But is Vienna responsible?

Plans for the connecting line on a knife-edge

This is how ÖBB envisions the future connecting railroad station at Hietzinger Hauptstraße.

(Bild: ÖBB/Feuchtenhofer)

The struggle over the expansion of the connecting line in the west of Vienna has reached a decisive point: In the tug-of-war in court, the question has arisen as to whether the route is a high-capacity line at all. The answer to this question could send the whole project back to square one.

The plans for the redesign of the connecting line are still before the Federal Administrative Court, which is due to rule on the complaints lodged by local residents and citizens' initiatives against the positive environmental impact assessment (EIA). However, the proceedings could end before they have really begun, as the court could refer the case to the Constitutional Court because the procedure may have been unlawful from the outset.

Can an S-Bahn be a high-capacity line?
From the point of view of ÖBB and the Ministry of the Environment and Transport, the matter was clear until now: the upcoming railroad line is part of the "Vienna - St. Pölten area" high-capacity line, which was defined in 1989. High-capacity routes are subject to their own legal regulations and, moreover, it is not the federal state but the ministry that is directly responsible. But now the Federal Administrative Court is asking the question: is the S-Bahn really part of the plans for the "Vienna - St. Pölten area"?

A lot has happened since 1989

The "Vienna - St. Pölten area" was declared a high-capacity line by decree on December 19, 1989. This was the basis for the expansion of the Westbahn line as well as for the Lainzer Tunnel. Before negotiations on the S-Bahn can continue, it must be clarified whether the high-capacity line has already been implemented. In that case, the connecting line would not be a high-capacity line, but "only" a suburban railroad.

All previous decisions are shaky
If the connecting line plans are not part of the high-capacity line, all legal steps to date would be null and void: the Ministry would then never have been responsible. The Federal Administrative Court has not yet decided whether it wants to clarify the delicate question itself or have it answered by the Constitutional Court. The next hearing should take place on October 22. Everyone involved is waiting with bated breath to see whether this will actually happen.

Originally, ÖBB wanted to start converting the connecting line next year. In view of the legal problems, it is doubtful that this will work out.

(Bild: Peter Tomschi)

Proceedings before triple switch
This means that the connecting line plans are facing a triple switch: If the constitutional judges take up the matter, the proceedings before the Federal Administrative Court would be at a standstill until they reach a decision. After a decision, regardless of which court ultimately makes it, there are again two possibilities: If the connecting railroad retains its seal of approval as a high-capacity route, the appeals will be heard as planned. If not, all proceedings under the jurisdiction of Vienna will start all over again.

The legal uncertainty now unites ÖBB, the ministry, supporters and opponents of the project: they all potentially have a lot to lose. Under certain circumstances, Vienna, as the future responsible federal state, could decide that no EIA is required for the route at all. Then the citizens' initiatives would also have lost their voice. They already regret the frayed procedure. They are convinced that if all those involved had invested their energy in "a genuine citizens' participation process" instead of litigation, a solution might have been found that would have satisfied everyone.