Mega project launched

Ground-breaking ceremony with a bitter aftertaste

A separate information tower was erected in Hörsching for the mega-project.(Bild: Dostal Harald)

The official go-ahead was given in Hörsching for the four-track expansion of the Linz-Marchtrenk western line. In the coming years, around 954 million euros will be spent to realize the high-performance line. The ground-breaking ceremony was celebrated in style, but there were also some negative comments.  

The excavators for the preparatory work for the four-track extension of the western line from Linz to Marchtrenk started rolling in March. Yesterday, Monday, the official ground-breaking ceremony took place. The new high-performance line is due to be completed by 2030, laying another important foundation for a train journey from Vienna to Salzburg in two hours and 15 minutes.

ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä (center) and politicians Markus Achleitner, Günther Steinkellner, Leonore Gewessler and Wolfgang Bogensberger (EU Commission) at the ground-breaking ceremony.(Bild: Dostal Harald)

High-performance tracks for maximum line speeds of up to 230 km/h for Railjets and 160 km/h for regional traffic are therefore being built between Linz and Marchtrenk. The route will also be changed. In the border area between the municipalities of Pasching and Hörsching, it will be shifted a few hundred meters to the south. The new route thus integrates the growing industrial area near Hörsching Airport.

The western line between Linz and Wels is a central infrastructure artery. The frequency of more than 400 trains a day on the almost 25-kilometer section is impressive proof of this.

Markus Achleitner, ÖVP-Wirtschaftslandesrat

Over the next six years, the Leonding, Hörsching and Oftering stations will also be rebuilt. In Pasching, the foundations are being laid for the subsequent construction of a Pasching stop. "If you build it now and don't wait, it will cost half as much," grumbled Markus Achleitner (VP), Member of the Provincial Council for Economic Affairs, at the ground-breaking ceremony in the direction of ÖBB boss Andreas Matthä and Infrastructure Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens). After the recent rather violent atmospheric disturbances with the ÖVP at federal level and the loud criticism from Upper Austria, she did not stand at the same table as Achleitner on the stage. Even in the group photo, the two were separated by a few meters.

This expansion is of central importance to me because it protects our environment, strengthens Austria as a business location and offers people a reliable and sustainable mobility solution.

Leonore Gewessler, Infrastrukturminister (Grüne)

Local residents criticize
The Flurschutzgemeinschaft is also unhappy with ÖBB and the minister: "Even if many people claim that we are against the four-track railroad expansion, this is simply wrong. The necessity of the switch must be questioned," says Chairman Thomas Weigl. He points out that the first expropriation procedures for the switch have not even been completed and are also unacceptable. "It is far from possible to replace the land with the compensation currently set."