Revolution in Linz local transport: The regional city railway takes a journey!

Revolution in Linz local transport: The regional city railway takes a journey!

Linz, Österreich - The planning for the new regional town railway Linz accepts more concrete forms and promise a sought -after alternative for public transport. The project is considered the decisive main artery of the transport network in and around Linz. At a press conference on June 6, 2025, Governor Thomas Stelzer, State Councilor Günther Steinkellner, Linz Mayor Dietmar Prammer and Vice Mayor Martin Hajart emphasized the advantages of the new system. The regional town railway will not only complement the tram, but also become part of the S-Bahn Upper Austria and will be a costly but necessary investment in the future of the city with an expected total investment of 939 million euros in the coming years.

The planning is ambitious: the regional town railway is built by Schiene OÖ GmbH and is based on the tram train principle. This means a normal track width of 1435 mm, in contrast to the usual 900 mm of the Linz tram. The route will lead from the main train station to the Europaplatz to the Kepler University Hospital and further to Derfflingerstrasse in a tunnel. Later, the railway will run to Hafenstrasse at ground level and cross the Danube over a new bridge. This will form a decisive stop at the local transport node Urfahr-East, where travelers can switch between the two branches of the regional town railway. According to WKO a connection to the Mühlkreisbahn will also take place, which should be preserved up to Aigen-Schlägl.

financing and outlook

One of the interesting aspects of project financing is the distribution of costs: the federal treasury takes over 50%, the state of Upper Austria 42.5% and the city of Linz contributes up to 50 million euros. This financial basis was decided on March 7, 2024 in the Upper Austria state parliament and on March 21, 2024 in the local council. In view of the overall budget, the project is also part of the greater planning for climate -neutral local transport in Linz, which includes investments of a total of 860 million euros, such as linz.at reports.

construction work is planned for 2028, and the first tram trains are to start operating from 2032. The planned design of the stops, which goes back to the creative concept of the competition, Andreas Dworschak from "Archinauten", captivates with pavilion -like architecture. The subpages of the roofs are intended to carry the traditional Mühlviertel blue -pressure pattern, which not only ensures orientation value, but is also integrated into the design as a recognizable element.

final ambiguities regarding the Mühlkreisbahn remain, because it is still being negotiated whether the ÖBB will remain the owner or the rail will take over in the future. The planned extension to the Mühlviertel, such as towards Gallneukirchen and Pregarten, has not yet been secured in the implementation, so that conversations and planning are still required here.

As far as the new local transport node is concerned, it will not only be important because of the connection to the regional town railway, but also for connecting to the Linz tram. This shows how strongly the project focuses on networking and integrating the existing systems. The city of Linz is not only upgraded as an urban traffic hub, but also the standard of living of the citizens and commuters is improved sustainably through better connections.

Overall, the regional policy agreement on the planning shows that everyone involved has a good knack for the mobility of the future - and especially in a European context. A renovation that is second to none in the traffic history of Linz is now becoming more and more formed. Let's pursue the progress!