Railroad tunnel in Flachgau

The citizens of Köstendorf are forming up again

There was already a large information event on the major project in Köstendorf in 2018(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

The environmental assessment documents for the ÖBB Flachgau tunnel are currently available for public inspection. Citizens' initiatives must now re-form in order to gain party status. 

The documents for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the railroad tunnel through the Flachgau region of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) are extensive, very extensive: the documents are around 8800 pages long. They have been open to the public since last Wednesday. Interested parties can get an idea of what is involved. "The documents are also available at the municipality and we offer a help service at certain times," says Köstendorf Mayor Wolfgang Wagner, who is calling on locals to join citizens' initiatives. If there are 200 or more supporters, the spokesperson of the initiative will be given party status in the procedure and also during the entire construction phase.

The tunnel portal will be located in the municipality of Köstendorf. Numerous works will take place from there and the excavated material will also be removed by rail. The construction period is expected to last around twelve years.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Information event to take place next week
The Flachgauer Wallersee community will be particularly affected during the construction phase, as the tunnel portal for the approximately 16-kilometer-long tube will be located there. From the construction site equipment to the removal of the excavated material, there are numerous concerns among the residents. The municipality itself will also formulate comments and objections. "It's mainly about the roads, traffic, dust, emissions and much more," says Wagner.

Anyone who is affected should formulate their objections and also join a citizens' initiative.

Köstendorfs Bürgermeister Wolfgang Wagner

As reported, the head of the town is particularly concerned about the limit values for pollution, as work will be carried out 24 hours a day, seven days a week in some cases during the construction phase.

As in 2018, there will be another large public information event in Köstendorf, which will take place on Monday, April 15, at 7.30 pm in the community hall.