Vienna Subway Building Sites

Vienna Subway Building Sites (U2 / U1)
Panoramas © by Bernhard Vogl

Rising population and town planning considerations made it necessary to massively extend the subway net of Vienna. The begin of the work was in 2001 and now - 2005 - the building sites everywhere in town can't be overseen.

To get an impression about the size of the current phase of the subway extension (until 2010) :

- The U1 will be extended by 4,6 km, U2 by 9 km
- Total cost: 1,2 Billion Euro

3 of the building sites have been visited representatively for some phases of the work.

U2/U4-Donaukanal, Station Name: "Schottenring" The site is an excellent example for the "New Austrian Tunnel Method" (NATM). The 2 main station tunnel sections were digged after solidifying the soil under the Wienkanal River by freezing it with liquid nitrogen. If you look closely in the panoramas you can see the pipes covered with frozen water. More information about the NATM (German, with very comprehensive interactive drawings)	Schottenring Subway Panoramas
U2/U1-Praterstern, Station Name: "Praterstern" In terms of size, the largest station. The complete station area is 2 stories high. The concrete skeletal structure is already finished. Walk around a little and see a tunnel drilling machine in action as well as some other heavy machinery.	Praterstern Subway Panoramas
U1-Leopoldau, future terminal stop with infrastructure for the rolling stock, Station Name: "Leopoldau" Main building work is complete. Currently the interior is finished. The virtual tour will give you the opportunity to see all main areas like the garage where the train fleet will be serviced and repaired. You can also walk into the subway tunnel.	Leopoldau Subway Panoramas
View from inside a Subway Train (near UNO-City)	Click image to open panorama

Download: Addon for Google Earth with exact Panorama Locations (free Google Earth needed)

Further references about the extension work of the subway:
Official page (German) about the subway extension
Unofficial page (English) about current and future extensions
Photos from the previous extensions of the Vienna subway as well as Architectural photos by a Vienna based Photographer

A "thank you" to the Ombudsmen of the "Wiener Linien" who supported me in taking the panoramas, especially Ing. Walter Zemen from Praterstern who helped me to find the right contacts and get permission to shoot, also Ing. Kurt Großkopf for guiding me through the Schottenring site and Ing. Horvath for the access at Leopoldau.