Main Line for Europe

Sections

| image-width = 1600 | image-left = -385 | image-top = -700 Parts of the route were formerly served by Orient Express trains, which ceased operations in 2009. Today TGV rail connections exist from Paris to Stuttgart or at longest Munich. The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) currently provide direct Railjet and EuroNight connections between Munich and Budapest in addition to direct Nightjet connection between Vienna and Paris since December 2021.

France

The French part of the line is the LGV Est européenne high-speed railway. Its first section as far as Baudrecourt east of Metz has been in use since 2007 whilst the second section to Vendenheim near Strasbourg opened in July 2016. The new railway line provides a maximum speed up to 320 km/h and reduced the travel time from Gare de Paris-Est to the largely refurbished Gare de Strasbourg to .

Germany

In Germany, the line follows the Appenweier–Strasbourg railway (Europabahn) from the Rhine Bridge to Appenweier and then the Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway (Rheintalbahn) down to Bruchsal. The Europabahn is built for a maximum speed of 200 km/h, while the Rheintalbahn to Rastatt Süd is for 250 km/h. The second part of the new Rheintalbahn (Rastatt Süd to Bruchsal) is to be completed by 2014. At the Bruchsal Rollenberg junction the MoE joins the Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway which was built for 250 km/h. Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof is currently being rebuilt (scheduled for completion in 2025) as a through station in the course of the controversial Stuttgart 21 project. Despite some protests, a 2011 statewide referendum upheld the majority support and thus the political decision to rebuild the station and let the Magistrale for Europe project proceed.

In Stuttgart, the line joins the Stuttgart–Augsburg new and upgraded railway (including the Stuttgart–Wendlingen and Wendlingen–Ulm high-speed railway lines replacing the Fils Valley Railway). The Wendlingen-Ulm section was completed at the end of 2022 and provides a maximum speed of 250 km/h between Stuttgart and Ulm and 200 km/h on the Ulm–Augsburg railway line. A dedicated high-speed line between Ulm and Augsburg with high speeds of 250 km/h (155 mph) is currently in the planning stages. The Munich–Augsburg railway was upgraded to separate slower traffic (freight and short-distance trains) from high speed trains in 2011, with maximum speeds of 230 km/h. From München-Pasing trains may run directly to München Ost without passing München Hauptbahnhof. Plans for the reconstruction of the Munich main station similar to Stuttgart 21 have been abandoned.

Trains from München Ost shall reach Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, or otherwise continue directly to Linz Hauptbahnhof via the upgraded Munich–Mühldorf railway, providing a maximum speed of 200 km/h, and the Mühldorf–Freilassing railway line. In Freilassing the MoE joins the Rosenheim–Salzburg railway leading across the Austrian border including a new third track serving the Salzburg S-Bahn commuter network.

Austria

In Austria, the Western Railway line was extended to reduce travel time between Munich, Salzburg, Linz, and Vienna to one hour each. The section between the Attnang-Puchheim rail hub and Wels Hauptbahnhof near Linz was already upgraded until October 2012 to provide a maximum speed of 230 km/h. Between Linz and Vienna a new parallel high-speed railway line (Neue Westbahn) for a maximum speed of 250 km/h was completed in 2015, including the Wienerwald Tunnel.

In Vienna, the former Südbahnhof terminal station was demolished and replaced by the new Wien Hauptbahnhof. From here, trains run on the Eastern Railway line to Bratislava-Petržalka railway station, including a connection to Vienna International Airport. East of Vienna, a southeastern branch-off leads via Győr to Budapest.

Route

1 It is calculated with the fastest possible durations between the towns.

2 Real duration is longer due to changing.

Source (unless stated otherwise): annual report 2006/07 of Péter Balázs

References

References

1. (2007). "Railway Development: Impacts on Urban Dynamics". Springer Science & Business Media.
2. (2020). "The Hidden Wealth of Cities: Creating, Financing, and Managing Public Spaces". World Bank Publications.
3. Florian Fuchs and Claudia Henzler. (24 October 2019). "Im Schneckentempo zur Schnellfahrstrecke". [[Süddeutsche Zeitung]].
4. Charles Gautier. (24 March 2017). "Ces projets français réalisés grâce aux aides européennes". [[Le Figaro]].
5. "Main Line for Europe". MainLineforEurope.org.
6. "Finanzierungsvereinbarung für 2. Phase der LGV Est unterzeichnet".
7. [https://www.sncf-connect.com/train/horaires/paris/strasbourg Infos horaires train Paris-Strasbourg] on the sncf-connect website (22 April 2025).
8. The length of the high-speed Paris-Strasbourg line is 440.2 km (22.703 km of [[Paris-Est–Strasbourg-Ville railway. classical line from Paris-Est to the junction with the LGV]] + 406 km [[LGV Est]] + 11.5 km from the Strasbourg station to the junction with the LGV), compared with 502 km for the [[Paris-Est–Strasbourg-Ville railway. classical line]].
9. 21.3 km Strasbourg - Appenweier Nord (Abzw) on the [[Appenweier–Strasbourg railway]] + 39.537 km Appenweier Nord (Abzw) - Rastatt on the [[Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway]] + 20.783 km Rastatt - Karlsruhe Hbf on the [[Rhine Railway (Baden). Rhine Railway]].
10. "'Stuttgart 21' high-speed rail opening delayed once more".
11. "Neubaustrecke Wendlingen–Ulm". bahnprojekt-stuttgart-ulm.de.
12. (9 December 2022). "New Wendlingen-Ulm line: pacesetter for rail transport throughout Germany goes into operation". deutschebahn.com.
13. "ÖBB-Spatenstich: Weststrecke zwischen Linz und Marchtrenk wird viergleisig".
14. "Vier Gleise für ein Halleluja: Lückenschluss Weststrecke".
15. (June 2020). "Streckenausbau Wien − Bratislava. Bauabschnitt Niederösterreich". infrastruktur.oebb.at.
16. "Marchegger Ostbahn schon 2025 zweigleisig". noe.ORF.at.
17. Šnídl, Vladimír. "Z Viedne do Bratislavy za 40 minút, sľubujú rakúske železnice. Slováci musia opraviť mosty z čias cisára Ferdinanda". Denník N.
18. "Wien–Bratislava in 40 Minuten". bmvit INFOTHEK.