The Vinschgau Railway (German: Vinschgaubahn; Italian: Ferrovia della Val Venosta) is a standard gauge, single-track railway in South Tyrol, Italy. The railway runs from Meran (Italian-language placename: Merano) west to Mals (Malles) through the Vinschgau (Val Venosta), the upper valley of the river Etsch (Adige). SAD Nehverkehr conducts rail transport operations on the railway, and Südtiroler Transportstrukturen (STA) is the railway infrastructure manager.
The Vinschgau Railway was originally built and operated by the private joint-stock railway company Vinschgaubahn AG. The railway was initially planned as part of a transalpine railway over the Reschen Pass, but the northern sections were never completed. The railway from Meran to Mals opened 1 July 1906. After World War I, the Italian State Railways (Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, FS) took over the line. The Vinschgau Railway initially closed in 1990, but the railway reopened in 2005. STA began electrifying the line in 2023, and electric service is expected to begin in 2026.
Route Description The Vinschgau Railway begins at five-track, three-platform Meran station in the municipality of Meran, the capital of the western South Tyrol district of Burggrafenamt (Burgraviato). At the west end of the station area, where the five tracks funnel to one, the railway leaves Meran and enters Algund (Lagundo) and its eponymous side platform station. Beyond the station, the Vinschgau Railway curves from west to southeast, crosses over Strada statale 38 dello Stelvio (SS 38) near the western end of its freeway section, and crosses the Etsch into Marling (Marlengo). The railway passes through Marling station, which has two side platforms around the brief two-track section, then passes through a sweeping hairpin turn, much of which is within the spiral Kehrtunnel Marling (Galleria elicoidale Marlengo). The Vinschgau Railway continues northwest and then west. The railway returns to Algund as it passes through the long Josefsbergtunnel (Galleria Monte Giuseppe), a short tunnel, and the long Tölltunnel (Galleria Tel). Within the last tunnel, the railway enters Partschins (Parcines) and then emerges to parallel the Etsch.
The first village the Vinschgau Railway passes through in Partschins is Töll (Tel), which has an eponymous two-track station with island and side platforms and a stabling yard. The railway next serves the village of Rabland (Rablà) with a one-track, two-side-platform station. The Vinschgau Railway briefly passes through a disjoint section of Algund before passing through Plaus, whose station has a side platform. The railway then passes through Naturns (Naturno) and serves its namesake one-track, two-side-platform station and the station for the village of Staben (Stava), which has two tracks and two side platforms. Beyond Staben, the Vinschgau Railway enters the district of Vinschgau (Val Venosta) and its municipality of Kastelbell-Tschars (Castelbello-Ciardes). The double-barrel municipality has a pair of side platform stations serving its villages, first Tschars (Ciardes) and then Kastelbell (Castelbello). The Vinschgau Railway continues into Latsch (Laces), where the railroad veers away from the Etsch ahead of its eponymous two-track, two-side-platform station in the village center. The railway continues through the municipality's village of Goldrain (Coldrano) and its namesake side platform station.
The Vinschgau Railway continues west into the district capital of Schlanders (Silandro), where the railroad briefly parallels the Etsch before making a sweeping curve to the northeast and crosses the river at the village of Göflan (Govelano). Beyond the curve, the railway passes through the two-track station of the district capital, which has side and island platforms. North of downtown, the Vinschgau Railway has a hairpin turn to turn back southwest. The railway briefly parallels the river through the center of Laas (Lasa), whose station has two tracks and two side platforms. The Vinschgau Railway serves the western Laas village of Eyrs (Oris) with a single-platform station, then rejoins the Etsch on its way to Spondinig–Pads–Stilfs (Spondigna–Prato–Stelvio), a two-track, two-side-platform station in the village of Spondinig (Spondigna) in the municipality of Prad am Stilfser Joch (Prato allo Stelvio). The railway leaves the river vicinity for the last time as it heads northwest through Schluderns (Sluderno) and its one-side-platform Schluderns–Glurns (Sluderno-Glorenza) station. The Vinschgau Railway passes through several curves in the southern part of Mals (Malles Venosta) before reaching its terminus at the Mals (Malles) station, which has two tracks, two platforms, and a stabling yard.
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History
Route planning, construction, and commissioning
The Vinschgau Railway was granted a concession 7 July 1903, as a state-guaranteed, standard-gauge Austrian private local railway. The area was part of Austria-Hungary until after World War I. The construction management of the line, which connected to the Bozen (Bolzano)–Meran railway line (in operation since 1881) at Meran and continued its kilometer numbering, was entrusted to Konstantin Ritter von Chabert. On 1 July 1906, the Vinschgau Railway was inaugurated simultaneously with the new Meran train station. Operation was handled by the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways (kkStB). Originally, the railway line was planned to continue as the Reschenscheideck Railway (Reschen Watershed Railway), crossing the Reschen Pass into the valley of the Inn and continuing to the Landeck railway station on the Arlberg railway. However, it was already recognized at the time that a profitable freight transport operation would never have been feasible, as the tariff distances from Bozen to Landeck were exactly the same as those of the Brenner Railway. Thus, no advantage would have been gained, since the distances and therefore the costs would have been identical, and no competition would have arisen. The only benefit would have been a closer connection between the spa town of Meran and Landeck. However, as of 1917, the military also had an interest in a Landeck–Pfunds–Mals connection as a military railway. The division of Tyrol after World War I prevented the realization of this project, although some construction work had already been carried out in the Landeck area (such as the construction of a tunnel). A connection with the Rhaetian Railway was planned with the Ofenberg Railway project in Mals and with an extension of the Lower Engadine line, opened in 1913, from the Scuol-Tarasp railway station via Martina to Nauders or Pfunds. During World War I, this connection would have gained greater importance, as Tyrol was only accessible via the Brenner Railway. Construction work on this project only began in the spring of 1918, but by the end of the war, only parts of the substructure had been completed.
Traffic decline After Austria-Hungary's defeat in World War I, South Tyrol was occupied by Italy in November 1918 and annexed in 1920 under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Consequently, the railway line was taken over by the Italian State Railways (Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, FS) from 1918 onwards. During the next 60 years, the FS invested very little in the railway's infrastructure, although a five-track turntable was built in Mals, specifically for turning steam locomotives with tenders. Rumors of closure surfaced repeatedly, and the topic had been under discussion since 1961. Nevertheless, in 1985, tunnel reinforcements and track renovations were carried out on individual sections, for example, between Tschars (Ciardes) and Kastelbell (Castelbello). On the other hand, much of the original equipment from 1905 was still in use on large parts of the line. The electrification of the Bozen–Meran line in 1934 made the Vinschgau Railway an expensive, isolated operation. Freight traffic had played virtually no role since the Vinschgau fruit cooperatives decided to switch their fruit transport to road. The railway was incurring increasingly high operating deficits. The FS were determined to streamline their operations and dismantle unprofitable infrastructure, particularly in peripheral areas. In 1987, the Val Venosta Railway was classified as a "dead branch" (Italian: ramo secco) and slated for complete closure.
This period was characterized by a lack of interest in the line on the part of the FS. In the late 1980s, during the summer months (a period of high tourist traffic), the train service was replaced by buses specially rented from Lombardy. The reasons given for this were granting holidays to staff and carrying out tunnel maintenance work. In its final years under state ownership, the timetable consisted of only three train pairs on weekdays. The last scheduled train ran on 9 June 1990.
Passenger transport was taken over by regional buses of the South Tyrolean bus company Südtiroler Autobus Dienst AG (Società Automobilistica Dolomiti, SAD). However, the dissatisfaction of the local population, as well as of tourists, with the increase in road traffic in the Vinschgau meant that the calls for a reopening of the railway line never completely ceased.
Renovation
In 1999, the railway line became the property of the South Tyrol region, and from 2000 to 2004, it was comprehensively renovated under the management of STA on behalf of the government of South Tyrol. Although the track superstructure had to be completely renewed along its entire length, it proved advantageous that the track infrastructure had not been dismantled in the preceding years. On the one hand, no land had yet been repurposed for other uses, such as road construction, and on the other hand, the railway had never completely faded from public awareness. Furthermore, the historical station and halt buildings were faithfully restored and, where necessary, supplemented with new structures in a uniform, modern design. The turntable at Mals station, which had allowed for the turning of locomotives, such as those with tenders, was preserved but not renovated. Bike rental stations were established at several stations along the line. After the completion of the construction work, scheduled train services resumed on 5 May 2005.
The initial forecasts for passenger numbers were far exceeded after only a short time. During peak hours and the tourist season, the railway soon reached its capacity limit.
With the timetable change in December 2012, the Töll Brücke (Tel Ponte) stop was closed and the old Töll (Tel) station was reopened. The old station until then had only served as a passing loop. The track closure necessary for the required construction work was also used to lower the track bed of the Töll tunnel, making it suitable for electrification. In addition, two sidings for maintenance vehicles were built about southwest of Töll station.
2010 mudslide