AUSTRIA: A 50:50 consortium of Porr and Strabag has been selected to build 7 km of tunnels and four stations for the southern extension of Wien metro line U2.
Work under the €500m contract awarded by Weiner Linien is scheduled to begin in February for completion by mid-2028.
The project forms the first phase of the U2/U5 expansion programme, which will see the existing section of U2 between Rathaus and Karlsplatz become part of a new fully automated line U5.
U2 trains from Seestadt will be diverted at Rathaus onto a new 6 km extension towards the south of the city, serving stations at Neubaugasse, Pilgramgasse, Reinprechtsdorfer Straße and Matzleinsdorferplatz. A proposed further extension would continue U2 to Gußriegelstraße and Wienerberg.
Around 4·3 km of the tunnels for the U2 extension will be driven by a tunnel boring machine, and 2·2 km will be bored using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method
‘Construction work in the inner-city is always a challenge in light of the cramped conditions’, said Strabag Chairman Thomas Birtel. ‘Drilling beside the facades of the nearby buildings requires a great deal of expertise, and transport to and from the sites through the narrow alleyways surrounding Neubaugasse is exceptionally complex in terms of logistics.’
