Study recommends implementing the Friedberg-Szombathely railway

Re-establishment of the cross-border railway for local passenger and freight traffic would have positive long-term effects for Burgenland and western Hungary

The re-establishment of the rail link between Friedberg and Szombathely in western Hungary has moved one step closer said Helmut Bieler, State Commissioner for Transport and Mag. Peter Zinggl, traffic coordinator of the federal state of Burgenland at a press conference on March 13 in Oberwart, Burgenland.

An Austro-Hungarian team of experts has carried out a cost/benefit analysis in the context of the ETC cross-border project „GrenzBahn“ and recommended modernising existing infrastructure and the partial reconstruction of the route, respectively. The detailed results of the feasibility study were presented at the final conference of the Grenzbahn project on March 17 in Sopron.

Total project costs are estimated at EUR 119 million. Driving time from Friedberg to Szombathely is less than an hour; thereby providing the necessary economic efficiency. Links to Wiener Neustadt and Vienna via Aspangbahn are available. The submission of the plan should start immediately, construction could start in 2019, operation could start in 2023. In parallel, the funding partners – Styria, federal government, Hungary – shall come on board.

In the course of cross-border ETC project an Austro-Hungarian team of experts examined the question whether it is economically reasonable to launch an attractive rail operation between the two traffic hubs Friedberg and Szombathely. West Transdanubische Regionale Entwicklungsagentur in Hungary and the Institute of Transportation at Vienna University of Technology are the project partners of Burgenland.

„The team of experts at the Institute for Advanced Studies determined that an economically viable operation is possible. The economic revenues exceed the economic costs significantly by higher tax revenue and various economic effects. Therefore on part of the state, we are clearly committed to implement the recommendations of the experts,“ said Helmut Bieler.

From several variants a routing has been studied in detail, which largely follows the existing line in Burgenland and joins the Hungarian branch via a newly constructed border crossing point at Schachendorf. However, the reduction in travel time also increases the construction costs, „straightening and acceleration measures on the Austrian side will be required,“ said Peter Zinggl. The course is intended primarily to serve local passenger and freight transport, in the second place, the commuter traffic towards the centres of Wiener Neustadt, Vienna, Oberwart, Szombathely, Sopron and Eisenstadt.

The project was included in the Juncker plan so that there is a great opportunity to receive EU funding, Bieler is convinced: „Evaluation of the economic effects of the IHS has shown that positive long-term effects for Burgenland and western Hungary can be expected from the construction and operation of this railway route, for example through the establishment of companies, creating new jobs and increasing residential development. This can also be a basis for positive decisions for funding of the project by the European Investment Bank. “

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Quelle: LogEastics
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