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Austria is investing heavily in rail infrastructure. Most of it goes to the three main tunnel projects.
3:52 pm, October 16, 2020
Over the next six years, from 2021 to 2026, 17,500 million euros will be invested in the renovation and expansion of the railway infrastructure. Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) and ÖBB Head Andreas Matthä presented the projects of ÖBB’s new master plan at a press conference in Vienna today. The goal is to make railways faster and more attractive, both in passenger traffic and in freight transport.
In the new 2021-2026 master plan, all projects from the 2018-2023 master plan will continue. PNew projects were included with a total volume of 8,000 million euros, This is the largest investment program to date in the railways. Per capita investment in rail infrastructure in Austria is double that in Germany. During the presentation, the importance of investments for the national economy and the creation and maintenance of jobs was also highlighted.
The investment program is a climate protection package for the nine federal states, Gewessler emphasized: “More than 17 billion euros for rail projects across the country is an announcement in the fight against the climate crisis.” The ÖBB chief also underlined the intent of the environmental policy: “At some point there will be a vaccine against Corona, and certainly not against climate change, so we have to take active measures against it,” said Matthä.
Less passengers
As a result of the corona pandemic, the number of passengers on the Bundesbahn fell by 37 percent from January to September, and freight traffic fell by 10 to 15 percent. Currently, the trend is lateral or increasing slightly. The travel advisories would have once again dampened long-distance traffic. “It does not fall into the abyss”, Matthä assured. There are already growth forecasts for the time after Corona. The head of ÖBB expects 290 million passengers on the rails in 2026. For comparison: in 2019 there were 266.7 million train passengers.
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With the 1-2-3 ticket, only the third stage, the public transport ticket for the whole of Austria, will come initially, so the federal government is moving forward. RE.Funding for the “three-way ticket” has been secured and the plan is to start in the first half of 2021Gewessler explained. Intensive talks are being held with the federal states for the implementation of the first and second stages.
Attract regional railways
The new framework plan includes more S-Bahn trains in and around cities, with a focus on the eastern region on the main express train line, where a two and a half minute cycle is envisaged. In addition, regional trains are becoming more attractive and advanced electrification, for example in the Grazer Ostbahn or the Traisentalbahn. Digitization and efficiency gains will also be intensified. In Upper Austria, the Linz-Wels and Pyhrnbahn Linz-Selzthal lines are being expanded. In Salzburg, the connection between Bischofshofen and Stainach-Irdning is being improved. In Carinthia, the new master plan made the Ossiacherseebahn between Villach and St. Veit more attractive as a planning project.
Around a third of the € 17.5 billion will go to the large tunnel projects Brennerbase Tunnel, Semmering Base Tunnel and Koralm Railway. Other focal points: “Park and Ride” and acoustic protection, station conversions and route extensions. But the investments are also going into rolling stock: around three billion euros will go to new vehicles by 2026. This also includes the increase in the night train fleet.
Multiple praise
Vida union welcomes the lane widening program in the ÖBB master plan. Günter Blumthaler, chairman of the Department of Railways, also calls for measures to be taken to stop the relocation of millions of tonnes of goods to road trucking. The unionist of life can imagine government subsidies for industry to move goods from highway to rail.
The Verkehrsclub Österreich (VCÖ) praises the improvement of local transport connections. In metropolitan areas in particular, the railroad has already reached its capacity limits. The Wels-Linz four-lane expansion will reduce the traffic load in the Linz area. The modernization of the main S-Bahn line in Vienna will allow 26 instead of 20 trains per hour to run on this central connection in the future.
The accolades also come from the Vienna Greens. Of the investments totaling € 6 billion in the eastern region, the most important projects are the modernization of the main line of the S-Bahn through Vienna, the extension of the Meidling-Hütteldorf connection line, the extension of four tracks of the southern line between Meidling and Mödling, as well as the conversion of stations. Platform extensions and the introduction of the European ETCS train control system on the main line would bring significantly more capacity across increasingly long trains. This also increases punctuality and shortens the travel time between Floridsdorf and Meidling by two minutes. Public transport is becoming increasingly attractive to travelers, which is a step towards the “climate capital” Vienna.
