Höllental Electric Railway (Austria) - Passenger & line-side views - Payerbach to Hirschwang

In this video we take another look at the the narrow gauge (760 mm) Höllental Railway situated in Lower Austria. Our train starts its journey from Payerbach, a short walk from the (ÖBB) Semmering Railway station of “Payerbach Reichenau”. Our little train runs for approximately 5 kilometres to “Hirschwang” via the attractive market town of “Reichenau an der Rax”. Trains operate from a 550 volt overhead power supply. The railway was originally opened in 1918 to serve the Hirschwang paper mill, by 1982 both freight and passenger operations had ceased. In 1979 the Austrian Society for Local Railways (ÖGLB) began operating passenger trains for tourists on summer weekends. As the only operator after 1982, ÖGLB assumed responsibly for maintaining the railway, although the line is still owed by Payerbach Hirschwang GmbH.