In Vienna, the construction of the new main train station has begun

Vienna - A thousand trains a day, transporting up to 230,000 passengers daily; such will be the capacity of the new main train station in Vienna, the construction of which began this week.
    The new station, with ten platforms and over 100 kilometers of tracks to be laid within its area, is expected to be completed in 2013. Direct investments in the station building and railway infrastructure are estimated at 886 million euros (over 25 billion crowns), and including the construction of additional structures in the vicinity, the entire project will cost around two billion euros (about 56 billion crowns).
    The Viennese and federal authorities anticipate that the Austrian capital, given its geographical location, will become the most important railway hub in Europe, and the new concept, including the main station, will significantly contribute to this.
    Vienna, similar to how the German capital Berlin recently did, has decided with this project to definitively end the concept of multiple railway nodes on the outskirts of the city and build a central station that will ensure seamless passage through the city by rail and rapid connections from one central hub to all main routes.
    The existing system meant that, for example, a passenger arriving from the west wishing to continue east had to use public transport to get from the West Station to the East or South Station. The seamless connection of these routes is expected to save at least 40 minutes of travel time.
    The construction will also be accompanied by the modernization of tracks and the addition of some new sections and tunnels, which aim to further expedite and enhance train travel and partially relieve road traffic.
    The new main station will be located in the area of South Tyrol Square, partially on the site of the current South Station, which, like the East Station, will be demolished. The West Station will remain but will have only a regional character in the future.
    In the first phase of construction this year and next, the route of metro line U1 will be extended closer to the future station, and a new S-Bahn rapid transit station will be built with a transfer tunnel to the station. The actual construction of the station building with its original roof design will begin in 2009. At the same time, a practically new urban district with shops, restaurants, office, and residential buildings will begin to emerge on a total area of 60 hectares around the station.