Light rail S-Link costs up to 2.8 billion euros
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The S-Link project could cost up to 2.8 billion euros – the partial underground extension of the local railway to Hallein (Tennengau). The costs for three variants were presented on Thursday.
The ongoing route selection process for the S-Link has gone one step further. The project company announced this on Thursday. The costs have been calculated for three variants – the ones instead would cost around two billion euros. In concrete terms, variant one with a 3.5-kilometer tunnel through the city of Salzburg and a total of four underground stops would cost two billion euros.
From the Akademiestraße, the local railway would then run again on the surface through the city to Hallein (Tennengau). Variant 2 provides for a total of five stops and a tunnel length of 4.5 kilometers and would cost 2.2 billion euros. Variant 3 would bring nine underground stops and a seven-kilometer tunnel that leads to Salzburg Süd, i.e. to the city limits.
Negotiation of cost sharing
A reserve of up to 30 percent for the construction costs is calculated in the cost estimates. With these cost estimates, concrete negotiations can now also be held on further cost sharing. According to the framework agreement, the federal government will pay 50 percent, and the city and state will share the other 50 percent, although the exact cost allocation is still to be negotiated.
Route from city limits still unclear
The further course of the route from the city limits to Hallein remains unclear today. According to S-Link Managing Director Stefan Knittel, the aim is to present the political decision-makers with the technically and economically best rated route before the start of construction of the first stage from the main station to Mirabell Palace.
While the environmental impact assessment has already started for the first underground section, almost a kilometer long, from the main train station to Mirabellplatz and one route is clearly favored for the continuation through the old town of Salzburg to Akademiestrasse, which is also planned underground, the rest of the route is clearly favoured 17 km long track, the further course is still open. Depending on the duration of the EIA procedure, construction for the first section could start in 2024.
