The meeting was held at 4 p.m. for the Green Party’s urgent request to the acting city councilor of the Business Group for Finance, Economy, Labor, International Affairs and Wiener Stadtwerke, Peter Hanke, regarding “Perception of the owner’s interests of the City of Vienna: Inconsistencies in the subway -Construction” interrupted.
GR Dipl.-Ing. Martin Margulies (GREEN) justified the urgent request by saying that the cancellations and delays on the Wiener Linien are currently affecting “many people” in Vienna, as is the current partial closure of the U1, which cannot operate to its full extent due to a fire. In general, says Margulies, the problems with the subway lines and trams have recently become obvious. This always means a “cut in the mobility of the population,” said the local council. This circumstance has led to more people switching back to cars, he claimed – and that is not desirable. Margulies also emphasized the need to regularly check the transport network for flood protection and safety and to make communication with the population more transparent. Financially, the Wiener Linien is one of the largest expenses in the city’s budget, with an operating subsidy that has increased to 806 million euros in 2023 – an increase of 136 percent in the last five years. He also criticized the fact that 131 million euros were used for other purposes without a clear explanation as to whether this was incorrect budgeting.
Margulies also questioned the tendering practices for subway construction. The decision to launch a second tender may not have reduced costs, but only caused delays. He called for the city to learn from these experiences and better align public works projects with economic cycles in order to use them more efficiently in difficult economic times. The Green representative called for a renegotiation of the financial equalization, for which Vienna would need an additional two billion euros. Margulies emphasized that Vienna needs to work more efficiently in some areas in order to achieve the same goals with alternative approaches. “It’s worth thinking about,” says Margulies. At the same time, he criticized NEOS, which in his opinion also had difficulties in dealing with financial resources. He demanded that the city must offer the Viennese population clear prospects: “When can new subway lines be put into operation? When will existing lines run regularly and without disruption again? And when will the current construction sites be completed?” Margulies appealed to those responsible to answer these questions transparently in order to regain the trust of the people of Vienna.
At the beginning of his answer to the question, City Councilor Hanke thanked the subway driver who reacted so quickly to the subway car fire on the U1 line yesterday. In general, according to Hanke, there is a high level of satisfaction among the Viennese population with public transport. “Eight out of ten Viennese are very satisfied,” Hanke quoted a survey. However, you always have to learn and continue to improve the system, warned Hanke.
In his answer to the query, City Councilor Peter Hanke particularly addressed the delays and additional costs that occurred during work on the new U2 line. Hanke emphasized that these problems were primarily due to unexpected construction challenges and global developments. The major project should not only contribute to achieving climate goals, but also ensure the quality of life of the Viennese population. “For Vienna to remain the most livable city in the world, the public transport network must grow with it,” said Hanke, emphasizing the consistent expansion of CO2-free transport. You could dare to compare it with any other city, said Hanke. He highlighted that the project could save up to 75,000 tons of CO₂ annually by reducing car traffic. At the same time, the performance of Vienna’s public transport system will be sustainably strengthened: once the current “highly complex construction sites” are completed, up to 300 million additional passengers could use the Vienna public transport system each year. The city council promised that the new subway lines would enable significantly shorter travel times. In the future, the route from Elterleinplatz to Karlsplatz should be able to be covered in around eleven minutes, which would equate to halving the current travel time. The same applies to the connection between Neubaugasse and Schottentor, which will be shortened to four minutes. Hanke also pointed out the economic effects of the project: around 30,000 jobs will be created or secured through the expansion, which will not only benefit the construction industry, but also numerous supplier companies. “We are an important factor for the local economy and an economic stimulus,” said the city council. Hanke appealed for cross-party cooperation to overcome the challenges of the project. “We can only tackle big tasks together,” says Hanke. This includes, above all, “transparent information” to the public.
Hanke took the opportunity to correct some “misunderstandings” related to the project. For example, the claim that the completion of the U5 to Frankhplatz has been postponed until 2028 is “simply wrong”. “Wiener Linien has clearly communicated that the U5 will continue to be completed on schedule by 2026,” the city council made clear. City councilor Peter Hanke reported that there were regular communication routines, which were supplemented by topic-specific meeting appointments if necessary. In addition, the City of Vienna, as the owner of Wiener Stadtwerke, maintains close and direct communication with the group. Hanke explained that a Jour Fixe with the management of Wiener Stadtwerke and him takes place about once a month. As part of this routine, the management of Wiener Stadtwerke is in turn informed by the management of Wiener Linien. In addition, his office is in regular contact with Wiener Stadtwerke and its subsidiaries, including Wiener Linien, within the scope of their respective responsibilities. Hanke also mentioned the regular steering committee between the federal and state governments.
Regarding the current development of the project, Hanke also explained that the completion of the first construction stage is still proceeding according to plan: the U5 should run to Frankhplatz by 2026 and the U2 to Matzleinsdorfer Platz by 2030. The second construction stage, the extension of the U5 to Hernals and the U2 to Wienerberg, is expected between 2032 and 2035. With regard to the costs, Hanke emphasized that, adjusted for inflation, the project remained within budget, despite significant price increases in construction costs, energy and raw materials since 2020. However, these would have led to an additional financing requirement of around 300 million euros for the first construction stage. An external audit found this increase to be “plausible”, claimed the City Councilor for Finance. According to Hanke, the city of Vienna is in negotiations with the federal government about possible cost sharing. However, a final clarification is still pending.
Another topic was the inrush of water at the Pilgramgasse construction site as a result of the exceptional flooding in September this year. Hanke emphasized that all necessary protective measures had been taken in advance and announced a final evaluation of the damage caused. Discussions with the federal government about possible support from the disaster fund are currently underway. As Hanke further reported, numerous unforeseen obstacles arose during the construction work on the new U2 line, which led to considerable delays. The Rathaus station was particularly affected, where unexpected earth movements caused damage to the platform screen doors. These had to be repaired, which required additional time and expense. Unexpected challenges also arose on the building itself. A “duckweed with 100,000 liters of water” made extensive safety measures necessary, including the construction of wells and pumping out the water masses. Further difficulties arose on Universitätsstrasse, where an undocumented, 50 meter long canal had to be removed at a depth of six meters before the actual work could continue. Hanke called this area a “structural bottleneck” because the existing U2 tunnel also had to be extensively secured. At the Reinprechtsdorfer Straße station, the Vienna underground proved to be unpredictable. Movements in the ground would have required additional reinforced concrete cross beams and the construction of elm tunnels to stabilize the shaft structure. Such unforeseen challenges would have significantly delayed and complicated the construction process. Only after all safety measures had been completed could the tracks on the route be laid continuously again and the technical equipment for subway operations installed. “The complexity of the project is higher than originally expected,” explained Hanke, also with regard to the installation of new software, but was confident that operations between Schottentor and Karlsplatz could be resumed in autumn 2024.
Hanke made it clear that responsibility for the additional costs incurred was still being examined. Global and geopolitical events have led to sometimes immense price increases. It is currently uncertain whether they would have to be covered by insurance, passed on to construction companies or borne by the city of Vienna. “Clarifying the facts is crucial,” he emphasized. He pointed out that the final additional costs would only be known once the project was completed. However, an “external accompanying control” confirmed that external factors such as inflation and increased energy prices were key drivers of the additional costs. The impact on the city budget was also discussed. According to Hanke, the deficit in the 2024 budget remains at a forecast 2.381 billion euros, but could still change due to the effects of inflation and falling income. For 2025, an increased deficit of 2.714 billion euros is expected due to reduced revenue shares due to changed federal forecasts. Another point was the so-called investment cost subsidy (BKZ), which was originally set at 697 million euros for 2024. Hanke reported that a shortfall of 100 million euros was expected. However, this money will not be used as a “hidden reserve” for subway construction, but will be partially reallocated to other investments by Wiener Linien. That depends on several factors, said Hanke. Nevertheless, Hanke was optimistic that there would be no overrun applications for subway construction in 2024 or 2025. He emphasized that the city is working in close coordination with Wiener Linien to adjust the time and cost plans in order to keep the project within budget.
City Councilor Hanke finally appealed to all political actors to continue to support the project constructively. The subway expansion is an “essential infrastructure project” for the future of a livable Vienna and, despite the challenges, requires a joint effort. He wanted to emphasize that the City of Vienna is continuing to strive to complete the subway construction work within the planned framework, “even if the general conditions have become more complex.” (cont.) kri