Lainzer tunnel

Lainzer tunnel
	Entrance from Vienna Meidling station into the Lainzer Tunnel (2015)
use	Railway tunnel
traffic connection	Westbahn , Südbahn , Donauländebahn
place	Vienna
length	9.434 km, with connections 11.073 km
Number of tubes	1, in some places 2 tubes each single track
cross-section	two-pronged
construction
Client	ÖBB Infrastructure AG
building-costs	1.3 billion euros
start of building	1999
completion	December 9, 2012 (scheduled commissioning)
location
Coordinates
West portal	48 ° 12 ′ 23 " N , 16 ° 14 ′ 5" E
East portal (Meidling)	48 ° 10 ′ 13 ″ N , 16 ° 19 ′ 16 ″ E
East portal (Inzersdorf)	48 ° 9 ′ 48 " N , 16 ° 19 ′ 56" E

Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

The Lainzer Tunnel , named after the Lainz district , is a 9.434 km long railway tunnel in Vienna that has been connecting the western railway line with the southern railway line , the eastern railway line and the Donauländebahn (towards the central shunting station Wien-Kledering ) since December 9, 2012 .

The purpose of the project was to increase the capacity in the east-west transit. The existing, partially single-track connecting line between Wien Hütteldorf and Wien Meidling will be relieved by the Lainzer Tunnel. The capacities that become available there can also be used to expand the local transport offer, which is to be made more attractive by 2025 with the continuous double-track expansion, the construction of two new stations and the renovation of existing stations.

In the PR work, the Lainzer tunnel was also referred to as the wild boar tunnel , as the underpassed Lainzer zoo is often associated with the wild boars that occur there.

route

The tunnel route begins in the west at the Vienna Wolf S-Bahn station in the Au der Westbahn, about 2 km west of the Wien Hütteldorf underground and S-Bahn station (see route diagram of the Westbahn). The Hadersdorf underground junction was also built there, a link with the new high-performance route from St. Pölten to Vienna ( Wienerwaldtunnel ), which went into operation on the same day.

The route then runs in the west of Vienna (13th district, Hietzing ) below the Lainzer Tiergarten , the Trazerberg - Girzenberg - Roter Berg ridge , from Speising eastwards close to the existing connecting line and joins the southern line in front of the Vienna Meidling station or in front of the Station Vienna Inzersdorf in the Donauländebahn (see route diagram of this train).

The Lainzer Tunnel is part of the Western Railway and the European high-speed line Paris – Bratislava and –Budapest .

The single-tube, double-track tunnel can be used by passenger trains at 160 km / h and freight trains at 120 km / h. The tunnel's goods loop can be driven at 100 km / h.

history

planning

Planning started in 1992. Completion was originally expected by 2006.

construction

The state-owned Eisenbahn-Hochleistungsstrecken-Aktiengesellschaft (HL-AG) was entrusted with the planning in 1990 and the construction in 1996. From 1999, the link with the Westbahn and Wienerwaldtunnel was built. In the course of the ÖBB reform in 2005, the agendas of the HL-AG were taken over by ÖBB Infrastruktur Bau AG.

After appeals against the project were rejected by the Administrative Court in July 2006, the actual tunneling began in October 2006. As the ORF reported on May 31, 2007, the construction of the tunnel was stopped again by the Administrative Court due to a complaint from residents.

After the ÖBB-Infrastruktur Bau AG promised to use better concrete with higher fire resistance, the Ministry of Infrastructure issued a new building permit on June 4, 2007.

The breakthrough was celebrated on May 22, 2009, and the first track was completed in April 2011.

Installation

The catenary in the tunnel was permanently energized on June 20, 2012.

Regular rail operations began with the timetable change on December 9, 2012, at the same time as the completion of the Wienerwald tunnel and the first completed platforms of the new Vienna Central Station .

Since December 14, 2014, in addition to freight trains, ICE trains coming from Germany have been running through the tunnel to Vienna-Schwechat Airport . Since the Vienna Central Station went into full operation in December 2015 , all ÖBB long-distance trains to and from Vienna have been routed through the tunnel to the Central Station and no longer partly to the Westbahnhof as before. Every hour there are three Railjets in each direction and an ICE every two hours . From the timetable change in December 2017 to the timetable change in December 2019, WESTbahn also served Vienna Central Station every hour and drives to it on a direct route through the tunnel.

facts and figures

Route length: 9.434 km; with connections: 11.073 km
Tunnel length: 12.3 km; with connections (and rescue tunnels): 15.4 km
Total length of track renewals and new builds: 25.3 km
Overhead line: conductor rail
Engineering structures: 7 approach shafts and areas, 4 portals, 28 safety exits, 4 company buildings, 4 new constructions or conversions of S-Bahn stops, 6 road crossings, 10 train crossings, 5 pedestrian and cycle path crossings, 2 stream crossings, 3 built-in collectors

The structure is equipped with point train control and ETCS Level 2 .