A train to Vienna in the Bratislava Main Railway Station. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
Currently, it takes between 60 to 67 minutes to get from Bratislava to Vienna by train. In the near future, trains should be able to make the journey in 40 minutes thanks to modernised tracks in both countries, reports the Hospodárske Noviny daily.
While Austria has already made significant progress in that regard, it is only now that ŽSR, the state-owned firm responsible for the management of railway infrastructure in Slovakia, has announced a bid to reconstruct the Devínska Nová Ves - Marchegg section that is 4.5-kilometre long.
Interested companies have until October 11 to make proposals.
From 80 to 120
The reconstruction involves the electrification of the track, the repair of five bridges as well as the track ballast. It should take approximately 300 days, thus concluded next year. This would allow trains to travel up to 120 kilometres per hour. At the moment, trains pass this section with speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour.
Still, the reconstruction on the Austrian section of the tracks allow the trains to travel up to 200 kilometres per hour. In addition, parts of their railway in the direction of Vienna have been expanded as double-track, while the Slovak part will remain single-track.
According to train transport expert Jiří Kubáček, it makes no sense to allow trains to travel up to 200 km/h in Slovakia.
In less than an hour
The track leads through a more diverse terrain in the country as opposed to Austria, where the railway between Marchegg and Vienna lies on a plane.
"Trains stop in Devínska Nová Ves and what follows is a curve. I see no reason for such speed. The tracks between Marchegg and Vienna lies on a plane, that is where it makes sense," he says, adding that tracks in Slovakia are in need of repair.
Nowadays, only regional trains travel between both capitals. Once repairs are finished in both countries, the trains should be able to make the trip in 55 minutes. When express trains start to operate, the travel time will be further reduced to 40 minutes.
