Austrian Southern Railway Company

Second, the company existed even after ending all railway operations as an administration of assets, mainly for securing the pension claims of its former employees.

Südliche Staatsbahn, the Südbahn-Gesellschaft operated the important Southern Railway line from Vienna to Triest, with its famous Semmering crossing.

At the time of the company's creation, Venetia was part of Austria, and hence Venice was supposed to be the main Mediterranean harbour of the empire.

The Südbahn-Gesellschaft also operated the line from Kufstein to Verona (later only to Ala), with its central piece, the Brenner railway, which had been completed in 1867.

When Austria lost, in 1866, its rule over Upper Italy (Venetia and Lombardy), the new Strade Ferrate Alta Italia (SFAI) was split from the Südbahn-Gesellschaft, with the same main shareholders as the mother company.