Austria’s Western Route project is at its halfway, with all works running successfully and on schedule, ÖBB has announced.
In order to be able to carry out extensive construction work on the busy route between Salzburg and Vienna in a concentrated manner, work has been carried out simultaneously on several sections in August. This means that the necessary work can be carried out quickly and without long-term disruption to train traffic.
The work brings many improvements for travellers and commuters delivering increased punctuality and reliability, more travel comfort, faster journeys and better noise protection for residents.
By the halfway point, 6 km of new tracks had already been laid, 12 km of rails welded, 12 switches replaced, 15 tonnes of ballast applied, 6,000 sleepers laid, and 2 km of noise barriers were renewed. During September, ÖBB is focused on work on the overhead line taking place on the Amstetten – St. Valentin, Marchtrenk, Schwanenstadt and Seekirchen rail sections.
Preparing the rail network for the mobility transition is essential for ÖBB which is modernising a route while it is still in operation, a complicated action that is vital for rail traffic. With EUR 21.1 billion invested in modern railway and facilities by 2029, ÖBB is running the largest expansion programme in history. The goal is a rail infrastructure that offers sufficient space for the increasing rail traffic and thus ensures a continued dense, punctual rail service for passengers and freight.
Austria’s Western Route, part of the Rhine – Danube corridor, is one of the most important mainline crossing the country as about one third of all trains are using the connection between Salzburg and Vienna. Its upgrade programme will deliver improvement for the entire rail traffic. ÖBB is carrying out line’s four-track expansion before Salzburg will enable higher capacities and thus a better range of passenger and freight services, as well as local and long-distance traffic. The project is supported by the framework plan for the period 2024 – 2029 with investments of EUR 21.1 billion.
In addition to the new Koralmbahn, Western Line, Semmering and Brenner Base Tunnel routes, a particularly large number of existing routes on which rail traffic is already running are now being renovated.
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