Austria’s Koralm Railway opening on December 14 brought the 130km route into full operation. Passenger trains are now running between Graz and Klagenfurt in as little as 41 minutes, as outlined in an ÖBB press release.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Koralm Railway opening: Graz–Klagenfurt in 41 minutes
Photo: ÖBB

Public interest was strong from the outset. Within the first few hours of passenger services starting, 10,000 people travelled on the new line. The rollout came in stages: test trains began running earlier this year, and the Koralm Railway was opened to freight traffic last month before it entered all-traffic service, as previously covered by Railway Supply.

Construction timeline and the €6.1bn Koralm Railway project

The €6.1bn rail project was built in several phases. Initial work began in 2002 and included quadrupling the existing main line south of Graz. Major construction followed in 2008, including the early stages of the Koralm Tunnel (33km), one of the scheme’s core engineering elements.

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250km/h line, 15kV ac electrification and TEN-T corridor role

Built as a 250km/h electrified line (15kV ac), the route uses Austria’s standard system across its full length. It is also a key link in one of the European Union’s nine TEN-T corridors.

Austria sits at the centre of the TEN-T Baltic-Adriatic corridor, connecting ports in Poland to the north with ports in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia to the south, and the new line is an important route for transit freight; the European Commission’s corridor overview notes the importance of Alpine links including the Koralm tunnel.

Tunnels, bridges and stations on the Koralm Railway

The Koralm Railway includes around 50km of tunnels, more than 100 bridges, and 23 stations and stops. Commenting on the milestone, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) CEO Andreas Matthä said: “The full opening of the Koralm Railway is a historic milestone. We are experiencing enormous interest in the new line.”

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