For many years the line was the only direct link from the Vienna - Linz main line to the Vienna - Graz and Vienna - Hegyeshalom (Hungary) lines. With the opening of the Lainz Tunnel in December 2012, a new underground connection was established and the Hütteldorf - Meidling line lost much of its importance as an east-west freight line.
In December 2015 all inter-city trains from Salzburg to Budapest were rerouted through the tunnel, leaving local trains as the only traffic on the surface line. These include peak services from Laaa-an-der-Thaya to Vienna West and an hourly Line S80 S-Bahn service from Hütteldorf to Hausfeldstrasse, which is increased to half-hourly during the peaks.
There is now sufficient capacity to upgrade Line S80 to run at similar frequencies to other parts of the S-Bahn network, and ÖBB has drawn up plans to rebuild the line.
At present operations are constrained by a single-track section near Hütteldorf and the line has several level crossings. There is only one intermediate station at Speising.
Plans include a new double-track bridge across the River Wien and construction of road underpasses to replace the level crossings. Speising station will be rebuilt and two more stations will be added at Hietzinger Hauptstrasse and Stranzenbergbrücke.
Detailed planning has already started and the project is due to be completed in 2021.
