AUSTRIA: Transport Minister Jörg Leichtfried joined Tirol Governor Günther Platter, Deputy Governor Ingrid Felipe, Seefeld Mayor Werner Frießer and ÖBB-Infrastruktur Board Member Franz Bauer on September 30 to sign a €22·8m contract for the modernisation of Seefeld station.
Preparatory work is due to begin in the autumn, with main work starting in March 2017. Platform 1, from which services depart to Innsbruck, will be lengthened to 275 m. An 80 m canopy will form a common roof with the adjacent bus terminal, enabling a covered interchange between buses and trains. In 2018 work will begin to lengthen the other platform to 245 m, also with an 80 m canopy, and install two lifts to enable step-free access between the platforms and subway, which is to be refurbished.
The station is to receive new buildings with tactile paving and handrails, and the forecourt is to be remodelled. A park-and-ride facility with space for 63 cars is to be built, along with a new bus terminal and covered cycle parking.
Track renewal work to be undertaken as part of the project includes the replacement of 2 km of rails and 1 700 sleepers, four new sets of points and the upgrade of level crossings at either end of the station. Upon completion, 2 000 passengers are expected to use the 54 trains calling the station every weekday.
The project is being undertaken by the Ministry of Transport, Innovation & Technology, the Land of Tirol, Seefeld municipality and ÖBB-Infrastruktur. Work is due to be completed in November 2018, in time for the Nordic Skiing World Championships which Seefeld is hosting in February 2019.
‘Today we have already collected the first gold medals in Seefeld, for the residents, who will receive a lasting benefit from this investment’, said Frießer.
