Koralm Railway and Base Tunnel

Objective

To connect the major cities of Graz and Klagenfurt directly, slashing travel times from three hours down to 41 minutes. The Koralm Railway is a core bottleneck-clearing link within the European Union’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). Specifically, it forms a vital section of the Baltic–Adriatic Core Network Corridor, which stretches from Polish Baltic ports down to northern Italy and Slovenia. By bypassing the mountainous Semmering pass constraints, the high-speed line introduces flat-railway performance to European logistics. This integration enables longer, heavier freight trains to transport cargo seamlessly between the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean, drastically cutting trans-alpine transit times.

Description

A brand-new 130 kilometer high-speed double-track rail line in Austria, anchored by the 33-kilometer Koralm Base Tunnel slicing straight through the rugged Koralpe mountain range. Built with dual single-track bores connected every 500 metres, the tunnel implements stringent modern safety standards, including a central underground rescue station. The infrastructure is engineered for dual-use capabilities, accommodating heavy freight alongside passenger trains travelling at speeds up to 200 kilometres per hour.

History

1998: Start of construction of the Koralm Railway 2007: Commissioning of first sections 2008: Start of construction of the Koralm Tunnel 2014: Completion of the Drau river crossing 2015: Start of construction of the Granitztal tunnel chain 2017: Start of construction of the Western Styria Railway Station 2018: Breakthrough Koralm Tunnel 2019: Start of construction of the last section Graz–Weitendorf 2020: Final Koralm tunnel breakthrough 2023: Commissioning of the Koralm Railway in Carinthia

Finance