The railway connection between Bratislava and Vienna has accelerated. This is thanks to the modernization, but especially the electrification of the line between Devínská Nová Ves and the Austrian town of Marchegg. At the beginning of March 2024, the Slovak Railways handed over the construction site and the comprehensive reconstruction and electrification of the railway line began. This section is 2381 meters long. ???? PROJECT The aim of the project is to improve cross-border passenger and freight transport between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Austria, specifically: ???? increase the operating speed of the line from 80 to 120 km/h ???? increase the safety and smoothness of rail transport ???? enable electric operation of trains between Bratislava and Vienna ???? shorten travel time ???? achieve better parameters of the railway line ???? increase the frequency of connections based on increased line capacity ???? abolish restrictions on transport on the railway bridge ???? reduce carbon dioxide emissions and noise by introducing electric traction ???? MARCHEGG VIADUCT The reconstruction also includes a railway viaduct that spans the Morava River and is also a border bridge between Slovakia and Austria. With a length of 474 meters, it was one of the largest in the then Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The construction of the bridge began in November 1846 and was completed in the autumn of 1847. The wooden part of the bridge was destroyed during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 by the retreating Austrian army. After its provisional repair, operation was resumed in 1866. The definitive restoration was not completed until 1868, with the wooden provisional being replaced by a continuous steel truss straight-belt structure of the set, multiple-folded with the upper bridge deck. The iron truss structure with the upper bridge deck from 1868 was blown up by the retreating fascists on April 6, 1945. It was provisionally restored to a speed of 10 km/h by the Red Army in 1946. A lengthy joint negotiation between the Czechoslovak and Austrian parties only approved the construction of the definitive bridge in December 1959. It was put into joint operation by the Czech Railways and the Austrian Federal Railways in 1961. For decades, during the Iron Curtain, the Margegg Viaduct was the only bridge connecting Austria and Slovakia. It was not until 2005 that a road bridge was opened between the Slovak municipality of Moravský Svätý Ján and the Austrian Hohenau. ???????? MODERNIZATION OF THE LINE IN AUSTRIA The railway line from Marchegg to Vienna is also undergoing a major modernization. The work includes the electrification of a 37-kilometer section of the railway, as well as the modernization of stations in Lower Austria. The interesting thing about this line is that up to 32.5 kilometers is completely straight, making it the longest straight line in the Austrian railway network. This will allow for a maximum speed of up to 200 km/h. The previously single-track diesel line will become a double-track electrified and high-performance line. After the project is completed on both the Austrian and Slovak sides, the journey from Bratislava to Vienna by passenger train should take 55 minutes and by express train only 40 minutes. ???? Contractor: PORR Association, ŽSR – DNV – Marchegg ???? Contract price: EUR 10,940,261.94 excluding VAT ???? Construction period: Within 300 days from the handover of the first construction site ???? Source of financing: Connecting Europe Facility – transport infrastructure and state budget. ???? Video: Michal Feik ???? Music: Alex Production - Revolution, Damiano Baldoni - A Ghrà ???? Photo: Herzi Pinki, Schweiz(CH), ORF, MeinBezirk