Austria’s Federal Administrative Court has cleared the long-delayed expansion of Vienna’s Connecting Railway (Verbindungsbahn), the backbone that links the western mainline at Hütteldorf with the Southern Railway, Vienna Hauptbahnhof and the S-Bahn trunk tunnel. The approval, announced on 23 January, removes the last legal hurdle and allows ÖBB Infrastructure to start main construction works this spring.
The €1.6 billion project will add double track, grade-separate critical junctions, build two new suburban stations (Hietzinger Kai and Stranzenberg) and install European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling. Once complete in 2032, capacity for regional and long-distance services through Austria’s capital will rise by around 30 percent, according to the Eastern Region Transport Association (VOR). Commuters from Lower Austria and Burgenland will gain direct, one-seat rides to key business districts and Vienna International Airport via the City Airport Train corridor.
Overseas executives, engineers and investors travelling to Vienna to inspect project sites or negotiate rail-supply contracts can simplify their visa paperwork through VisaHQ. The company’s digital platform walks applicants through Austria’s entry requirements, offers real-time status tracking and even arranges courier pickup of passports and supporting documents. Find out more at https://www.visahq.com/austria/.
![Vienna’s Connecting Railway expansion gets final green light, boosting commuter and airport links]()
For multinationals with offices in Vienna’s south-west technology cluster and the Seestadt Aspern development, the upgrade promises shorter door-to-door times and greater schedule reliability – factors that weigh heavily in site-selection and talent-mobility decisions. It also dovetails with the government’s KlimaTicket strategy of shifting at least 30 percent of commuter trips from road to rail by 2035.
Construction will be staged to keep two tracks operational at all times, but ÖBB warns of temporary weekend closures and speed restrictions. Employers running shuttle services or reimbursing public-transport passes should monitor timetable changes closely, particularly during the 2027–29 switchover to the new fly-over at Meidling junction.
Beyond the commuter market, the Verbindungsbahn is a critical freight artery linking the Adriatic ports with Central Europe. The court’s decision is therefore seen as a boost to supply-chain resilience, giving logistics providers an electrified alternative to the congested Danube corridor.
The €1.6 billion project will add double track, grade-separate critical junctions, build two new suburban stations (Hietzinger Kai and Stranzenberg) and install European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling. Once complete in 2032, capacity for regional and long-distance services through Austria’s capital will rise by around 30 percent, according to the Eastern Region Transport Association (VOR). Commuters from Lower Austria and Burgenland will gain direct, one-seat rides to key business districts and Vienna International Airport via the City Airport Train corridor.
Overseas executives, engineers and investors travelling to Vienna to inspect project sites or negotiate rail-supply contracts can simplify their visa paperwork through VisaHQ. The company’s digital platform walks applicants through Austria’s entry requirements, offers real-time status tracking and even arranges courier pickup of passports and supporting documents. Find out more at https://www.visahq.com/austria/.
For multinationals with offices in Vienna’s south-west technology cluster and the Seestadt Aspern development, the upgrade promises shorter door-to-door times and greater schedule reliability – factors that weigh heavily in site-selection and talent-mobility decisions. It also dovetails with the government’s KlimaTicket strategy of shifting at least 30 percent of commuter trips from road to rail by 2035.
Construction will be staged to keep two tracks operational at all times, but ÖBB warns of temporary weekend closures and speed restrictions. Employers running shuttle services or reimbursing public-transport passes should monitor timetable changes closely, particularly during the 2027–29 switchover to the new fly-over at Meidling junction.
Beyond the commuter market, the Verbindungsbahn is a critical freight artery linking the Adriatic ports with Central Europe. The court’s decision is therefore seen as a boost to supply-chain resilience, giving logistics providers an electrified alternative to the congested Danube corridor.
