The Styrian Chamber of Commerce is reacting to the fact that a train station is being built at Linz-Hörsching Airport as part of the expansion of the Westbahn route. There are once again calls for Graz Airport to be connected to the Koralmbahn.

It sounds absurd, but it is the current state of affairs. The new route runs virtually under Graz Airport, but there is no stop. The Austrian Federal Railways have only done some preliminary work that could lead to the later construction of a train station. Just as politics dictated many years ago.

Review: During the planning phase, the then Haider state government literally opposed the Koralmbahn including the train station at Graz Airport. There were fears that the airport in the Carinthian capital could become obsolete due to the extremely short travel time. In negotiations with the federal government, the ÖBB and the state of Styria, Jörg Haider's team succeeded in imposing the condition that Graz Airport would not have a Koralmbahn stop. This means that transfer-free journeys between Klagenfurt and this airport are not possible.

In the meantime, a lot has changed not only in aviation, but also politically. The Styrian Governor Christopher Drexler (ÖVP) has been pushing for a long time to the Koralm train station at Graz Airport and is also politically committed to this. Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) also has support from Carinthia. The Chamber of Commerce is in favor of it anyway.

However, there is a new opponent: the Ministry of Transport, which, under the leadership of Leonore Gewessler (Greens), is taking a course that is not exactly aviation-friendly, does not want to build the desired train station. Trains and train stations actually fit perfectly into the Federal Minister's political ideology, but this is about travelers who could transfer to planes. Apparently a no-go for Gewessler. The Austrian Federal Railways' hands are tied here because they have to adhere to the requirements of their owner, i.e. the Republic of Austria, represented by the Ministry of Transport.

A few days ago it was announced that... Linz-Hörsching Airport gets a stop on the Westbahn route. The Upper Austrian airport is currently not accessible by rail. What is celebrated in Upper Austria triggers a bit of jealousy in Styria. At the same time, it seems to be an incentive for the Industrial Association and the Chamber of Commerce to go public again and demand clearly that Graz Airport must get the Koralmbahn stop.

Aviation.Direct published a detailed analysis of the Koralmbahn in connection with Graz Airport some time ago. The report can be found at this link.