one of my personal faves as I have ridden it as a passenger a lot of times... but I would be for making it set in the present, because after upgrades (double tracking, renewals, completing electrification from Stadlau all the way to Marchegg, removing of level crossings except like 2-3 in Vienna vicinity and new/upgraded stations) it has not only become much more interesting, but also much faster - current speeds on certain sections are 140-160, but when all is done, 200 is to be expected for RailJets and such (which currently dont serve the route)... also, if Bratislava section was to be included (which is like 10 km or so), we would get interesting glimpse into Slovak railway signalling/safety systems... atm the section from state border (including the viaduct between Marchegg and Devinska Nova Ves) to Devinska Nova Ves station is being renewed (track + repairs on the viaduct/bridge over Morava river) and ELECTRIFIED (FINALLY ) Now for the route description - starts off at Wien Hbf, where it dips a bit under some tracks, then follows in the direction of Simmering (with Gasometer in view), some smaller stations along the way where S80 and regional trains stop (Haidestrasse, Praterkai, both recently renewed) and Stadlau (major freight hub; also, there is a section of track connecting this station to Floridsdorf - this connection is used these months as bypass for trains to Czech Republic)... Kernzone ends at Aspern Nord, a relatively small station serving newly built Seestadt and surroundings (also is getting one extra track I think and other such things, as it is becoming quite a hub; S80 from Hutteldorf terminates here) from then on it is mostly straight track, the longest straight stretch in all of Austria... views are quite nice - fields, small villages/towns and at the end, Marchegg... currently, even REX8 terminates here... from 14.12. (if all goes to plan), the electrified short section on Slovak side should open - with vmax 120 kph there, and 140-160, maybe even 200 on Austrian side Route length is around 54km, more if you include some industrial branches to Stadlau... of course, they could include the whole Stammstrecke, and the route via Floridsdorf and Ganserndorf to Marchegg (which was often used during section closures on the route via Aspern Nord) as a kind of bypass... this route, often used by trains to Czech Republic, also received the same treatment as the aforementioned one, except electrification (it was already electrified) Rolling stock: OBB 4024 in CityJet livery (vmax 140 kph) OBB 4744/4746 aka Desiro ML in CityJet livery (vmax 160 kph) OBB 1016/1116 + Wiesel coaches + cab car (vmax 140 kph due to Wiesel coaches) also, recently OBB 1144 plus CityShuttle carriages and cab car (vmax 160 kph) plus RailJet, but no idea if they will be routed that way once the Slovak section is electrified... also, no idea what kind of consist OBB sends that way for REX8 - right now it is mostly 1144 plus CityShuttles, but thats cos it doesnt have to have Slovak systems installed, which 1144 doesnt have So, depending IF and HOW they would do this, it could be a nice regional route with some speed - ridden it yesterday on 4024 CityJet, and it was blasting at 140 kph a lot of the time... in Vienna it goes around 80-100 kph, since it is mostly dedicated track, outside Vienna it goes anywhere between 120 and 140-160 kph, sometime in future it is expected to also see 200 kph operation... if they included Slovak section, it should be anywhere between 60 and 120 kph, 30 kph when entering the tunnels before Bratislava main station... and the rolling stock is amazing As a bonus, old REX8 consist that used to serve this route before March 2024 (start of construction on Slovak side) - OBB 2016 Hercules diesel loco (vmax 140 kph) + 2 Slovak coaches (vmax 120 kph) + I think 3 CityShuttle carriages, one of which was cab car (vmax 160 kph)
Fresh IRL update: looks like REX8 will get two kinds of consists... a handful of services could receive Vectron pulling Slovak express coaches (forgot the designation) capable of 160 kph, and the rest should be handled by more vintage stock... as for that, until recently, they have used (from back to front, direction Marchegg) 1144 + CityShuttle carriages + CityShuttle cab car, which would do almost consistent 140 kph all the way to Marchegg... but today I had travelled on REX8, and the consist is as follows: CityShuttle cab car + older IC carriages (built for 200 kph) + 1144... and this one would reach up to 160 kph on fastest portions (not sure which are designated for that speed) and would mostly oscillate around 140-150 kph, which is super nice... Wien Hbf to Marchegg only took around 35mins as for the final consist which would be sent when the electrification + track repairs and upgrades between state border+viaduct over Morava River is done, right now I hope they keep the consist as it is, and just swap 1144 for Taurus 1116... 1144 isnt approved for use in Slovakia, and only a handful of 1144s are approved for Czech Republic (like those doing REX4 or 41 to České Velenice or Prague), so I assume that they will use Taurus as it is the most versatile and most of all available (OBB doesnt "waste" Vectrons on REX trains, while Taurus-es can be found on tons of REX and even S-Bahn services)... will see... but today got me hopeful ... with the time on Slovak side (I assume since the renewed/electrified section is being upgraded from 80 to 120 kph, that it will shave some minutes) around 20 mins lets say, depending on conditions etc, the total travel time from Bratislava to Vienna via Marchegg could drop from like 70 or 75mins from before to like 50-55 mins, which is awesome... and on Austrian side, as I already said, even older trains just fly
Another small update: had a ride yesterday, and outside of Vienna it was doing almost constant 160 kph, even 170 kph at times (cos it was probably trying to shave off the delay or sth)... totally awesome + those IC coaches are super comfy
this is from today... OBB 1144 + 3x Bmpz + OBB 8073 Cityshuttle cab car... within Vienna speeds between 30 and 100 kph most, mostly around 60-80 kph, once it got out of Aspern Nord, quickly got to 160 kph, which it held most of the journey, only slowed to around 120-140 kph once it started getting closer to Marchegg
