A court ruling in Austria has given the green light to contractors to continue construction of the 27-kilometre Semmering Base Tunnel.
Austria’s Federal Administrative Court has said it is now satisfied that the scheme meets all necessary environmental requirements, having stopped the €3.3 billion project from moving forward last year until a new environmental impact assessment has been submitted.
The tunnel will form part of a new southern railway in Austria, which will also connect up a trans-European corridor between the Baltic and Adriatic coastlines.
Construction began on the central section in January 2014. Responding to the court ruling, ÖBB said the line would open to passengers in 2026.
The tunnel will reduce journey times between Vienna and Graz by 30 minutes and take 175,000 HGVs off of Austrian roads each year, says ÖBB.
