About this journey

The journey departs from Attnang-Puchheim station in the Hausruckviertel quarter of Upper Austria, a junction long known as the Door to Salzkammergut, where the Salzkammergut line meets the Salzburg–Vienna line. From here, trains branch away from the main corridor and head into the Alpine approaches of the Salzkammergut region.

The station carries a turbulent history: on 21 April 1945, 179 bombers of the US 15th Air Force struck the marshalling yard, destroying the station, locomotive depot, and workshops entirely. The junction recovered to retain a role in freight traffic and locomotive servicing, and today it serves as the departure point for regional services along the Rudolfsbahn, line 206 01, toward Hieflau. The cab ride is operated by an ÖBB 4744 Siemens Desiro ML, a modern low-floor multiple unit suited to the regional routes of Upper Austria. Attnang-Puchheim begins the journey in the flatter terrain of the Hausruckviertel, while Hieflau lies deep in the Alpine interior — the route thus moves from a historic railway junction shaped by industry and wartime destruction into a landscape defined by the mountains of the Salzkammergut.