"Project of the century"

New trolleybuses in three years, light rail in 2032

From 2032, the regional light rail system is to serve the city center of Linz for the first time.

(Bild: Schiene OÖ)

Great unity Wednesday morning in the Old Town Hall. Representatives of all four governing parties in Linz were visibly euphoric as they presented the financing agreement for the "regional light rail" and trolleybus line 48 project of the century, which only needs to be approved by the municipal council on March 21 - a mere formality.

Just a few months ago, it was anything but foreseeable that this would actually happen. FPÖ regional transport councillor Günther Steinkellner already saw the federal funds floating away when he said: "If we mess it up, there'll be nothing for 40 years".

Political common sense prevailed
As reported, political common sense prevailed in the end, the city and state came together and compromises were reached on contentious issues. In the end, for example, two planned trolleybus lines became one. But the most important thing is that the project has been on track since December. A fact that also made SP city leader Klaus Luger rejoice once again yesterday at the importance of the "project of the century": "These two projects will bring great traffic relief, both on the very busy commuter routes and with regard to inner-city public transport in a north-south direction."

"A milestone in the mobility transition"
"For Linz, the funding decision is a milestone in the mobility turnaround," emphasized SP city deputy and finance officer Tina Blöchl before presenting the figures. Together, the federal government, state and city are investing around EUR 860 million in the light rail and trolleybus line. From today's perspective, the costs for the former amount to 667 million euros. The state will contribute 42.5%, the city 7.5%, up to a maximum of €50 million, with the remainder to be covered by the federal government.

For the implementation of the new trolleybus line 48, which runs from Karlhof via the New Danube Bridge and east via Bulgariplatz to Neue Welt, Linz Linien will be subsidized with a maximum of €192.8 million - €72.3 million for investments and €120.5 million for operations.

Transport hub at Lindbauer as a "hurdle"
The buses are due to start service in 2027, the regional light rail system five years later at best. There are still a few hurdles to overcome, such as the very complex traffic junction at Lindbauer.