European Railroad Discussion > May 2013 European Trip - Part 1 - Vienna

I planned to post these right after the trip, but things kept on coming up, and I kept on putting this off. However, nevertheless....

In May of last year, I took a two-week vacation to Kiev, Ukraine to visit family. On the way there and back, I arranged two lengthy layovers in Vienna and Zurich, respectively, and was able to do some quick sightseeing and railfanning (from the platforms of the main stations). During my visit, I went to the southeastern city of Donetsk to visit my cousin for a couple of days. The journey was done using the new daytime “InterCity Plus” service that, at that time, was protected by the Hyundai Rotem “high-speed” EMU's.

I also was able to do several photo outings to Kiev's Main station (Kiev-Passazhirskiy), and while in Donestk, I spent a couple of hours of a rather warm and sunny May afternoon running around that city's main station with a camera.

While the following is a given in Vienna and Zurich, of note is that in neither of the two Ukrainian cities did I encounter any issues or hassle from station security, police, or passerby's. Everything and everyone was indeed rather friendly, optimistic, and there were no outward signs that six months later the country would explode into a revolution, followed by occupation of a portion of its territory, a virtual Russian-Ukrainian war (a concept that seemed downright absurd till very recently), as well as the bringing of the world to the verge of a new Cold War, if not even worse.....

However, back to the travelogue....

My transatlantic itinerary was as follows:

May 20-21:
New York JFK – Vienna (Austrian Airlines)
9 ½ hour layover
Vienna – Kiev (Ukrainian International Airlines)

May 30:
Kiev – Zurich (Ukrainian International Airlines)
5 ½ hour layover
Zurich – Newark (SWISS International Airlines)


Even though neither Austrian nor SWISS Airlines are usually considered cheap, I was able to secure a very good airfare for this journey (around $1200, with my choice of long layovers).

Finally, some abbreviations to keep in mind:

OBB – Osterreich Bundesbahnen - Austrian Federal Railways
UZ – Ukrzalyznitsia – Ukrainian Railways
RZD – Rossiyskiye Zhelezniye Dorogi – Russian Railways
SZD – Sovetskiye Zhelezniye Dorogi - Soviet Railways
SBB – Schweizerische Bundesbahnen – Swiss Federal Railways (which also go by the French and Italian abbreviations of CFF and FFS, respectively)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/14 12:06 by chs7-321.

After arrival in Vienna, I took the CAT (City Airport Train) service from the Schwechat International Airport into the city (getting off at the underground station of Wien-Mitte located in the commercial heart of the city). After that, it was off to Wien-Westbahnhof for a meeting with Trainorder's own “pennengineer” (who was in Vienna for a business trip), and some railfanning.


1) OBB electric locomotive 1116-121 (of the Siemens “Taurus” family, and a relative of Amtrak's ACS-64) after arrival with an Intercity train.
2) 1116-202, in RailJet livery, with RailJet Train# 61, Budapest – Vienna – Munich during its stop (and change of direction).
3) A grimy-looking 1116-174 before departing with an InterCity service.

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Walking to the end of the platforms, one has a good glimpse at the throat of the Wien-West passenger yard.

4) View towards the southwest
5) Zoomed out version of the same, looking more due west, with a nice view of the track geometry.
6) View towards the northwest. The consist on the left belongs to EuroNight 346/347 “Dacia”, Vienna-Bucharest (Romania).

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7) Last picture from Wien-Westbahnhof - electric locomotive 1144-261 with a double-deck regional train. Class 1144 is a modernized version of the classic Austrian class 1044, a class which was the mainstay of OBB's long-distance services prior to the introductions of the Taurus family (classes 1016/1116/1216).

After that, I visited several model train shops in the area, and then took Route 18 tram to the area of still-in-construction Wien-Hauptbahnof. This new through-type station is meant to take place of the old terminal-type Wien-Sudbahnhof, and the associated construction involves the rebuilt of the entire neighborhood.

One of the cooler features is a nearby exhibition cafe, The Bahnorama, which, besides providing an exhibit about the entire Hauptbahnhof project, provides a nice open-air view of the new station and the nearby Vienna neighborhoods from a height of 66 meters (217 feet).

8) EMU 4124-010 gets ready to depart from one of the finished platforms with a regional service as seen from the top of the Bahnorama.

Shortly after, I saw a consist of Taurus-hauled CD (Czech Railways) coaches pass by going east, but was unable to snap a picture.

9) A general view from the Bahnorama of the city of Vienna – looking towards northwest.

After that it was time for some quick sightseeing, souvenirs, coffee, and back to Wien-Mitte to catch a CAT train to the airport for my onward flight to the Founding City of the Russian civilization – the “Hero City” of Kiev.

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Nice photos! That passenger yard sure looks like it needs a mow!

Tor, a lame American

Do you have you pictures of Ukraine posted anywhere?

They will be in Part 2! :)