Rail Cargo Group is positioned at the core of the logistics chain for the Feldkirch City Tunnel, as the project shifts excavation transport from road to rail. The construction consortium and the Vorarlberg authorities have opted for a rail-based system that replaces an estimated 70,000 truck journeys, placing Rail Cargo Austria in charge of the onward movement of material from the Felsenau loading point.
A 90-metre conveyor bridge installed earlier this autumn, feeds excavated rock across the L190 road and the river to the railhead, where Rail Cargo Group will load and dispatch the trains.
The transport volumes are substantial. Around one million tonnes of material are expected to be moved during construction. Planning currently foresees two trains per day, each carrying about 1,000 tonnes from the Felsenau portal to Rhomberg Bau’s Rheintal Resource Center. Once delivered, the material is sorted, stored and processed for reuse in applications such as local road construction, asphalt and concrete aggregates, or backfilling.
For Rail Cargo Austria, the operation demonstrates a dedicated deployment for short-distance bulk flows, supported by temporary infrastructure built specifically for the project. The rail solution forms the backbone of the excavation chain, linking the construction site with the regional resource centre without routing heavy road traffic through residential areas.
While rail logistics move into regular operation, construction preparations continue elsewhere along the project. At the “Old Town Portal,” site installation and a new noise barrier along Duxgasse are advancing. In Felsenau, following the lifting of a partial construction halt, crews are progressing with utility works and the setup of the concrete mixing plant required for the main tunnel phase.
