THE Austrian government and the city authorities in Wien have unveiled plans to add 14 km to the Wien U-Bahn network in a €1·85bn expansion programme stretching to 2019.
Announcing details of the extensions on July 12, Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer and Deputy Mayor Renate Brauner said that the work would be carried out in three phases and that costs would be shared equally between the state and the city.
In the first phase Line U2 – which is now being extended east from the city centre in two stages to Aspernstraße – will run north on a mainly elevated alignment for a further 4·5 km to Aspern airport, where two stations will be built; there will be intermediate stations at An den Alten Schanzen and Hausfelderstraße. Construction is due to start in 2009 with completion of the €358m project planned by 2013.
The second phase covers a 4·7 km southern extension of Line U1 from Reumannplatz to Rothneusiedl, where work is due to commence in 2010 for completion in 2015. Costed at €770m, this project will add six stations to the network.
In the third phase, Line U2 will be extended south by 4·6 km from Karlsplatz to Arsenal at a cost of €669m. Construction of this extension with five stations will start in 2014 with completion planned in 2019.
A small tranche of funding is included to cover planning costs for a further programme of extensions that could see Line U6 reach Stammersdorf and Line U4 run as far as Auhof.
