Salzburg funds eight electric trains for Pinzgau railway

The Salzburg state government is providing more than 50 million euros to buy eight electric train sets for the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn narrow-gauge railway, ORF reported. The Europe-wide tender is due to begin on Monday and is planned jointly with Tyrol and Styria.

The railway is scheduled to run electrically along its full route again by 2032. Salzburg has budgeted more than 80 million euros for the project, including about 30 million euros to convert the line and more than 50 million euros for the new trains. The federal government will also contribute funding.

Six train sets are planned for Tyrol’s Zillertalbahn. Styria’s Murtalbahn could also join the tender, although the extent of its participation has not yet been decided. About one-tenth of the route between Unzmarkt and Tamsweg lies in Salzburg.

Salzburg expects the joint order to reduce costs for the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn by almost 11 million euros. The larger order volume is intended to create savings.

The railway currently operates only between Fürth-Kaprun and Mittersill. Rail replacement buses are running between Zell am See and Fürth-Kaprun because of construction work until October 4.

Flooding and mudslides destroyed more than one-third of the route between Zell am See and Krimml in summer 2021. Services resumed to Mittersill in June 2024. The state says the entire route should be usable again by 2032, with no further need for rail replacement services.