ÖBB eliminates new level crossing in major ongoing campaign
ÖBB has inaugurated a new underpass in Deutsch-Wagram, just north of the capitol Vienna. The work was carried out as part of an expansion and modernisation project of the Northern Line. The Austrian operator aims to remove all 18 level crossings on the line.
The level crossings will be replaced by either underpasses of overpasses, depending on the situation on the ground. On Tuesday, the first project was completed following a construction period of 15 months. “Each railway crossing that we eliminate means more safety for all. Both on the road and on the rails,” Reinhold Hödl, Division Manager for Projects New/Expansion at ÖBB Infrastructure said.
As part of work on the Northern Line, efforts also underway to modernise the Helmahof stop and the strasshof station area. There, ÖBB will carry out track works and overhaul the overhead lines from September onwards. Restrictions on local train traffic will be in place. Another level crossing between Aderklaa and Deutsch-Wagram will be tackled beginning in July and between October and December, a road bridge over the Northern Line will be replaced.
The overarching expansion project of the Northern Line is split up in two parts: A southern section from Wien Süßenbrunn to Gänserndorf and a northern section from Gänserndorf to the state border with the Czech Republic. Whereas work is ongoing on the former section, the environmental impact assessment for the latter is still underway.
The expansion is intended to facilitate additional S-bahn commuter trains in the area between Vienna and the Czech border. Travel time between the Austrian capital and Prague should be reduced to 3 hours and 45 minutes. Separate expansion works in Czech Republic are also underway. Improvements to the Northern Line are also associated with the Via Vindobona project, a planned high-speed railway between Vienna and Berlin.
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