AUSTRIA: The national government and the City of Wien have agreed a 50:50 split for financing the €6bn second phase of the U2xU5 metro expansion package, which covers extensions to both lines.
Under the first phase of the U2xU5 Linienkreuz project now under construction, Line U2 will be diverted at Schottentor and run south to Matzleinsdorfer Platz, while the existing tunnels to Karlzplatz will become part of the driverless Line U5, interchanging with U2 at Rathaus. The first section of U5 from Karlsplatz to Frankhplatz is expected to open in 2026 and the U2 extension in 2028.
The second phase of construction will see U5 extended westwards to an interchange with the S-Bahn at Hernals, adding four more stations. Line U2 will be extended south from Matzleinsdorfer Platz to Gußriegelstraße and Wienerberg, adding three stations. The complete package will add 11 route-km and 12 stations to the capital’s metro network.
‘I am very pleased that we have reached a fair agreement for the U2xU5 expansion project’, said City Councillor for Finance & Public Transport Peter Hanke after the agreement was signed on September 27. ‘All investments in public transport are powerful climate protection precautions with direct added value for the economy. In total, the first and second construction stages of the U2xU5 programme will safeguard around 30 000 jobs’.
‘The U2xU5 expansion project is an important optimisation project for public transport in Wien’, agreed Austrian Finance Minister Gernot Blümel. ‘By co-financing the project, the federal government is meeting its responsibility.’
- Read more about Wien’s ambitious U2xU5 expansion programme in the Autumn 2021 issue of Metro Report Internationalmagazine.
