Ready for the Koralmbahn railway in December
December will see the opening of the Koralmbahn, a once-in-a-century project that will bring about lasting change to mobility in Graz and the whole of Styria. Holding Graz, together with Graz Linien, has been laying the necessary groundwork for this milestone for years with extensive measures in public transport and will continue to work continuously on further improving its services in the future.
The aim is to make public transport in Graz even more efficient, attractive and future-proof for passengers.
A selection of projects that have already been implemented or are in preparation:
Neutor line completed
The completion of the Neutor line, which relieves traffic congestion in the city centre, marks the completion of a key infrastructure project. With the start of operations on lines 16 and 17 at the end of November, the new route will relieve congestion in Graz city centre, ensure more reliable connections and create additional capacity in the future, also with a view to the new Flexity trams. This is an important foundation in view of the increasing number of passengers using the Koralmbahn railway.
More services on line 5
Since the completion and opening of the double-track extension on line 5 between Zentralfriedhof and Brauquartier last year, more efficient public transport operations have been possible thanks to the expanded infrastructure. This has been accompanied by a significant improvement in the timetable for passengers between Puntigam and Andritz: during the morning rush hour, trams now run every 6 minutes from Puntigam.
More frequent services on line 1
Tram line 1 currently runs at 10-minute intervals during the day. One of the reasons for this is that the trams only have one track available on a 900-metre stretch of Hilmteichstraße. With the double-track expansion at Hilmteich starting in spring 2026, line 1 will be able to run at 7.5-minute intervals in future. Passengers will benefit from shorter intervals and a significantly higher quality of service during peak hours – an important building block for optimal integration with the future Koralmbahn connections.
New departure times at Jakominiplatz
In direct preparation for the commissioning of the Koralmbahn, Graz Linien has adjusted the evening timetable at Jakominiplatz to coincide with the start of the school year. New departures are at 10.45 p.m., 11.15 p.m. and 11.45 p.m. (lines 4, 7, 23, 32, 34, 39, 40) and at 11 p.m. and 11.30 p.m. (lines 1, 5, 6, 31E, 67E). This means that from 10.30 p.m. onwards, trams will even be able to offer a 15-minute interval to and from the main station, and individual lines will also run longer than before – an important improvement to ensure connections to the Koralmbahn railway even during off-peak hours. The first departures on Sundays and public holidays will also be reorganised.
More frequent bus services
At the main station, Graz Linien will increase the frequency of bus line 52 (Central Cemetery – Main Station – Weinzöttl – Andritz/Ziegelstraße) from every 15 minutes to every 10 minutes with the timetable change at the end of November and in view of the opening of the Koralmbahn. Graz Linien is also increasing the frequency of early morning services on bus line 64 (Puntigam – Liebenau – Schulzentrum St.Peter – LKH), which is particularly relevant for Puntigam, as more S-Bahn trains will stop at the Puntigam local transport hub in future.
Deputy Mayor Judith Schwentner: ‘The Koralmbahn is a historic project and Graz is ready for it. With new lines, more frequent services and better connections, we are ensuring that even more people can travel quickly, reliably and comfortably – both the residents of Graz in their everyday lives and the many people from the surrounding regions who come to us by train every day.’
Councillor Manfred Eber: “The Koralmbahn will bring Carinthia and Italy noticeably closer to Graz – and at the same time open up a fast route to the south for the people of Graz. To ensure that this project of the century can unfold its full potential, we are working with Holding Graz to create the necessary conditions in the urban public transport network. This is because the last few metres from the main station lead directly into the heart of our city – and vice versa, back out into the region and beyond. Our goal is clear: Graz should be a city where public transport is the first choice – comfortable, reliable and future-proof.”
Holding Graz CEO Wolfgang Malik: “The Koralmbahn will soon create a new, highly networked economic area in southern Austria: the Area South. Graz will become the central hub of an urban axis between Styria and Carinthia with more than one million inhabitants. The resulting dynamisation of the labour and economic market opens up enormous opportunities for the entire region. To ensure that all passengers arriving in Graz on the Koralmbahn can immediately transfer to an efficient, attractive and reliable public transport system, the federal government, the state and the city of Graz, together with Holding Graz, are investing a total of around 85 million euros in rail expansion projects that have already been implemented or are still ongoing.”
Holding Graz CEO Mark Perz: “The opening of the Koralmbahn is a milestone for mobility in Graz and the whole of Styria – and we are actively shaping the framework conditions in the Styrian capital. With the measures – from relieving congestion in the city centre with the new Neutor line to increasing service frequency and reorganising departure times at one of the largest transport hubs in Graz – we have already laid the necessary groundwork in preparation for this milestone. Further projects that are significant for public transport in Graz are in preparation or implementation.”
