ÖBB add direct Klagenfurt train to Graz Airport

Austria’s ÖBB railway will introduce a direct train from Klagenfurt to Graz Airport on December 13, ORF reports, ending the need for passengers to change at Graz main station.

The Interregio 1151 will leave Klagenfurt at 4:18 a.m. and reach the airport stop at 5:15 a.m., after three stops and 57 minutes. The stop is about 300 metres from the terminal, a walk of roughly five minutes. The train will then continue to Graz main station.

The early arrival is intended to serve morning flights. The first flight, to Frankfurt, departs at 6 a.m., followed by a flight to Munich, airport representative Doris Poelt said. She described the connection as tight.

The train will switch from the Koralmbahn high-speed line to the old Southern Railway before reaching the airport. A direct station on the Koralmbahn was ruled out during planning. Former Carinthian governor Jörg Haider had made the absence of a Graz airport stop a condition for supporting the railway, arguing it could weaken Klagenfurt Airport.

The airport says it could use nine connections, and that even four trains spread across the day would be welcome. ÖBB spokesperson Herbert Hofer said the busy service on the route between Carinthia and Graz leaves little room for more trains, though he did not rule out future changes.

A return train to Carinthia will run at 11:33 p.m. Building a station for the airport directly on the Koralmbahn would now require construction while the line remained in operation, making the work complicated and very expensive.