A sopron–pozsonyi HÉV építéstörténete
The History of Building the Sopron–Pozsony Suburban Train Line

Summary/Abstract: As early as 1848, there was a rail connection between Marchegg (now in Austria) and Pozsony (now Bratislava in Slovakia), which was the most important town in the north-western part of Transdanubia. Later, this line provided a link to Vienna and from 1851 the Pozsony-Párkánynána line created a direct connection to Pest-Buda as well. The line between Sopron and Bécsújhely (now Wiener Neustadt in Austria) was built even earlier, in 1847. From 1865 the railway connected Sopron, Szombathely and Nagykanizsa. However, the establishment of a rail line between the two formerly royal chartered towns was preceded by a long struggle. Following the first unsuccessful bids in 1866, the efforts of the so-called ’licenciates’ remained similarly fruitless due to lack of support and funds. At the beginning of the 1890s, new entrepreneurs appeared on the horizon and the supporters of the line became divided. One camp wanted the line to go through Ruszt (now Rust in Austria), while the other preferred the Kismarton (now Eisenstadt in Austria) route. Both of these towns had a lot to lose, as their future development depended on the railway line passing through. Finally, after years of debates and lobbying, the Kismarton camp triumphed. Once they obtained the licence, they were able to raise enough capital and finish the construction of the long-awaited suburban line by the end of 1897.

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