📋 Tender Overview
The countdown is running: On December 14, 2025, the Koralbahn between Graz and Klagenfurt goes into operation and thus heralds a new era for the south of Austria. Time for an overview of the many superlatives along the new railway line.
(Klagenfurt, May 27, 2025) It is still 200 days for the Coralbahn to graduate from the Century project. The new high -performance route connects Graz and Klagenfurt with only 45 minutes travel time. For commuters: Completely new perspectives are created inside and business operators. And the Koralbahn also means a huge upgrade for the Austrian rail system. So that it could get that far, some challenges were to be mastered - with many superlatives.
First sections in operation in 18 years
In terms of dimensions, the Koralbahn is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe. It comprises 130 kilometers of new route, around 50 tunnel kilometers, over 100 bridges and 23 modern train stations and stops. The majority of the route is approved for up to 250 km/h top speed. A total of 27 years has been built. The focus was always on commissioning, so that Bahnkund: benefit in the inside as early as possible. Individual areas of the Koralbahn have therefore been in operation for local transport since 2007, i.e. for 18 years. The first sections were already finished before the work on the Koralmt tunnel started.
World record in tunnel construction
The heart of the Koralbahn is undoubtedly the Koralmtunnel. With its two 33 -kilometer tubes, he is the sixth longest railway tunnel in the world. Three huge tunnel boring machines with 10,000 hp each were used - including world record: at 17,145 meters, the longest propulsion was achieved under comparable conditions. Despite the persistent mountains in 2020, the final penetration was made. Today, 2,000 kilometers of cables are laid in the Koralmtunnel, 550 distributors are installed and 13,000 track straps are installed.
290 kilometers laid on tracks
A total of 290 km of tracks, 20,000 track strag boards and around 100 high-tech switches were installed for the Koralbahn. However, these are only the big chunks. There were significantly more than 75 percent of the awards to domestic companies or Austrian branches. The majority of the added value generated also went to SMEs or small or small companies. In this way, the region benefited during construction.
One of the largest RRP-tested projects
The Koralmbahn is also one of the largest projects that have been submitted and approved for the environmental impact assessment. In practice, this means a variety of measures to protect areas worth protecting or to recultive habitats. For example, four million cubic meters of material were reused from the Koralmunnel. Ecological compensation areas on the Drau, Lassnitz and Lavant today develop into natural jewels. And countless plantings of trees and shrubs were carried out.
Data & facts
130 km total length
50 tunnel kilometers
23 modern train stations
Over 100 bridges
Up to 250 km/h top speed
Sixth longest railway tunnels worldwide
World record with 17,145 m continuous propulsion
2,000 kilometers of cables in the Koralmtunnel
290 km tracks
Around 100 soft
27 years of total construction time
