Vienna public transport hammer

U2xU5: 2 years later and €300 million more expensive!

The official ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the U2/U5 took place in January 2021. Three and a half years later, "Vienna's largest climate protection project" has come to a standstill.

(Bild: Wiener Linien / Johannes Zinner)

Bad news for public transport users in Vienna: the opening of the U2 line to Matzleinsdorfer Platz has been postponed until 2030. A whole two years later than planned! Construction costs are also exploding: The first construction phase will cost up to 300 million euros more! And: the reopening of the U2 line between Karlsplatz and Schottentor is now further delayed.

It is the most important future project for Vienna's public transport system: the extension of the U2 and the conversion and new construction of the U5. But there is a lot of sand in the gears of the project of the century. At midday on Wednesday, Wiener Linien presented a new interim status report after just over three years of construction.

The opening of the U2 line to Matzleinsdorfer Platz will have to be postponed until 2030 due to "geological challenges". Two years later than originally planned! Earth movements and water ingress have ruined the project plan. Previously, Vienna's public transport operators had been claiming for months that they were well on schedule.

According to Wiener Linien, earth movements and water ingress on this scale were exceptional and unforeseeable.

(Bild: Holl Reinhard)

Now the construction costs are also exploding
But this is not the only bad news. Due to what are described as "extraordinary price increases" in energy, construction prices and raw materials, a cumulative cost increase of around 15 percent must be assumed for the first U2xU5 construction stage. This corresponds to additional costs of 300 million euros!

The project costs of around two billion euros for the extension of the U5 to Frankhplatz and the U2 to Matzleinsdorfer Platz were agreed between the City of Vienna and the federal government. These are based on cost estimates from 2020, but the bad news goes even further.

U2 closure lasts even longer after all
The U2 line between Karlsplatz and Schottentor has been closed since May 2021. But instead of reopening the line in fall 2023 as planned, the opening of the U2 main line has been postponed until the start of school in 2024 (September 2). Now it is suddenly said that the reopening of the U2 will not take place until "fall 2024". When exactly is still open. Wiener Linien, together with the engineering companies carrying out the work, is working at full speed to reopen the line.

The U2xU5 extension is intended to create space for an additional 300 million passengers per year. Now the project will cost at least 300 million euros more.

(Bild: Anika Groß)

In April 2024, Wiener Linien boss Alexandra Reinagl announced that the U5 would be the last new subway line in Vienna despite the major expansion. "I'm relying on streetcars in the future because you have to ask yourself how environmentally friendly the subway is. Keyword civil engineering and CO2. The U5 will therefore be the last subway train," says Reinagl. I wonder if she knew about the underground problems back then?