The Empress Elisabeth Railway was the name of a former railway company during the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

. Today, the term is still used to refer to the railway lines that were formerly operated by that company.

Named after Empress Elisabeth

Elisabeth of Bavaria

Elisabeth of Austria was the spouse of Franz Joseph I, and therefore both Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. She also held the titles of Queen of Bohemia and Croatia, among others...

, the k.k. private Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Bahn operated a line from Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 to Linz

Linz

Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...

, which was built between 1856 and 1858. The extensions from Linz to Salzburg

Salzburg

-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

 and Passau

Passau

Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....

 were opened in 1860 and 1861. The company was nationalized in 1882 and is today operated by the Austrian Federal Railways.

Since World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the former Gisela Railway from Salzburg via Zell am See

Zell am See

Zell am See is the capital city of the Zell am See district in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The city has about 10,000 inhabitants.Zell am See is a tourist destination and a transportation hub for the region...

 to Wörgl

Wörgl

Wörgl is a town in Tyrol, Austria, in the Kufstein district. It is 20 km from the state border with Bavaria.-Transport:Wörgl is an important railway junction between the line from Innsbruck to Munich, and the inner-Austrian line to Salzburg...

, the North Tyrolean Railway

Lower Inn Valley railway

The Lower Inn Valley Railway is a two-track, electrified railway line that is one of the major lines of the Austrian railways. It was originally opened as the k.k. Nordtiroler Staatsbahn . It begins at the national border at Kufstein as a continuation of the Rosenheim–Kufstein line and runs...

 (Kufstein

Kufstein

Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.Kufstein is the second largest city...

-Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

, operated by the Austrian Southern Railway

Austrian Southern Railway

The Austrian Southern Railway was an Austrian railway company established in 1841...

 until 1923) and the Arlberg railway

Arlberg Railway

The Arlberg railway, which connects the Austrian cities Innsbruck and Bludenz, is Austria's only east-west mountain railway. The 135.7 km line is referred as Europe's most difficult mountain railway since it is threatened by avalanches, mudslides, rockfalls or floods...

 have been understood as part of the Western Railway. Vienna West Station was heavily damaged in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and reconstructed until 1952, when the railway had been equipped with electrical power lines.
Today, ICE

InterCityExpress

The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...

 trains and Austrian Railjet

Railjet

The Railjet is a high speed train of the Austrian Federal Railways , which was introduced with the timetable change of 2008–2009 and operates at speeds of up to , with a planned increase to by 2013...

 (ÖBB Railjet description) trains run on it, but most time below 200 km/h. The railway is being upgraded and partially rebuilt, and will partly allow speeds up to 230 km/h.

In numismatics

Empress Elisabeth Western Railway was recently selected as a main motif for a high value collectors' coin: the Empress Elisabeth Western Railway commemorative coin. The obverse shows the steam locomotive kkStB 306.01 crossing a railroad bridge on the Austrian Western Railway path. The locomotive was developed by Karl Gölsdorf

Karl Gölsdorf

Karl Gölsdorf was an Austrian engineer and locomotive designer.-Early Life:Karl Gölsdorf was born on 8 June 1861 in Vienna, the son of Louis Adolf Gölsdorf. Even as a schoolboy he was introduced to locomotive design by his father, the chief mechanical engineer of the Imperial and Royal Southern...

in 1908.