The Semmeringbahn links Vienna with Italy and Slovenia. Our journey starts at the Südbahnhof for passenger trains, and  Kledering -Austria’s most important classification yard for freight. At Wiener Neustadt there is a secondary freight yard where trains can be held and prepared, if necessary, before going on to the Semmering. Beyond  this the railway runs across the flat Steinfeld through St Egyden  and Gloggnitz, where there was, until the advent of high powered electric traction, the base station for the Semmering north ramp. The place where banker locomotives and assistants are attached and detached. The scenic section of the Semmering really begins around Payerbach Reichenau, 82 kilometres from Vienna at an altitude of 494 metres where there are still facilities to hold freight trains before they head for the hills! The section between Klamm and Breitenstein includes a number of short tunnels and viaducts, all the time the line is climbing at 1.9 per cent. This area is very remote and inaccessible, one of the most interesting elements of the whole route! RT 90 mins