AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) says construction will conclude on the final section of the 130km Koralm Railway project by the end of November, bringing 26 years of work to a close. Commissioning of the new railway between Graz and Klagenfurt in Carinthia is now set to proceed ahead of the full electrified double-track line opening to traffic in December 2025.
More than 70 test runs totalling over 15,000km are planned on the new line at up to 250km/h, ÖBB reports, with driver training underway using simulators and emergency service exercises being conducted. Construction work is continuing on the station at West Styria, the largest new station on the line, which is scheduled for completion by spring 2025.
The centrepiece of the new railway is the 32.8km Koralm Tunnel, the third-longest in Europe, excavation of which was completed in 2020, 18 years after the first exploratory tunnels were bored and 12 after full construction began. The first passenger train ran through the tunnel in June 2023, while the western 53km section of the Koralm Railway, from Wolfsberg to Klagenfurt via St Paul, opened in December 2023.
This section includes three new tunnels totalling 6km. The complete line runs for 50km in tunnel and over 100 bridges, while there is a total of 23 new and upgraded stations on the new line.
The line will reduce Graz - Klagenfurt journey times from three hours via Bruck an der Mur to 45 minutes and shave four hours off the Graz - Venice timing. Vienna - Klagenfurt journey times will be cut from 3h 51min to 2h 40min, including time savings from the use of the 27km Semmering Base Tunnel, which is expected to open in 2027. The line is part of the Baltic-Adriatic corridor on Europe’s TEN-T network.
"We are proud of this important milestone and are facing a revolution in public transport. The Koralmbahn opens up a bright future of mobility for the region,” says Mr Andreas Mättha, ÖBB CEO. “From December 2025, our passengers will be able to travel between Graz and Klagenfurt in 45 minutes – environmentally-friendly, comfortable and with no need to use a car."
The Koralm Railway
Running south from Graz main station, the Koralm Railway shares the existing line’s alignment towards the Slovenian border as far as Feldkirchen, branching off onto a parallel alignment to Graz Airport and Werndorf. From here, the line turns west and follows the Lassnitz valley to a junction with the Graz Köflach Railway (GKB) at the new Weststeiermark inter-city station.
The line then enters the Koralm Tunnel, emerging near St Paul in Carinthia, where the new Lavanttal station is situated. This will be an interchange with the existing Zeltweg - Wolfsberg line. The Koralm Railway then continues west, crossing the River Drau twice before reaching Klagenfurt main station.
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