ÖBB framework schedule ensures disappointment: postponed important projects!

ÖBB framework schedule ensures disappointment: postponed important projects!

Niederösterreich, Österreich - The latest decisions of the ÖBB for reorganizing the framework cause great unrest in Lower Austria. Austria not only postponed, but also in many cases also completely deleted or not taken into account. The effects on regional mobility are serious.

The budget for rail expansion is to be reduced from 21.1 billion euros to 19.7 billion euros by 2030. This leads to important projects in the region to be put on for years. For example, the connection of the Ostbahn to the airport quickly will not be realized until 2028, although it was originally planned for 2026.

shifts and deletions

A particularly striking example is the construction of the new airport brackets between Vienna and Bruck an der Leitha, whose completion was postponed to 2035. The expansion of the Nordbahn towards the state border and the four -track section between Meidling and Mödling are also long in coming. The electrification of the Erlauftalbahn and the modernization of the Puchberger Bahn were also delayed until 2033, while the electrified operation between Herzogenburg and Krems should not be possible until 2040.

The ÖBB boss Andreas Matthä emphasizes the urgency of investments in the rail infrastructure. But the political reactions to the new framework plan are anything but positive. Udo Landbauer from the FPÖ describes the plan as "attack on people in rural areas". In particular, the uncertainty caused by the delay of the Puchberger Bahn provides concern among residents.

political reactions and effects

Green politician Georg Ecker speaks of a fatal step back in transport policy. The fact that important projects such as the Northwest and the Laaer Ostbahn are completely missing in the new framework plan is particularly dramatic. Trust in a reliable mobility future in Lower Austria has dropped greatly through these developments.

The ÖBB, however, emphasizes that some projects such as the electrification of the Mattersburg Bahn and the expansion of the S-Bahn network around Vienna will continue. This could offer those affected in the region at least a small glimmer of hope.

background and planning

The framework is created in coordination between the ÖBB-Infrastructure AG and the Federal Ministry for Claresuit. This target network, which specifies long-term developments in the rail network, is to be gradually implemented by a prioritized selection of projects based on cost-efficacy analyzes and traffic forecasts.

Currently the target network 2025+, which was defined by ÖBB more than a decade ago. Central priorities include the creation of infrastructural prerequisites for an integrated clock schedule and the expansion of route capacities on the main network to shift traffic from the road to rail. A new draft draft for a possible target network 2040 is already available, but, given the current cuts, suggests a dark shadow on the future of traffic planning in Lower Austria.