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Due to the outbreak of the First World War, many sculpture laboratories had to close down and the cottage industry suffered severely. But this period featured also a positive effect: the construction of a narrow-gauge railway which connected Chiusa with Plan over a distance of 31 km and an altitude difference of 1072 m. The construction was decreed by the Austrian government, above all in order to supply the artillery at the Dolomite front who fought for the alliance Germany-Austria against Italy. The rail route was finished in record time after only four months by Russian prisoners in 1915. In order to cut down additionally the construction time, the bridges and the crossovers were built provisionally in wood and only later on in stone.
For many years the train of Val Gardena was a precious means of transportation for the valley and benefited moreover the development of the tourism as well as the sale of wooden products. But with the triumph of the car, the loud and slow train was soon shut down. One part of the route was turned into a road, while the part in the upper valley was converted into a walkway connecting Ortisei with S. Cristina and Selva Gardena.
