High speed and low noise

Noise control for the Koralm railway.

With the official opening of the Koralm leg of the southern railway in December 2025, one of the primary infrastructure projects in Austria will go online. To ensure that trains will be not just fast but also silent, our noise barriers along the tracks provide for quietude among the neighbouring communities.

We have been accompanying the Koralm railway project since the early 2000s, as a reliable partner of the Austrian Railways ÖBB and its construction firms. Many sections – from Graz-Werndorf to the Hengsberg tunnel and Grafenstein, have been provided with FONOCON noise control systems. Altogether we delivered and installed more than 150,000 square metres of noise protection elements in the past two decades.

Austria’s longest railway tunnel

The new leg has the Koralm tunnel at its heart. It traverses the Koralpe mountain between St. Andrä im Lavanttal and Deutschlandsberg. Here we added tunnel claddings to the conventional noise screens. Targeted noise absorption is crucial, especially at the entry and exit points: otherwise, smooth tunnel walls would reflect the noise and
thus have a worse impact on the surrounding.

Elegant and efficient

A technical and design highlight is the noise barrier at the Drau valley bridge. Thanks to its curved shape, the barrier smoothly follows the line established by the bridge, adding a dynamic constituent to it. Forster’s light-weight aluminium panels allow their use on bridges where heavier systems would exert an excessive load on the structure.

More calm, more quality of living

High-speed railway lines require more stringent criteria when it comes to noise control, especially for systems that reliably withstand pressure and pull forces. Our highly absorbing aluminium panels meet all those criteria and substantially dampen the railway noise for the neighbourhood. In this way we make a sustainable contribution to the quality of living and environmental protection – a target that is strongly anchored in our company’s guiding mission.
 

© ÖBB

Koralm tunnel

St. Paul im Lavanttal station

Along the new high-speed line between Graz and Klagenfurt, numerous FONOCON noise barriers make sure that tranquillity prevails. The map shows some of the Koralm leg sections fitted by Forster.

Drau bridge

"Grasses in the wind" - Kühnsdorf