The mountain railway up the Pöstlingberg

Up the Pöstlingberg - with the Pöstlingbergbahn

Using tram line 50 is the easiest and most comfortable way to get up the Pöstlingberg.

Operating hours line 50

• Monday to Saturday:
  departing from Pöstlingberg: in 30-minute intervals starting at 5:30 a.m.
  departing from Hauptplatz: in 30-minute intervals starting at 6 a.m.
• Sunday and public holidays:
  departing from Pöstlingberg: in 30-min intervals starting at 7 a.m.
  departing from Hauptplatz: in 30-minute intervals starting at 7:30 a.m.

Last uphill journey at 10 p.m., last downhill journey at 10:30 p.m.

NOTE! The Pöstlingbergbahn operates in 15-minute intervals:

• from 1 March to 31 October on Saturday, Sunday and on public holidays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
• on Sundays in Advent between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
• on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
• from Monday to Friday between Hauptplatz and Bruckneruniversität from 7:30 a.m. tp 9 a.m. (except on school holidays)

Download timetables

Line 50 towards Pöstlingberg Line 50 towards Hauptplatz

The following persons are entitled to reduced fares:

• children under 15 years - Upon request, age must be certified by means of an official photo-ID.
• disabled persons with an Austrian disability ID issued by the Federal Office for Social Affairs (Bundessozialamt) certifying a minimum disability rating of 70% or mentioning that the owner of the ID is entitled to reduced fares according to the Austrian law on persons with disabilities
• severely injured or disabled war veterans with an ID for severely disabled war veterans
• seniors with the senior citizens ID of LINZ AG LINIEN
• owners of an Aktivpass issued by the city of Linz, type D or F
• dogs must be kept on a short leash and have to wear a muzzle or adequate bite protection

Extended transport entitlement:

• with any valid ticket: up to two children under 6 years. This extended transport entitlement does not apply to kindergarten groups. A children’s ticket must be bought for each kindergarten child;
• disabled persons can travel with an accompanying person and/or an assistance dog without extra charge provided the disabled persons are travelling in a wheelchair or their disability ID mentions that they require an accompanying person;
• severely injured and severely disabled war veterans can travel with an accompanying person and / or an assistance dog free of charge provided this is mentioned in their ID for severely disabled war veterans.

Regulations for holders of passes:

Holders of valid monthly and annual passes issued by LINZ AG LINIEN are entitled to use the Pöstlingbergbahn without any extra charge. The same applies to holders of an Upper Austrian transport association OÖVV-monthly travel pass or a KlimaTicket Oberösterreich (only with paid core zone surcharge for the Kernzone Linz) or KlimaTicket Österreich. Any extended transportation entitlement associated with such a pass is also valid for the Pöstlingbergbahn.

The beginning of something big …

In 1891, the engineer Josef Urbanski was the first to start planning a steam driven rack and pinion railway up the Pöstlingberg. His proposal was generally well received but a Consortium for the construction of electric facilities in Linz proposed an electrically driven adhesion railway – a project that was finally implemented. At that time, there was no other adhesion railway in Europe with as steep a gradient as the Pöstlingberg route, i.e. 105 ‰.

Construction work started in 1897 and proved to be intense and very demanding for the workers, since all the ground work was done manually at that time. Heavy materials such as cable reels and catenary supports had to be transported by oxcarts. Despite these difficult circumstances, the works proceeded quickly and after not even a year, in other words only 10 months after the beginning of the works, the Pöstlingbergbahn took up operation on 29 May 1898.

Adaptations over time

Since its construction, the line has undergone several technical adaptations and improvements: Considerable wear of the rails called for the introduction of guard rails and changes in the wheelsets just after World War I. Also, the wooden catenary supports were replaced by steel pylons, the stops Hagen and Pöstlingberg were enlarged and the trolley poles replaced by collector shoes. After the renovation of twelve carriages between 1950 and 1960, the valley station was fundamentally renovated for the first time in 1978. In 1988/1989, the valley station was modernised, yet its outside design remained unchanged. In 1988, the operation mode was switched to one-man-operation, which necessitated the introduction of a special safety break and electrical switches.

Passenger numbers reflect the state of the economy. World War I brought a lot of foreigners to Linz and the Pöstlingbergbahn reached its first passenger records. The economic crisis following the end of the war made passenger numbers drop considerably. It was only during World War II that passenger numbers started increasing again and reached an all-time record high of almost 1.3 million passengers in 1943. Between the end of the war and 1956 there was little change in passenger numbers which ranged around 1 million, but the ensuing wave of individual motorisation meant considerable passenger losses for the Pöstlingbergbahn and all other tourist trains. Then the development of residential areas on the Pöstlingberg led to a constant passenger flow also outside of summer peaks and passenger numbers ranging around 500.000 passengers per year.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Pöstlingbergbahn, numerous festivities tool place in 1998. A special issue stamp was printed for the occasion, a special postmark released and the concession extended to 2008.

Great innovations

After 110 years of operation, the Pöstlingberg narrow gauge railway (1000 mm) with its extraordinary wheel-rail-system went out of operation. Between March 2008 and March 2009, the entire route was changed to the new 900 mm gauge.

This allowed integrating the railway into the LINZ AG tramway network. Since March 2009, the train up the Pöstlingberg has been departing from the main square of the city (Hauptplatz). Over a distance of 4.14 km, the Pöstlingbergbahn negotiates an altitude difference of 255 meters in 20 minutes. The maximum gradient is 11.6 %. Even today, the Pöstlingbergbahn is among the steepest adhesion railways in the world.

The trains operate on a single-track with three passing loops allowing operation in 15-minute intervals with three coaches in each direction at peak times. Normal operation is in 30-minute intervals. Today three refurbished historic railcars and 4 low-floor carriages are in use.