The ß–Spielfeld–Trieste railway is a double-track, electrified main line in parts of Austria, Slovenia and Italy. It was built as a section of the Austrian Southern Railway (österreichische Südbahn Vienna–Trieste) by the state-owned k.k. Südliche Staatsbahn (Southern Railway) and from 1858 onward operated for decades by the Austrian Southern Railway Company (Südbahngesellschaft), a large private railway company in the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. It runs from over the Austrian-Slovenian border at the Municipality of Šentilj, continuing via Maribor, Ljubljana and the Slovenian karst to the Adriatic port of Trieste, today in Italy. It continues from Spielfeld-Straß to Vienna as the Southern Railway nowadays.
History
The first plans for a railway connection between Vienna and the Adriatic Sea emerged in 1829. Construction between Vienna and Baden bei Wien commenced in 1839, and between Vienna and Gloggnitz in 1842. Operations between Mürzzuschlag and Graz commenced in 1844. The Southern Railway began construction work from Graz south to Celje (then called by its German name of Cilli) in 1843. Extensive engineering structures were necessary for the construction of the line. This section was opened on 2 June 1848.
Construction on the following section to Ljubljana (Laibach) was delayed by the Revolution of 1848, so that operations could not start until 18 August 1849. The gap between Gloggnitz and Mürzzuschlag was closed in 1854 with the opening of the Semmering railway (Semmeringbahn), making the Vienna–Ljubljana line continuously trafficable.
The continuation of the line to Trieste caused difficulties. Both the Ljubljana Marsh and the Karst Plateau, which sloped steeply towards the Adriatic, had to be overcome. The section from Ljubljana to Postojna (Adelsberg) opened on 20 November 1856. The Ljubljana Marsh was crossed on a 2,400 m long and up to 15 m high embankment. The 584 m long, two-level Borovnica Viaduct was built near Borovnica.
The last section to Trieste was opened on 27 July 1857. 14 viaducts were necessary to cross the karst at Aurisina. The line ended at the site of the current Trieste Centrale station.
Initially, the route was operated by the Wien-Gloggnitzer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (Vienna-Gloggnitz Railway Company) on behalf of the k.k. Südlichen Staatsbahn (Southern Railway). The Southern Railway took over the management of the line on 1 May 1851. The k.k. südliche Staatsbahn was sold to the private k.k. privilegierte Südbahn-Gesellschaft (Austrian Southern Railway Company) on 23 May 1858.
Historically, the route crossed the Austrian Crown lands of Styria, Carniola and the Austrian Littoral. The towns (with the exception of Trieste) were mostly populated by German speakers, while the countryside was almost 100% Slovenian. The area, which up until then had been off the main transport routes, experienced a considerable development boost thanks to the construction of the Southern Railway: people could now reach the booming Vienna region just as easily as Trieste, the main port of the Habsburg monarchy. The Southern Railway Company built its main workshop in Maribor (Marburg), which provided many jobs.
An efficient trade route was created for the entire empire, over which traffic could be carried out as far as the Middle East. The railway was very beneficial to tourism: the Postojna Cave for example, which was on the line, was a well-known travel destination as early as the Biedermeier period. Travel to Zagreb was simplified. The creation of the "Austrian Riviera" in Istria would not have been possible without the Southern Railway. The Austro-Hungarian Navy, which launched its new ships in Trieste and converted Pula into its main naval port, maintained contact with the Ministry of War in Vienna via the Southern Railway.