Montafonerbahn (mbs)

Montafonerbahn, shortened to mbs, is a Vorarlberg company with businesses spanning energy, electrical installation and cable and telecom services, but its best-known role is running the Montafonerbahn railway, together with the Landbus Montafon bus network. The railway opened on 18 December 1905 as the first electrically operated standard-gauge local line in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and mbs has run it ever since as both the infrastructure manager and the train operator, working closely with the Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) and the Verkehrsverbund Vorarlberg (VVV).

The line covers just under 13 kilometres, climbing from Bludenz at 558 metres to Schruns at 681 metres, calling at nine stops along the way: Bludenz, Bludenz-Moos, Brunnenfeld-Stallehr, Lorüns, St. Anton im Montafon, Vandans, Kaltenbrunnen, Tschagguns and Schruns. Trains run on a half-hourly to hourly pattern, with 68 services on weekdays and 70 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, carrying just over 1.25 million passengers in 2024. The railway also moves freight, mostly softwood timber, using a single diesel locomotive dating from 2008.

Fares on the Montafonerbahn follow the Vorarlberger Verbundtarif, the standard regional fare used across Vorarlberg's public transport, so a valid VVV ticket covers the journey rather than a separate mbs fare. Ticket information and sales run through Schruns station, open daily from 6:00 to 11:30 and 12:30 to 18:00, and journey planning goes through the VVV's own timetable tool, which also links onward to ÖBB, Deutsche Bahn and Swiss Federal Railways services beyond the valley.

For a traveller, the Montafonerbahn works as a short, frequent shuttle between Bludenz, on Vorarlberg's main rail line, and Schruns, the gateway to the Montafon valley's hiking and ski resorts. Trains connect at Bludenz with regional and long-distance services, making the line a practical last leg into the valley rather than a destination route in its own right.