AUSTRIA: A plan for the electrification of the 91 km Graz-Köflacher Bahn network at 15 kV 16·7 Hz by December 2025 was announced by Director-General Franz Weintögl on May 6.

GKB operates routes from Graz to Köflach and Wies-Eibiswald, diverging at Lieboch. It currently carries around 6 million passengers a year, which it hopes to double once electrification has been completed.

GKB envisages that electrification of the 133 track-km network work would start in 2021, and be finished in time for the full opening of the Koralmbahn which meets the GKB network at Wettmannstätten. The scope would include double tracking a 1·2 km section of the route in Graz to enable services to run at 30 min headways.

The €120m cost of the project would be funded by the federal government and from GKB’s own funds.