Styria Approves EUR 169M Murtalbahn Electrification

GRAZ, AUSTRIA – The state of Styria committed EUR 169 million toward electrifying the Murtalbahn narrow-gauge railway and acquiring electric multiple units, contingent on co-financing from Austria’s federal government and the state of Salzburg. The three operators of Austria’s remaining 760 mm-gauge lines—Murtalbahn, Zillertalbahn, and Pinzgauer Lokalbahn—plan a joint purchase of 17 EMUs to replace aging diesel rolling stock expected to reach end-of-life by the mid-2030s.

What Is the Full Scope of This Project?

The Murtalbahn modernization encompasses overhead line electrification of the Unzmarkt–Tamsweg route, procurement of five new EMUs for the line, depot and workshop adaptations, and track upgrades that will cut the Unzmarkt–Murau journey from 36 minutes to 24 minutes. The joint procurement pools demand across all three 760 mm-gauge Austrian railways for 17 units total, a strategy regional councilor Claudia Holzer said “creates a market, reduces the price per unit, and generates future synergies.” Co-financing commitments from the federal government and Salzburg remain outstanding and are prerequisites for Styria’s funding release. The ten-year public transport service contract with Steiermarkbahn und Bus GmbH on the Murtalbahn runs through 2030.

Key Project Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Projects?

Joint rolling stock procurement across multiple operators sharing an uncommon track gauge remains rare in European narrow-gauge rail. The 760 mm “Bosnian gauge” survives on only a handful of active passenger lines worldwide—predominantly in Austria and parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire—making off-the-shelf EMU purchases impossible. By aggregating demand for 17 units, the three operators are replicating a procurement model used successfully by Swiss meter-gauge railways, where Rhätische Bahn and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn have co-ordered Stadler EMUs to achieve per-unit cost reductions on small production runs (Source: Stadler Rail, 2023). The Murtalbahn’s EUR 169 million allocation contrasts with the Zillertalbahn’s earlier solo exploration of hydrogen traction, which faced viability challenges at a projected cost exceeding EUR 80 million for infrastructure alone before the joint EMU approach emerged. The total project cost—including electrification infrastructure beyond Styria’s share—was not disclosed by state authorities. No comparable 760 mm-gauge electrification with native EMU procurement exists globally at this scale.

Editor’s Analysis

The three-operator pooling arrangement signals that Austria’s remaining 760 mm-gauge lines are committing to overhead-wire electrification as a unified technical path, effectively ending the decade-long uncertainty over alternative traction technologies—including battery and hydrogen—on these routes. This decision secures a 30-to-40-year operating horizon for lines that otherwise faced conversion or closure risk as diesel fleets aged out. The joint tender also creates a credible reference case for other surviving Bosnian-gauge operations in Central and Eastern Europe contemplating fleet replacement. Austria’s ÖBB framework has prioritized electrification rate increases toward the EU’s 2050 climate targets, and branch-line projects like this account for a meaningful share of remaining diesel-to-electric conversions on the federal railway network (Source: Austrian Ministry for Climate Action, 2024).

FAQ

Q: Why are three separate railway operators buying EMUs together instead of individually?
A: The 760 mm gauge is too rare to support a viable commercial market for new or used vehicles on any single line. Pooling demand for 17 units across Murtalbahn, Zillertalbahn, and Pinzgauer Lokalbahn creates sufficient order volume to attract manufacturer bids and reduce per-unit pricing.

Q: What happens if the federal government and Salzburg do not provide co-financing?
A: Styria’s approval of the EUR 169 million funding is explicitly contingent on co-financing commitments from both the federal government and the state of Salzburg under existing funding rules. Without those commitments, the project cannot proceed as currently structured.

Q: How much travel time will the modernization save on the Murtalbahn?
A: The Unzmarkt–Murau segment will be cut from 36 minutes to 24 minutes—a 33% reduction—achieved through track modernization works included in the overall investment package alongside electrification and depot upgrades.

Q: Who will manufacture the 17 EMUs for these 760 mm-gauge lines?
A: No manufacturer has been selected. The three-operator working group is finalizing tender documentation, and a competitive procurement process will follow. The EMU supplier will need to design a vehicle specifically for the 760 mm gauge, as no standard platform exists for this track width.