📋 Tender Overview
The crucial improvement of the connecting railway between Hutteldorf and Meidling is at serious risk. After more than three years of waiting, the Federal Administrative Court has still not made a decision. Contrary to the legal assessment, the Federal Administrative Court did not make the decision necessary for the planned implementation of the project, namely to lift the suspensive effect of the appeals for the central construction section. OBB must now stop the preparatory measures for the start of construction in September 2025. This clearly means that the prerequisites for the two-line S-Bahn ring will be pushed back by years. "The consequences for the people of Vienna and for the mobility transition are massive. We need this connection to offer climate-friendly mobility with an attractive 15-minute frequency. This connection would also help us relieve the pressure on the heavily used U4 line. I honestly fail to understand why the court's decision is taking so long. The current status quo is a massive setback and a detriment to Vienna and its public transport users. This is also a bitter setback for commuters from Lower Austria, whom we want to bring onto the rails to reduce car traffic in the city," said an outraged City Councilor for Mobility Ulli Sima. Court massively exceeded the timeframe for decision. The Federal Administrative Court is acting contrary to clear legal requirements. Accordingly, the court is obligated to decide on applications and complaints without unnecessary delay, but no later than six months after their receipt. The delay of more than three years inevitably opens up a fundamental debate about how important infrastructure projects are dragged out by years of legal proceedings and thus rendered impossible. The wait for a decision is completely disproportionate. The particular interests of a few individuals are being placed above the interests of the general public, which supports noise protection and good public transport connections. Optimization is the only alternative for the mobility transition. The railway line is the direct connection from Hutteldorf to Meidling and then to Aspern. The section of line designed to make the connecting line more attractive will be 5 kilometers long, of which 800 meters are planned as an elevated route between Beckgasse and Wiental. The connection would allow an additional 20,000 passengers to board and alight at the three stops (OBB forecast), thus creating more capacity for climate-friendly mobility. It is particularly important that there are permanently available and barrier-free crossing points instead of level crossings. The elimination of level crossings will also improve safety, particularly in the vicinity of schools and kindergartens. To enhance the attractiveness, 400 new bicycle parking spaces and new, covered bike and ride facilities are planned, as well as two new stops and the expansion of the existing Wien Speising station into a multimodal transport hub. And NEW is modern soundproofing, which previously did not exist at all. It is also a fact that a positive environmental impact assessment (EIA) and a nature conservation permit have been in place since 2022. The long wait for a decision from the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) and the resulting massive delay affect thousands of commuters, employees, and even students along the route, who will have to wait a very long time for an optimization of the climate-friendly mobility options.
