European Railroad Discussion > Austrian Railjets

Most of the intercity workings in Austria and to neighboring countries have been taken over by Railjet push-pull sets.  The photos below show both the Driving Trailer (1) and the locomotive (2 and 3).  This is nice equipment with 2+1 seating in 1st class and 2+2 in coach.  There is a slimmed-down restaurant car with a few booths for coach passengers while meals are delivered to your seat in 1st class.  The food is mostly prepared on-shore and clearly beats the current offerings on Amtrak but is not what it once was. At least the Czech and Slovenian railways also have Railjets, perhaps others as well.  These are among the few new trains in Europe that are loco-hauled rather than being EMUs.  Photos at Vienna a week or so ago.

Gordon



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/18 19:38 by gbmott.

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Give me a "Railjet" any day !!! :):):)

Nice pictures, thanks for posting. Austria, Czechia, and Slovenia, all great places to visit. Too bad most US passenger (Amtrak) railfans vehemently oppose this type of efficient service, including the food service.

Travelled on Austrian Railjets. Beautifully smooth, enjoyerd great steak and beer on board.  chris uk

here are some RailJets i filmed in October this year, in Freilassing and in Salzburg

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Nice !
Definately would love to get over there and try to ride some of these trains !!!
Thank you for sharing !!!:):):)

I did 37 days on 38 main line trains in Europe last year.  Started in Madrid and finished in Paris via Italy, Switzerland, Austria. Hungary , Czech Rep, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.  Rode quite a variety of trains including Railjets which was as nice or nicer than TGV's or ICE's. Did all my own planning including  hotels near stations, etc.   Bought Eurail Pass for $1000 which is via first class, the only way it is offered for 30 days.  If I do say myself the trip was near perfect as planned.  Ready to go again.

If you want to try it, I'll share the details.

Mexrail

First Class seating on RailJets is the best I've ridden in Europe. Far more roomy and comfortable than ICE with more comfortable seats.

Here's the interior of a Railjet 1st class car.  And yes, very comfortable indeed.  Excellent information display also.

Gordon

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Really ticks me off when people say... Oh HSR won't work in America!!!!!!

This isn't high speed rail.  There isn't any high speed rail anywhere in Austria to the best of my knowledge -- but there is a lot (for Europe) of freight, much of it single car from shipper sidings.  No, high speed rail probably won't work in America except possibly in the Northeast Corridor and property values there are so high that you could never acquire the right of way to construct new dedicated line.

Gordon 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/18 06:37 by gbmott.

My train went faster than yours!  :>)  

Thanks for your post and great photos.

Gerry Gaugl
Ottawa ON and family in many parts of Austria.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/18 20:35 by moonliter.

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220   = 136 mph.  If we could do that well on major corridors in the US, its all we need, at a fraction of the cost of HSR.

mundo Wrote:
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> 220   = 136 mph.  If we could do that well on
> major corridors in the US, its all we need, at a
> fraction of the cost of HSR.

We can't just have something that's off-the-shelf, tested, and found to work. Too simple, not enough money slushing about to tap in to. Where's the wheel-reinventing? The more complicated the project or system, the more money to be made, by more people. See: Denver PTC grade xing, CAHSR, 2nd Ave Subway, F-35s, Littoral Combat Ships (cha ching)...

gbmott Wrote:
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> This isn't high speed rail.  There isn't any high
> speed rail anywhere in Austria to the best of my
> knowledge

Not strictly true, the Westbahn between Vienna and Salzburg is being rebuilt, with some new construction. Not as fast as in other countries but 230 kph, 143 mph is not to be sneezed at.

86235 Wrote:
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> gbmott Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > This isn't high speed rail.  There isn't any
> high
> > speed rail anywhere in Austria to the best of
> my
> > knowledge
>
> Not strictly true, the Westbahn between Vienna and
> Salzburg is being rebuilt, with some new
> construction. Not as fast as in other countries
> but 230 kph, 143 mph is not to be sneezed at.

I wasn't aware of the Westbahn work and you are right, of course.  My response had been to someone that tried to equate Railjets with HSR and I was just trying to make the point that these are trains primarily in service on conventional, mixed-traffic routes like the Sudbahn.  What I really like is that they are loco-hauled trains, an endangered species in Europe!

Gordon

gbmott Wrote:
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> Here's the interior of a Railjet 1st class car. 
> And yes, very comfortable indeed.  Excellent
> information display also.
>
> Gordon

Although viewed from the back those first class seats look identical to VIA Rail's new seats recently installed in the LRC equipment.  VIA says they are built in Germany.  The one double seat in the distance appears to not have the low table that is so handy on VIA Business Class cars.

Rode business class in a RailJet in 2014. Loved the four-person semi-compartment with comfy seats, etc. Is this class of service still on offer?

pravihrvat Wrote:
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> Rode business class in a RailJet in 2014. Loved
> the four-person semi-compartment with comfy seats,
> etc. Is this class of service still on offer?

There was a section of the 1st class car that was designated Business Class, but it did not include the semi-compartments that I have seen pictured.  I was on two different OBB sets this year, one on the Sudbahn and one on the  route from Villach to Salzburg and both were the same.  There was a portion of the 1st class car designated Business Class that was arranged somewhat differently but all open and with seats that appeared the same as in the rest of the car.

Gordon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/18 18:35 by gbmott.