Semmering

We were drawn to travel to Semmering after viewing the historic railway on television; in particular the BBC's Great Continental Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo.

The Semmering railway was constructed between 1848 and 1854 by some 20,000 workers under the project's designer and director Carl von Ghega.

We started our railway tour at the Semmering Railway Station which includes a 'media centre'. Assisted by a most helpful local lady, we planned our day and then purchased return local tickets to Payerbach, on the local electric service. The 2 car unit was similar to one that we had travelled on in the Pyrenees of France. It was an approx. 30 minute trip along this scenic and engineering marvel of a track. We then had a light lunch before it was time for the return journey.

The line is quite busy with intercity and regional passenger trains, mix freight and dedicated new-car trains. All the new cars heading west, probably from Slavakia.

The construction features 14 tunnels (among them the 1,431 m vertex tunnel), 16 viaducts (several two-story) and over 100 curved stone bridges as well as 11 small iron bridges. The stations and the buildings for the supervisors were often built directly from the waste material produced in the course of tunnel construction.

In 1998 the Semmering railway was added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

When the Semmering Railway was completed in 1854, it brought many tourists from Vienna. An era of large and grand Hotels continued until WW1.

Today, tourists are fewer, but more than 100,000 overnight stays are still recorded each year.

There are now plans to construct a lower Semmering Rail Tunnel emulating the road which goes under Semmering in two tunnels. The twin-tube Semmering base tunnel will be part of the Baltic-Adriatic railway corridor and is one of the most important large-scale infrastructure projects in Central Europe; linking Southern Poland and Northern Italy.

Once completed, the 27.3km-long tunnel will become one of the world's longest railway tunnels at a cost of €3.3billion.

Below, clockwise from top left; the large two level viaduct (they do look like Roman aqueducts); the station name at Payerbach-Reichenau; a grand historic hotel at Semmering, partially renovated; the 2 car regional train that we travelled on.

Close to Semmering is the small town of Maria Schultz with a grand church for such a small town. We had an enjoyable light lunch at the popular hotel and Lenore did a little shopping for presents.