Vienna-Bratislava rail line reopens after electrification
Ostbahn reopened on 11 October 2025 following nine years of electrification and double-track construction, establishing the first through electric service between Vienna and Bratislava. ÖBB-Infrastruktur completed the 37 km Austrian section between Wien-Stadlau and Marchegg, while Železnice Slovenskej Republiky finished parallel upgrades on the Slovak side to the border.
The project eliminated the last non-electrified section on the route between the two capitals. All nine stations along the line have been modernised with barrier-free access, and 14 level crossings in Lower Austria were replaced with underpasses.
Regional train frequency increased from roughly one departure every two hours to 38 daily services from 11 October. Travel time between Vienna and Bratislava has dropped to under one hour from over an hour under diesel operation.
Service expansion in December
Four additional EuroCity train pairs will begin serving the route on 14 December 2025, bringing total daily departures to 46. ÖBB-Personenverkehr will deploy Cityjet low-floor trains on regional services, with the new infrastructure supporting speeds up to 200 km/h on certain sections.
The EU provided approximately EUR 100 million in co-financing for the project, which forms part of the Baltic-Adriatic TEN-T corridor. ÖBB began construction in 2016, with higher passenger demand driving completion earlier than initially projected.
Why it matters: The completion closes a capacity bottleneck between two EU capitals on a core TEN-T corridor. Single-track diesel operation previously limited service expansion, while electric traction enables deployment of modern rolling stock across the full Vienna-Bratislava route without locomotive changes.
What’s next: ÖBB will introduce the four EuroCity pairs on 14 December as part of the regular winter timetable change. The infrastructure now supports future service increases as cross-border passenger demand grows between Austria and Slovakia.