ÖBB Tauernschleuse: Region is preparing for the lock
Around 120 trains travel daily through the Tauernschleuse between Böckstein and Mallnitz, including 18 car trains in each direction. The Tauernschleuse is one of the most important north-south axes in rail traffic. Half are passenger trains, the other half are freight trains.
Talks are already being held with international train operators and ASFINAG, says ÖBB spokesman Klaus Baumgartner: “We are trying to divert passenger and freight traffic as close as possible.”
Long detours are to be planned
At best, it only goes via the Felbertauernstraße and Tauernautobahn. Rail traffic still has to plan further detours. For many at home and abroad, the Tauernschleuse between Gastein and Mallnitz is the shortest route over the main Alpine ridge. Some people who use the lock for work, such as Hofgastein taxi entrepreneur Gerhard Gassner, are also relaxed about the closure: “It is important that the renovation is done. We just have to drive around the outside, for example via the Glocknerstrasse.”
Some are still hoping for a partial lockdown
Christine Oebster from St. Veit (Pongau) is a fan of this railway line: “I don’t know where else you can take your car on the train in this way.”
Carinthian Adolf Pascoli comes from Flattach in the upper Mölltal: “The project simply has to be done. The big question is whether you can let a train through once or twice a day during the renovation.”
Lock must be complete, no exceptions
ÖBB spokesman Baumgartner says that the idea is good, but that it is not logistically possible: “For example, the vault of the tunnel will be renovated, as well as the overhead line and the tracks. That’s why it’s not possible to let a train through in between. It is also about the safety of the work team in the tunnel.”
The ÖBB Tauern Tunnel is 113 years old. It was opened by the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef. Now the time has come for a thorough renovation, emphasizes the Federal Railways: “We are also talking to the mayors and communities on both sides to find the best possible solution.”
It will be closed in November 2024. In July 2025 the renovation of the Tauernschleuse should be completed. Then the ÖBB want to send even more trains on this route thanks to the latest technology.