Planning for one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe began in 1995 and many milestones have been celebrated so far; Today – more than a quarter of a century later – the “Krone” takes you on the first train journey through the sixth longest tunnel in the world – the Koralm tunnel!
In the future, passengers will be able to travel at speeds of up to 230 km/h on more than 13,000 track plates through the 33-kilometre-long Koralm tunnel in just 14 minutes. The “Krone” accompanied the multibillion-dollar project over the years and kept you informed of the progress of the construction. Another historic milestone was reached on Monday: for the first time, a passenger train officially drove through Austria’s longest tunnel.
Departure from St. Paul im Lavanttal
After a construction period of 15 years, when the Koralmbahn is ready in 2026, Styria and Carinthia will grow together into a huge metropolitan region; and thus the second largest economic area in Austria. The historical journey started from the train station St. Paul im Lavanttal and ended at the Weststeiermark train station in the municipality of Groß St. Florian.
“It’s a great day for southern Austria,” said provincial governors Peter Kaiser (Carinthia) and Christopher Drexler (Styria) as they boarded the regional ÖBB train at the new station in St. Paul im Lavanttal. According to Drexler, the close cooperation between Carinthia and Styria thanks to the Koralmbahn is obvious. Whether for work, study or leisure – from December the two federal states are connected: “The Star of the South”!
“The train still runs on diesel today, but will be converted to electricity during further work in the next year and a half,” says project manager Klaus Schneider, who has devoted almost his entire professional life to the mega project. . Governor Peter Kaiser expressed his gratitude to the thousands of participants and workers.
Still a lot to do before the opening at the end of 2025
After a short stop at the emergency stop in the middle of the tunnel, we cross passage 1: “These technical rooms control the entire tunnel!” says Schneider.
What is left to do now? Technical rooms, so-called transverse passages, still have to be installed: “In such a technical room, material is installed that fills a hall of about 400 m2,” explains project manager Schneider.
Another 70 cross-passages are planned before the Koralm tunnel can be officially opened. “Then the whole system will be put to the test for a year!” Ultimately, the tunnel must be blackout and calamity-resistant: “If one crossing fails, it is immediately replaced by the other.”
Incidentally, since the 33 kilometers of the first official passenger journey were covered at a leisurely speed of 40 km/h, the train reached the Western Styrian railway station in the municipality of Groß St. Florian in about 45 minutes.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
