the regulatory authority, Schienen-Control, reveal ambitious plans to extend service as far as Lienz and Hungary. But passengers may have to be patient: a Europe-wide bottleneck is slowing down the project.
Westbahn is exploring additional routes to East Tyrol, Carinthia, and abroad. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons; Herbert Ortner, CC BY 3.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en)
Westbahn’s success story on the rails is set to continue. After the private railroad company completes its highly anticipated southern expansion—from Vienna via Graz and the new Koralm Railway to Villach—in March 2026, the next steps in its expansion are already on the horizon. According to recent registration documents filed with the regulatory authority Schienen-Control, the company is planning a major expansion of its rail network toward East Tyrol, Upper Carinthia, and other European countries.
New Direct Connections for East Tyrol and Upper Carinthia
Commuters and vacationers in Austria’s southern and western regions, in particular, could benefit from the new service. One of the most exciting new proposals involves a direct connection from Vienna Central Station to Lienz in East Tyrol. This route is planned to run via the Koralm Railway, Klagenfurt, Villach, and Spittal-Millstättersee.
This would mark the first time Westbahn has served East Tyrol. Company founder Hans Peter Haselsteiner had already emphasized over a year ago that his company was “eager” to make optimal use of the high-speed Koralm route. At that time, extending train service through the Upper Carinthian Drau Valley to East Tyrol was already the subject of intense discussion.
In addition, Upper Carinthia is to be better connected via an alternative route: a line from Vienna Westbahnhof via Salzburg, the scenically impressive Tauern Railway, and Spittal-Millstättersee to Villach. In the Salzburg region, extensions to Saalfelden are also under consideration, which could connect to existing Pinzgau lines.
Crossing the Border: Setting Sights on Budapest
The expansion doesn’t stop at national borders. Westbahn also has its sights set on the Hungarian market and has announced regular long-distance service to Budapest Kelenföld Station. With this move, the private railway company is directly challenging the state-owned market leaders—ÖBB and the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV)—on one of Central Europe’s most important corridor routes.
Tyrol as Westbahn’s Established Home Base
While plans for East Tyrol are still up in the air, the state of Tyrol has long been a sure bet for Westbahn. Since December 2022, the rail operator has been serving the route between the federal capital and Innsbruck. Currently, there are five direct, transfer-free daily services from Vienna via Kufstein, Wörgl, and Jenbach to the Tyrolean capital. Two of these trains even continue to the ski paradise of Vorarlberg, serving key tourist destinations such as Imst-Pitztal, Landeck-Zams, and St. Anton am Arlberg.
The downside: The global shortage of railcars is slowing things down
However, anyone hoping to travel to Lienz or Budapest on the Westbahn as early as the upcoming schedule change in December will be disappointed. While a Westbahn spokesperson confirmed the clear strategic goal of establishing these connections, he also tempered expectations for a rapid rollout this winter.
The reason for this is a problem currently affecting rail companies across the entire continent: the lack of availability of new rolling stock. Delivery delays from manufacturers are preventing a rapid expansion of the fleet. Since additional trainsets are necessary for the new routes, the exact launch date for the expanded route network remains undecided for the time being.