Donauuferbahn (Wachau)

Not to be confused with Donauuferbahn (Vienna).

The Donauuferbahn (lit. 'Danube bank railway line') is a railway line in Lower Austria. It runs 108 kilometres (67 mi) from Krems an der Donau to Mauthausen, near St. Valentin. The line is no longer contiguous; 21.9 kilometres (13.6 mi) in the middle between Weins and Weitenegg [de] has been abandoned. Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) operates services on the western end; NÖVOG operates seasonal services on the eastern end.

Donauuferbahn
Route map
Overview
Line number	133
Termini	Krems an der Donau [de] Mauthausen
Technical
Line length	108 km (67 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map Legend km Absdorf-Hippersdorf–Krems an der Donau railway [de] to Absdorf-Hippersdorf 0.0 Krems an der Donau [de] Herzogenburg–Krems railway [de] to Herzogenburg 1.6 Krems Campus-Kunstmeile Goldberg tunnel 569 m Steiner tunnel 206 m 3.0 Stein-Mautern Rothenhof tunnel 77 m 5.1 Unterloiben 6.8 Dürnstein-Oberloiben Schloßberg tunnel 569 m Dürnsteiner tunnel 121 m 12.3 Weißenkirchen in der Wachau 14.5 Wösendorf-Joching St. Michaeler tunnel 77 m 18.1 Spitz an der Donau Spitzer tunnel 100 m Teufelsmauer tunnel 12 m 21.0 Schwallenbach 23.4 Willendorf in der Wachau 26.1 Aggsbach Markt 31.0 Grimsing 34.1 Emmersdorf an der Donau 35.2 Rollfähre Melk St. Georgener tunnel 57 m Weitenbach [de] Weitenegger tunnel 159 m 38.3 Weitenegg 40.1 Lehen-Ebersdorf Klein Pöchlarn tunnel 209 m 43.9 Klein Pöchlarn 48.4 Marbach-Maria Taferl Schmallmarbacher tunnel 156 m Marbacher tunnel 202 m Trausinger tunnel 34 m 55.0 Persenbeug Persenbeuger tunnel 345 m 60.2 Weins-Ysperdorf 65.2 Hirschenau-Nöchling Klein Sarmingsteiner tunnel 41 m 68.1 Sarmingstein Sarmingbach [de] Großer Sarmingsteiner tunnel 143 m 70.9 St. Nikola-Struden Greiner tunnel 30 m 75.5 Grein Stadt 77.1 30.9 Grein-Bad Kreuzen 25.9 Dornach 23.3 Saxen 20.0 Baumgartenberg 15.9 Arbing 12.6 Auhof Naarn [de] 10.9 Perg Schulzentrum 9.7 Perg 6.5 Aisthofen 4.8 Schwertberg Aist St. Valentin–České Budějovice railway [de] to České Budějovice 0.0 Mauthausen St. Valentin–České Budějovice railway [de] to St. Valentin km [1] This diagram: view talk edit

Route

The eastern end of the Donauuferbahn is at Krems an der Donau railway station [de], where it meets the Absdorf-Hippersdorf–Krems an der Donau [de] and Herzogenburg–Krems railway lines [de]. From there, the line runs 38.3 kilometres (23.8 mi) west along the north bank of the Danube to Weitenegg [de]. This part of the line is also known as the Wachaubahn after the Wachau valley.^[1]

Between Weitenegg and Weins the line is abandoned. The track resumes at Weins, although is freight-only until St. Nikola-Struden. The line continues running west, following the river, until Mauthausen, where it connects with the St. Valentin–České Budějovice railway line [de]. That line is now abandoned north of Mauthausen; the remainder runs south, crossing the Danube to reach St. Valentin [de].^[1]

Operation

A NÖVOG RegioSprinter north of Weißenkirchen in 2021.

On the eastern end, NÖVOG runs seasonal trains between Krems an der Donau and Emmersdorf an der Donau. As of the December 2022 timetable change,^[update] this service consists of four round-trips per day on weekends between March and May, increasing to daily service between May and November.^[2]

On the western end, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) operates hourly Regionalzug services between St. Nikola-Struden and St. Valentin [de]. On weekdays, every other service runs as a Regional-Express to Linz, bypassing St. Valentin.^[3]