Often sunk and revived: subway plans in Salzburg
“Local railway as an underground city railway through Salzburg?” headlines a local newspaper. We are talking about a long overdue traffic relief in the center of Salzburg.
Demands that couldn’t be more up-to-date. A look at the publication date is astonishing: as early as March 1988, demands for an underground railway in Salzburg were rising. And even here there is criticism that ideas have already been described and revived several times. Even then, opponents of a tunnel solution shied away from the investment sum. Optimistic forecasts for the future assumed construction would start in 1990.
With the founding of Projektgesellschaft 2020, the plans became concrete again 30 years later. The railway, which was christened S-Link, should also connect the city well with the surrounding area in the final phase.
Current project is already further
The current project has already surpassed all selective planning steps by far. The skepticism of the SPÖ in the city that the infrastructure project could only go as far as Mirabellplatz and therefore not go far enough, was initially overruled.
In 2026, the underground train could start driving to Mirabellplatz. Planning is currently underway for the further course southwards to Hallein. Further drilling and soundings are planned for this year. Critics, who are still demanding an above-ground variant, let the planners align that far more efficiency is possible underground.