Tram, Stadtbahn, U-Bahn: Vienna’s transit
From the horse tram of 1865 to the U5 due in 2030: Vienna’s transit network grew over 160 years — and always helped decide where the city lives.
Wherever a line arrived, living changed: the Stadtbahn turned the Gürtel into an address, the U1 connected Favoriten, the U2 pulled the Seestadt along behind it. To understand why a neighbourhood lives the way it does, its timetable — today’s and the one from 1900 — is often the best place to look.
The milestones
What is being built now: the U2×U5 project
Vienna’s biggest transit project in decades is running right under the city. The U5 — Vienna’s first fully automated line — takes over the closed U2 branch and will run from Karlsplatz via Museumsquartier, Volkstheater and Rathaus to the new Frankhplatz station by the old AKH. In return the U2 gets a new southern leg: from Rathaus via Neubaugasse (U3 interchange), Pilgramgasse (U4) and Reinprechtsdorfer Straße to Matzleinsdorfer Platz with its S-Bahn link.
The honest timeline (as of November 2025): the Frankhplatz station is structurally complete in 2026, but both lines only enter service from 2030 — the city stretched the dates to relieve its budget. Stage two follows: the U5 onwards to Hernals (construction from 2028), the U2 to Wienerberg; the full project completes in the mid-2030s. On the Vienna Living Map both routes are drawn dotted as "under construction", including the new stations.
What it means for where you live
The Living Score counts today’s network: a station opening in 2030 shortens no commute today — so the U5 deliberately does not feed the transit score; it appears as a note at affected addresses. And on prices: that a new metro station seeps into rents and purchase prices over the years is well documented — by how much, for a single Grätzl, nobody seriously knows. VLM therefore prices in no U5 premium; buying along the new routes means buying an expectation, not a measurement.
See the transit network on the map →Frequently asked
When will Vienna’s U5 run?
As of November 2025: from 2030, between Karlsplatz and Frankhplatz. The Frankhplatz station is structurally complete in 2026 — the start of service was pushed to 2030 as part of the city’s budget consolidation.
Which stations will the U5 serve?
Karlsplatz, Museumsquartier, Volkstheater and Rathaus (today’s U2 branch, closed for conversion) plus the new Frankhplatz by the old AKH. A second stage is to take the U5 onwards towards Hernals (construction from 2028).
Where is the U2 being extended to?
South from Rathaus: Neubaugasse (U3 interchange), Pilgramgasse (U4), Reinprechtsdorfer Straße and Matzleinsdorfer Platz (S-Bahn), planned from 2030. Later the U2 is to grow on to Wienerberg.
How old is Vienna’s U-Bahn?
The first U4 ran in 1976 on the old Stadtbahn line; in 1978 the U1 (Reumannplatz–Karlsplatz) opened as the first entirely new line. Otto Wagner’s Stadtbahn of 1898 was its predecessor.
How old is Vienna’s tram?
The first horse tram ran on 4 October 1865 from Schottentor to Hernals. Today Vienna’s tram network is among the largest in the world.
Will the U5 raise rents?
Experience says new metro stations capitalise into rents and prices over the years — but no reliable per-neighbourhood figures exist. Vienna Living Map therefore deliberately prices in no U5 premium: the score reflects today’s connections, prices are official medians. The expansion is stated as a fact, never as a forecast.
Timeline and expansion status: City of Vienna / Wiener Linien (U2×U5 project, status November 2025). Dates for the expansion are the city’s published plans and can shift.