Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways

After in 1810 a first 22 kilometres (14 mi) long horse-drawn railway line was built at the Eisenerz mine in Styria for the transport of iron stones, in 1832 a wagonway between Austrian Linz and České Budějovice (Budweis) in Bohemia opened.

While the Northern Railway prospered, private investors held back on financing further railroad constructions and the expansion of the Austrian network came to a standstill.

The Northern Railway in Lower Austria was completed up to the Bohemian border at Bernhardsthal, a branch-off from Olmütz (Olomouc) and Brünn (Brno) to Prague was opened in 1845/49.

First construction works on the projected Western Railway (Westbahn) line to the border with Bavaria via Linz and Salzburg got stuck in the beginning.

Operations Divisions were established in Vienna, Linz, Innsbruck, Villach, Budweis, Pilsen, Prague, Cracow, Lemberg, Pola, and Spalato.

[citation needed] On 15 January 1896, Emperor Franz Joseph I, at the suggestion of Minister President Count Kasimir Felix Badeni, approved the establishment of the k.k.

[citation needed] By nationalizing other companies or taking over their traffic, the State Railways obtained a practical monopoly in rail transport.

[citation needed] After the end of the World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the Imperial-Royal Rail Ministry was disestablished on 12 November 1918 by resolution of the Provisional Assembly of German-Austria.

kkStB Salzburg-Wörgl railway poster advertising, c. 1900
KkStB Westbahn train near Haag, Lower Austria , about 1900