At 160 km/h to Prague

The goal is to bring Austria and the Czech Republic even closer together. Starting 2026, Northern Railway trains will race back and forth at 160 km/h. Passengers will be able to travel from Vienna to the South Moravian village of Breclav in just an hour; the journey to Prague will take a mere 3 hrs 45 min, an entire half-hour faster than it is now. Freight transport will equally benefit from this line expansion.

Gdansk and Trieste are around the corner

Planning for the new Northern Line has begun. The first step will be an environmental impact assessment, i.e. the assessment of possible effects on mankind, animals, and the environment. At the same time, discussions and negotiations will be conducted with our Czech neighbours in order to coordinate project activity. The Baltic-Adriatic Corridor between Swinoujscie/Gdansk and Koper/Trieste/Ravenna is one of nine Core Network Corridors building the backbone of the European transport routes.

"A modernised northern line will bring us even closer to our neighbours in the North."

Gernot Scheuch Project Manager Northern line

Faster Connections between Western Austria and the Airport

Since December 2015 all tracks have come together at the Vienna Main Station. All cross-border European and inland Austrian express trains now run in and out of the station, including those from the West. A train from Innsbruck, Salzburg and Linz brings passengers directly to Vienna International Airport every 30 minutes. Easy changes, short stopping times, good connections: travelling by rail is getting much easier.

A New City District for 13,000 People

All around the new main station, there will be an entire 59 hectare district in 2020. In one area, the southern ‘midsummer district’, 13,000 people have a happy home - in well thought out, energy-saving residential buildings surrounded by a seven hectare park. Trees have been planted, houses and apartments built, and kindergartens and schools already opened, making it a real urban campus. One where you can go straight to the northern part, the ‘Belvedere quarter’. Here, hotels and office buildings are reaching new heights and the ÖBB headquarter is here too. The new district will provide apartments and workplaces for 30,000 people.

"Project management is work with and for people. In the end, the contribution of each and every individual is what counts."

Judith Engel Project Manager Vienna Main Station

More comfort with four new railway stations

Since 2016, ÖBB-Infrastruktur has been working hard on the Hennersdorf-Münchendorf and Ebreichsdorf sections: the whole section will be expanded to be double tracked and four stations, Hennersdorf, Achau, Münchendorf and Ebreichsdorf will be completely renewed. On this section, all level crossings will be abandoned and replaced with safe overpasses and underpasses. Over the next few years, 23 new bridges and underpasses, numerous drainage systems and noise barriers 11 kilometres long will be built.

"The planning and construction work is being carried out in close coordination with the surrounding communities and the work will provide these communities with attractive train services with modern infrastructure in future."

Thomas Schöfmann Project Manager Pottendorfer Line

Track-free platform access

Modernisation is especially important in the area around Graz, where more trains and especially express trains will be running. Fully automatic interlocking systems have been installed for a quicker and safer combination of switches, gates and signals and another safety factor, rail-free train access, is also being brought in. Staircases and exits are thus made more suitable for wheelchair and pram access, which can now by achieved without barriers.

Graz – Klagenfurt in 45 minutes

This is an advantage for commuters and companies too. The Koralm Line transports people and goods more quickly, with short journey times and at short intervals. With its completion in 2025, a journey from Graz to Klagenfurt will take only 45 minutes, instead of the two hour bus journey that was previously required. People who travel from Graz to Venedig can be very pleased with a time saving of up to four hours. In future, people will be able to glide through the countryside along the whole Koralm line at up to 230 km/h.

The sixth-longest railway tunnel in the world

For a quarter of the section, the trains will travel through tunnels, the longest is the Koralm tunnel, at 32.9 kilometres long. It is the sixth longest railway tunnel in the world and connects Styria with Kärnten and the Deutschlandsberg area with the middle of the Lavant valley. At a maximum depth of 1.2 kilometres, two tunnel tubes running in parallel, each with a ten metre outer diameter, break through the Koralpe massif.

23 new and modernised stations and train stops

Along the line, eleven stations have been or are being completely modernised and twelve newly built: in Styria, the stations Kalsdorf, Werndorf and Wettmannstätten, as well as the Hengsberg stop; in the local transport hubs Don Bosco and Puntigam; in Klagenfurt, the station Klagenfurt Ebenthal. These stations are very significant, they are a guarantee for the regional use of the Koralm line: thousands of people will get on and off here and this will be to their advantage.

The Koralm Line connects Köflach with Bleiburg

The Koralm Line fits into a local railway network. It connects to the future station West Styria, in the greater St. Florian area with the Graz-Köflacher railway. The regional line Zeltweg - Wolfsberg merges into the new Lavant valley station. Other new stations: Aich/Wiederndorf, Mittlern, Kühnsdorf/Klopeiner See, Grafenstein. To open up the surrounding countryside, two more lines were modernised on the Kärnten side: the Lavant railway and what is known as the Bleiburg loop; it connects the town community of Bleiburg and the market community of Feistritz on Bleiburg to the southern line.

"With the main station’s modern, waved roof, we have created a completely new landmark."

Klaus Schneider Project Manager Koralmbahn 1

"It’s important to inform people about our projects, children just as much as adults."

Gerald Zwittnig Project Manager Koralmbahn 2

"To make sure the construction runs smoothly, every stage of work for the construction of a tunnel must be precisely coordinated."

Dietmar Schubel Project Manager Koralmbahn 3