The opening of the Koralmbahn with the December timetable change has enabled a new, faster Railjet Xpress (RJX) connection between Vienna and Trieste, improving rail accessibility between Austria and northern Italy. The new route runs via Graz, Klagenfurt, Villach, Udine and Grado, offering a direct link between the Austrian capital and the Adriatic coast.
Travel times have been substantially reduced. Vienna–Trieste is now scheduled at 6 hours 38 minutes, compared with 9 hours 18 minutes previously. Vienna–Venice journeys have also been shortened, from 7 hours 40 minutes to 7 hours 10 minutes. The first RJX service was officially welcomed in Trieste following the launch.
Two daily Railjet Xpress services operate on the corridor. Trains depart Vienna Hauptbahnhof at 06:53, reaching Trieste at 13:31, while return services leave Trieste in the early afternoon, arriving back in Vienna at 21:07. The new services form part of ÖBB’s wider expansion of long-distance passenger traffic on the southern axis.
Beyond the Vienna–Trieste link, the new timetable introduces a significant capacity increase on Austria’s southern corridor. Services between Vienna and Graz now operate at 30-minute intervals, delivering 33 daily connections instead of 18. Connections between Graz and Klagenfurt rise to 29 per day, replacing previous bus services, while Vienna–Klagenfurt frequencies increase to 26 daily trains.
The Koralmbahn is expected to play a central role in strengthening cross-border passenger rail between Austria, Italy and Slovenia, improving journey times and reliability while reinforcing rail as a competitive alternative to air and road transport on north–south routes.
