ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) release (from original in German).

With the penetration of the first tube - in the Gloggnitz section - another large milestone could be celebrated today. The historical conclusion of all tunneling in the Semmering base tunnel is imminent.

Two tubes with 27.3 km each have to dig for the Semmering base tunnel. The first tunnel construction work started in 2014. Today the last penetration in the route 1 in the Gloggnitz construction phase, so Gloggnitz is fully connected to the underground surcharge. In the second tube, the work can be completed in the first quarter of 2025, then the propulsion is completely ended. Despite the difficult geology in the Gloggnitz section, the Mineure have been able to record great progress in the past few months and have now achieved this milestone.

Minister of Climate Protection Leonore Gewessler: “The Semmering base tunnel is a long-awaited milestone in rail expansion. We will noticeably shorten the travel time between Vienna and the south of Austria and create even more attractive rail connections in the heart of Europe for people and goods. With the punch and the underlying mining masterpiece, we get a significant step closer to the completion. I would like to thank everyone involved and have a warm luck! "

Andreas Matthä, CEO ÖBB Holding AG: “Construction projects of this size are not a sprint, but a marathon - this is particularly true in tunnel construction. Anyone who has already experienced the work of the miners in the mountain can only express incredible respect and thanks for the services that are provided for future generations. Under difficult geological framework conditions, everyone involved, from the project management to the departments and external partners, to the miners, of course, did great things. The end result will be a tunnel in 2030 that brings rail traffic in Austria and Europe a big step forward and makes train driving even more attractive. Our passengers can then drive from Vienna to Graz by 50 minutes faster from 2030. ”

Over 99 % of the tunnel are dug

More than 27 kilometers of the 27.3 kilometers of the two -tier tunnel have already dug. The tunnel was built by five places and a total of 14 promotions at the same time, twelve of the 14 cranes (four in the Fröschnitzgraben, 4 in Gra have, 3 in Göstritz and 1 from Gloggnitz) have already been completed. In 2020, the "interior" of the tunnel tubes began. The tunnel is lined with a concrete inner shell, more than 40 km (of a total of 55 km in two tubes) have already been achieved. After completion of the inner shell, the last step is the railway -technical tunnel equipment (tracks, lines, technical systems) before the trains can ultimately drive through the tunnel. Construction of the tunnel equipment begins in the summer of 2025.

The southern route: from traveling and promoting the future

The ÖBB-Infrastructure AG is currently working on more than 100 large and small projects along the south route, part of the Baltic-Adriatic corridor. 200 kilometers of railway line are modernized, 170 kilometers are rebuilt. 80 km new tunnels and 150 new bridges built. Over 5,000 people work on it. After completion of the projects, the trains rush from Vienna to Klagenfurt in 2 hours 40 minutes, from Graz to Klagenfurt in 45 minutes. They pass, on a total of 470 km, many new train stations and cross two mountains at high speeds - the Semmering and the Koralpe. The southern route project includes: the Nordbahn expansion, the Wien-Bratislava expansion, the new Vienna Central Station, the Vienna Süd freight center, the expansion of the Pottendorfer line, the construction of the Semmering Basistunnel, eight modernized train stations on the way from Bruck to Graz, the modernized Graz Central Station and 130 kilometers of new Koralbahn. Together they create the prerequisites for future-oriented passenger and freight traffic.
 

source: ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) release.