Night Train Diversions, Cancellations due to Tauern Tunnel Closure
The closure of the Tauern Tunnel in Austria for construction work over the next six months will result in several train diversions and cancellations, including those of key night trains.
Tauern tunnel
The Tauern Tunnel across the Alps, a vital railway connection linking the Austrian state of Salzburg with the state of Carinthia, will be closed for more than half a year.
Yesterday, 18th November 2024, construction work began on the 8,371-metre-long (5.2 miles) Tauern Tunnel, which first opened in 1909.
The project involves modernisation work on both the railway line and the tunnel itself and is expected to last until 13th July 2025, when the tunnel is set to reopen for train traffic.
As part of the project, the railway line north and south of the Tauern Tunnel will also undergo infrastructure modernisation and maintenance work for much of the coming months.
The southern end of the Tauern Tunnel. ©Ruud1
Cancelled night trains
The closure of the Tauern Tunnel means that several key European night trains will be cancelled for the duration of the infrastructure works.
One of the affected night trains is the Nightjet from Stuttgart to Venice via Munich, Salzburg, Villach, and Udine, which will be cancelled until the tunnel reopens.
The Nightjet train from Munich to Rome (via Salzburg, Villach, Bologna, and Florence) and the Nightjet service from Munich to La Spezia (via Salzburg, Villach, Verona, Milan, and Genoa) will also be cancelled for the next half year.
These suspensions are all temporary, and once the Tauern Tunnel reopens for rail traffic, these Nightjet services are expected to resume as normal.
Diverted night trains
The night train from Zurich to Zagreb, as well as the night train from Stuttgart and Munich to Zagreb, will be rerouted via Graz while construction work on the Tauern Tunnel is ongoing.
Although these Croatian night trains normally call at Lesce-Bled (for Lake Bled) and Ljubljana as well, they will temporarily be unable to stop at these Slovenian stations due to the diversion via Graz.
To reach Ljubljana during the diversion of the Zurich-Zagreb and Stuttgart-Zagreb night trains, passengers are advised to travel on the night train to Maribor and connect there to a daytime train to Ljubljana.
A Nightjet sleeper wagon. ©AndyBTravels
Local train traffic in Austria
The closure of the Tauern Tunnel will of course have a significant impact on both local and intercity train traffic in Austria, as no through trains will run between Salzburg and Villach for the next half year.
For long-distance traffic, a fast bus replacement service will be available, running as an express bus on the motorway between Bischofshofen on the northern side of the Alps and Spittal-Millstättersee station on the southern side.
Local trains will still run for most of the time from Bischofshofen to Bad Gastein, just a few miles short of the northern entrance of the Tauern Tunnel, as well as between Spittal-Millstättersee and Mallnitz-Obervellach on the southern side of the tunnel.
However, as infrastructure modernisation and maintenance work will also take place in stages along these railway lines in conjunction with the work on the Tauern Tunnel, rail replacement buses may be in operation here as well, depending on the month of travel.
You are advised to check the route planner of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) if you plan to travel by train through Austria in the coming months.
Conclusion
The Tauern Tunnel in Austria, a major railway artery, will be closed for six months due to construction work.
The closure of the Tauern Tunnel will not only have major consequences for Austrian train traffic but also for international services, with several night trains being suspended or diverted for the next six months.
If you plan to travel to Austria or are booked on a night train passing through Austria, such as those from Germany to Italy, or from Switzerland and Germany to Slovenia and Croatia, you are advised to check whether the tunnel closure will affect your journey.
