Austria's Koralmbahn Transforms Alpine Rail After 27-Year Gestation

Europe's rail infrastructure entered a new phase this week with the opening of Austria's Koralmbahn, a €6 billion high-speed line that slashes journey times between Graz and Klagenfurt from over two hours to just 41 minutes. The 130-kilometre route, launched for passenger service on Saturday, represents one of the continent's most ambitious infrastructure projects and signals renewed momentum for cross-border rail expansion.

The line's centrepiece—the 33-kilometre Koralm Tunnel piercing the Koralpe mountain range at depths reaching 1,250 metres—ranks as the world's sixth-longest railway tunnel. Austrian Federal Railways deployed three tunnel boring machines and more than 800 personnel to complete excavation, though challenging geology repeatedly delayed the project initially conceived in the 1990s.

Commercial freight operations began in early November, allowing Rail Cargo Group to eliminate previous detours via Knittelfeld. Passenger services now operate at speeds up to 250 kilometres per hour, with ÖBB scheduling 29 daily connections between the two provincial capitals. Vienna to Klagenfurt journey times drop by 45 minutes to three hours ten minutes.

The strategic implications extend beyond Austria. The Koralmbahn strengthens the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor linking Gdańsk to Bologna, whilst new Railjet Xpress services to Trieste cut Vienna-Adriatic travel times by nearly three hours to six hours 38 minutes. Journey times to Venice improve by half an hour.

Brussels provided substantial backing through NextGenerationEU and the Connecting Europe Facility, contributing over €600 million—more than ten percent of total costs. The investment reflects EU determination to shift medium-distance travel from air to rail, despite persistent challenges around cross-border coordination and infrastructure maintenance costs plaguing networks from France to Italy.

For Austria's second city and Carinthia's capital, improved connectivity promises economic transformation. Whether similar mega-projects can maintain momentum amid fiscal pressures facing rail operators across the continent remains the critical question.