Hallstatt opens new funicular railway after 362-day rebuild

Hallstatt’s new funicular railway to the Salzberg opened on Saturday after 362 days of construction, with around 34 million euros invested in the project, ORF reported. The modernised Salzwelten Hallstatt also reopened to visitors.

The two new cabins are accessible and can carry 60 passengers per journey, compared with 24 previously. Their glass design is inspired by salt crystals.

The railway covers exactly 593 metres in just over two and a half minutes at a speed of almost 20 kilometres per hour. It climbs 325 metres in elevation.

“With the new Salzbergbahn and the modernised Salzwelten, we are creating the conditions for Hallstatt’s more than 7,000-year salt history to remain accessible to future generations,” said Kurt Thomanek, mining and tourism board member at Salinen Austria AG.