The Magistrale for Europe (German: Magistrale für Europa; French: Magistrale européenne) or Main Line for Europe is a Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) project for the creation of a high-speed railway line between Paris and Bratislava, with a branch-off to Budapest. It was listed as TEN project No. 17 (ParisâÂÂBratislava) by the European Commission in 1995, and is already under way.
The project was planned to be completed by 2020, however the entire project has not been delivered on time, with only some of the sections running. It will link 34 million people in five European countries. The overall length of the route from Paris to Budapest is .
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 (ÃÂBB) currently provide direct Railjet and EuroNight connections between Munich and Budapest in addition to direct Nightjet connection between Vienna and Paris since December 2021.
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 and reduced the travel time from Gare de Paris-Est to the largely refurbished Gare de Strasbourg to .
In Germany, the line follows the AppenweierâÂÂStrasbourg railway (Europabahn) from the Rhine Bridge to Appenweier and then the MannheimâÂÂKarlsruheâÂÂBasel railway (Rheintalbahn) down to Bruchsal. The Europabahn is built for a maximum speed of , while the Rheintalbahn to Rastatt Süd is for . 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 MannheimâÂÂStuttgart high-speed railway which was built for . Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof is currently being rebuilt (scheduled for completion in December 2026) 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 StuttgartâÂÂAugsburg new and upgraded railway (including the StuttgartâÂÂWendlingen and WendlingenâÂÂUlm 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 between Stuttgart and Ulm and on the UlmâÂÂAugsburg 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 MunichâÂÂAugsburg railway was upgraded to separate slower traffic (freight and short-distance trains) from high speed trains in 2011, with maximum speeds of . 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 MunichâÂÂMühldorf railway, providing a maximum speed of , and the MühldorfâÂÂFreilassing railway line. In Freilassing the MoE joins the RosenheimâÂÂSalzburg railway leading across the Austrian border including a new third track serving the Salzburg S-Bahn commuter network.
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 . Between Linz and Vienna a new parallel high-speed railway line (Neue Westbahn) for a maximum speed of 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-Petrà ¾alka railway station, including a connection to Vienna International Airport. East of Vienna, a southeastern branch-off leads via Gyà Âr to Budapest.
<sup>1 It is calculated with the fastest possible durations between the towns.</sup><br> <sup>2 Real duration is longer due to changing.</sup><br> <br> <sup>Source (unless stated otherwise): annual report 2006/07 of Péter Balázs</sup>