📋 Tender Overview
Until the Semmering Base Tunnel goes into operation in 2030, around 180 trains will continue to roll over the Semmering every day. This puts a strain on the 170-year-old mountain route. Due to the topographically exposed location and the correspondingly adverse weather conditions, the railway facilities are exposed to great stress. Temperature fluctuations, snow and frost demand a lot from the engineering structures and tracks of the line. In addition, there is the wear and tear caused by daily passenger and freight traffic. The sum of these factors makes it necessary to renovate the Semmering mountain route step by step.
Thisyear, ÖBB is investing around 59 million euros in the renovation measures at Semmering, and 250 to 300 employees are on the construction sites on peak days. The main focus of the work is on track and switch renewal. A total of around twelve kilometres of new tracks will be laid, and 19 points will be replaced by new ones. In addition, there are drainage measures and the renewal of cable routes as well as the track substructure in the Gloggnitz area. Essential for safety along the mountain route is also the renewal of protective barriers between Gloggnitz and Mürzzuschlag. The implementation of the first measures began at the beginning of February.
Timetable changes and rail replacement services
In order to be able to carry out the extensive renovation work, timetable changes are necessary for local and regional trains between Gloggnitz or Payerbach-Reichenau and Mürzzuschlag in the period from 17 February to 20 May. From 6 April, 6:00 a.m. to 28 April, 6:00 p.m., there will also be adjustments to long-distance services. During this period, no trains will be able to run on the southern line for long-distance services between Wiener Neustadt and Mürzzuschlag and for local services between Neunkirchen and Mürzzuschlag. A rail replacement service with buses will be set up. Night trains will be diverted.
Timetable changes in local and regionaltransport in detail
17 February to 5 April and 28 April to 20 May
rail replacement service for trains on lines R91 and CJX9 between Payerbach-Reichenau and Mürzzuschlag
6 April to 28 April
: Rail replacement service for all trains between Neunkirchen and Mürzzuschlag
28 April to 12 May
: Cancellation of all trains at the Schlöglmühl stop. Rail replacement service between Gloggnitz and Payerbach-Reichenau with minibuses
Restrictions for residents In Gloggnitz,
there are restrictions in the area of Hofbauer-Straße. The car parking areas there will no longer be usable from March 2024. The Werningstraße railway crossing in Payerbach will be closed to traffic from 6 April, 17:00 to 28 April, 18:00. The railway crossing at Breitenstein station will also be closed – from 6 April, 6:00 a.m. to 28 April, 6:00 p.m. During the work, there may also be noise and dust at night and on weekends. Increased truck traffic is to be expected. ÖBB has informed affected residents in advance by mail and asked for their understanding.
Building during ongoing operations: Like open-heart
surgeryEquipping the rail network for the mobility revolution is not a sprint, but a marathon. Modernizing a track while it is still in operation is like open-heart surgery. ÖBB is running the largest expansion programme in history. 21.1 billion euros will be invested in modern railway facilities by 2029. The aim is to create a railway infrastructure that offers sufficient space for the increasing rail traffic and thus ensures a dense, punctual rail service for passengers and goods. ÖBB takes its role in the fight against the climate crisis very seriously. In addition to the new lines of the Koralm Railway, the Western Line, the Semmering and Brenner Base Tunnels, a particularly large number of existing lines on which train traffic is already running are now being renewed. ÖBB relies on clever planning and innovative construction methods so that construction sites can be completed quickly and away from rail traffic. Nevertheless, the investment and innovation boost does not always go unnoticed by customers. Line closures, which result in rail replacement services, longer travel times or cancellations, are unavoidable. When it comes to the necessary work, ÖBB is primarily concerned with avoiding severe restrictions over longer periods of time. For this reason, measures are bundled and, if necessary, entire sections of the route are processed.
The Southern Route: Travelling and Transporting the Future
ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG is currently working on more than 100 large and small projects along the southern line, part of the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor. 200 kilometres of railway line will be modernised and 170 kilometres will be newly built. 80 km of new tunnels and 150 new bridges built. Over 5,000 people are working on it. Once the projects are completed, trains will run from Vienna to Klagenfurt in 2 hours 40 minutes, and from Graz to Klagenfurt in 45 minutes. Over a total of 470 km, you will pass many new railway stations and cross two mountains at high speeds – the Semmering and the Koralpe. The southern line project includes the expansion of the Northern Railway, the Vienna-Bratislava extension, the new Vienna Central Station, the Vienna South Freight Centre, the expansion of the Pottendorf line, the construction of the Semmering Base Tunnel, eight modernised stations on the way from Bruck to Graz, the modernised Graz Central Station and 130 kilometres of the new Koralm Railway. Together, they create the conditions for future-oriented passenger and freight transport.
