SO31 Transport infrastruktur

Key Information

Summary

Though cross-border rail tracks are key-elements of climate-friendly mobility, there is only a very few number of such tracks existing at the moment between AT and HU. Enhanced/faster accessibility, provided by rail connections between tertiary (Neusiedl am See, Kapuvár) and secondary nodes (such as Sopron and Győr) within the border area and the TEN-T-corridor and improved accessibility between Jennersdorf-Szentgotthard are the superior project-goals.

The railway of the Neusiedler Seebahn has been maintained and modernised for more than 30 years, to counteract the already prepared shut-down in the 1980s. As a result of those measures, a continuing increase of the numbers of passengers could be registered. Until the year 2000 the number of passengers has reached the level of 400.000 (in 2006: 468.900, 2016: 729.000). On working days 2000 to 2500 travellers (mainly commuters) use NSB. The quality of railway transport and the technical condition of the track were improved due to the shares of central and regional governments. With the support of the AT owners of the NSB an amount of € 13.000.000 were invested between 2002 and 2005 into projects along the AT section of the railway. These projects dealt with the following issues: electrification of the whole track, reconstruction and establishment of safety equipment, track construction works, assurance of road crossings, correction of track-arcs to increase speed of the line.

Within the project CrossBorder Rail, the HU section of the railway (10,73 km) will begin to be improved. Planned measures are the complete renewal of the control and safety technologies as well as the roadbed and track. On AT section, the already started renewal of the control and safety technologies will be continued and finished. Measures to enhance multi-modality and to provide accessibility for disabled passengers at the stations are also proposed. Travel time will be reduced significantly (approx. 11 mins) due to these measures.

Key Information

Summary

The CrossBorder Road project aimes to connect non-continuous roads in the Mittelburgenland Area and Szombathely – Köszeg – Zsira. It affects two street sections: First, the completion of the by-pass road „Therme Lutzmannsburg“ in Austria, started during the „Landmark-Rubber“ project (ETZ AT-HU 2007-2013) in Hungary. Second, the conjunction of the southern part of the road S31-B61a with the hungarian higher-ranking road network near Köszeg (State road Nr. 87).

The main problem are missing or not fully developed cross-border roads, especially between Köszeg and Oberpullendorf and also the missing connection to the TEN-T road network.

Project aim is the rearrangement and finishing of cross-border road network to ensure shorter and safer reachability of the TEN-T road network from Austria as well as from Hungary. The principal object is the rebuilding and extension of two road sections, which contains improvements for both countries as a result of faster and safer routes. It also improves conditions for international road haulage because of better connections to the higher-ranking road network. The project also implements the reduction of traffic which increases the environmental conditions for the sedentary population near the existing roads.

The cross-border approach results from the need of a cross-country infrastructure because both countries already achieved massive preparatory work on each side of the border. In this case it is of particular importance to reconcile the planning process.

Key Information

Summary

One factor impeding the region’s development possibilities is the current inadequacy of the existing transport capacities across the local segment of the state border between Austria and Hungary, restricting growth and development in the areas along the border. The opening of the border crossing point between Rajka and Deutsch Jahrndorf will provide shorter access to the TEN-T network primarily for Neusiedl am See (a tertiary junction) and the nearby villages (of Németjárfalu, Lajtakáta, Lajtakörtvélyes and Mosonújfalu). The border crossing point to be constructed enables improved access to Rajka and the M15 TEN-T network element, resulting in a major improvement of the accessibility of the region as a whole. In addition to the project’s social and economic impacts, it may – through improved mobility and communication possibilities for residents of the municipalities along the border – also make a direct contribution to the strengthening of the micro region’s population retaining capability and to an expansion of commercial and economic processes.

Development projects need to be implemented on both sides of the border to stop the process of the regions along the border becoming more and more marginalised. In the case of cross-border road development projects cooperation is indispensable from both technical and social perspectives. The opening of the new border crossing point will improve the border segments’ permeability for local residents and tourists alike. The construction of a road of a good technical state will enable quicker and safer transport between the two municipalities.

The new approach taken by the project lays in the fact that we will achieve improvements in the conditions of the TEN-T network connections by actual physical implementation for the village of Neusiedl am See and other nearby municipalities.

Key Information

Summary

The road L210 (St. Margarthener Straße) crosses the junction with the road L236 (Schützener Straße) at km 0,304 and runs through Oslip (Ödenburgerstraße). The road L210 crosses the B52 (Ruster Straße) at km 5,558 in St. Margarethen (Ödenburgerstraße). The L210 ends at the Hungarian border and is continued in the Hungarian road network. The stretch between St. Margarethen and the Hungarian border 4,4 km has been used for agricultural purposes for the past decades, and is therefore in very poor conditions. Since Hungary has signed the Schengen Agreement, this road connection has been used more frequently.

The street section around the town Fertörákos as well as the majority of the section in the Komitat Györ-Moson-Soporn, is in very poor condition. Only 10 percent of the roads in this Komitat can be placed in the road category “good” and “satisfactory”. The proportion of roads in poor conditions is more than 65% in this Komitat.

There are two categories of road connections occurring at this passage: Long distance connections linking the district and the Komitat to national and European traffic and short distance connections connecting the border crossing point.

This project aims to improve the border crossing infrastructure in a collaborative effort. As a result of the geographic circumstances (Neusiedler Lake, Ödenburger Mountains) there are limited options for border crossing points. Therefore it becomes even more important to improve the already existing connections and reduce detour traffic. The improvement of the road infrastructure will foster commuter traffic.

Key Information

Summary

Facilitating mobility and enhancing cross-border connections, communication and accessibility of regional centres is a priority objective in the border-lying region between Austria and Hungary. The project’s immediate objective is to connect the municipalities of Várbalog-Albertkázmérpuszta and Halbturn. The intervention is necessitated by the fact that at present there is no asphalt road connection between the village of Várbalog and the settlement Albertkázmérpuszta belonging to it. After the implementation of the project, besides the connection of the two segments of the municipality a connection will be established between the Hungarian by-road No. 8508 and the Austrian by-road No. L211.

The project will involve covering the existing dirt road starting in the centre of the village of Várbalog from the No. 8508 road with asphalt pavement up to Albertkázmérpuszta. The development will create a quicker and safer connection between the municipalities lying on the opposite sides of the border.  The improvement of border crossing on the other hand, will improve access towards Mosonmagyaróvár and Neusiedl am See as well, creating improved conditions for accessing the elements of the higher level TEN-T road network. The development will also provide improved access to and for local labour, goods and services.

Coordination of the preparatory tasks and joint planning/design are indispensable in the case of cross-border road developments.