Vienna Station – Heart of Europe by Magdalena Pfeffer | 20.09.2011

Vienna central station

Austria is supposed to play a dominating role within Europe again, at least in terms of traffic. By erecting the new building of the central station in Vienna, the planners have something specific in mind: Austria – Heart of Europe!

Three of the most important European traffic corridors within the Trans-European Network (TEN) meet in Vienna: Paris-Bratislava-Budapest, Athens-Nuremberg-Dresden and Gdansk-Vienna. The traffic and transit situation hitherto has been anything else but optimal, and it didn’t even live up to the requirements.

Turning Two into One

The crux have been the two outdated terminal stations of Vienna, Southern station and Eastern station, located vey close to each other. The uncomfortable changing of trains as well as the tedious procedure of the trains getting in and out of the stations have been the main obstacles of Vienna becoming an international traffic hub. This is why the decision was made in favor of a central through station: the future Vienna central station.

Architectural firms Albert Wimmer, Ernst Hoffmann and Theo Hotz have been working on a master plan for a whole city quarter and the new central station. The lawsuit initiated by a Norwegian architectural firm (see Article Building Network) resulted in that the architectural competition had to be announced in public once again, the outcome being that Vienna central station was not able to be completed by 2011, as scheduled.

State-of-the-Art Technology and appealing Design

In June 2011 installation works of the spectacular roof began. With an area of about 20,000 m² it spans across five platforms with all in all ten tracks. The unusual construction looks like folded paper and seems to float above the platforms, as you can see from the visualizations. Large openings within the diamond-shaped structure are supposed to create a friendly, generous atmosphere and make your stay more pleasant.

All in all, the new station will welcome travelers with state-of-the-art technology and latest standards. The complete station complex, for instance, has been designed without any barriers and provides comfortable ways to change and access trains to people in wheelchairs or parents with baby buggies. Clear guidance systems make orientation easier and materials easy to be cleaned will facilitate maintenance. Apart from that, a modern shopping and service center, BahnhofCity, will be built, providing a full range of products and services with stores, a health center and service areas. Parking garages providing space for 600 cars and 1,000 bicycles will round things off.

A new Transportation Age for Vienna

The traffic situation in Vienna will greatly improve through these measures. Connections to urban city and underground trains will be shortened, resulting in a quicker and more comfortable changing of trains. The citizens of Vienna seem to have become friends with their new station, nobody is mourning about the loss of the old terminal stations. The Bahnorama tower lets locals and interested people take a look at the progressing mega-construction site, a treat for the locals provided by the planners. This measure as well as the founding of the citizens' action committee central station have certainly contributed to the positive response. Critic is wanted and may be expressed. The locals feel to be informed.

In 2019, the large-scale building project is scheduled to be completed along with 5,000 apartments and 20,000 jobs, and we will be able to marvel at the impressive “Vienna station – Hart of Europe” on our way from the North to the South, from the East to the West of Europe.