Train traffic in danger: Massive restrictions due to rail blocks threaten!

Train traffic in danger: Massive restrictions due to rail blocks threaten!

Regensburg, Deutschland - From 2026, significant impairments in Austria's rail transport will be expected by extensive Deutsche Bahn construction measures. This applies in particular to the Regensburg - Nuremberg routes in the first half of the year and the Passau connection - Obertraubling in the second half of the year. According to the Kleine Zeitung there will also be further closures in 2027 and 2028, including the German Eck and the Rosenheim-Munich route. These restrictions cause around 80 freight trains to be diverted every day via Salzburg. In addition, freight traffic is directed from and to Trieste via alternative routes, which will lead to timetable changes and train failures, especially between Linz and Selzthal as well as St. Valentin and Steyr. Passenger transport is also hit hard because the ICE lines Vienna-Regensburg/Nuremberg will be omitted in the second half of 2026.

The additional burden on the infrastructure will also influence road traffic. Due to the predicted capacity reduction by 20 percent, it will be feared that freight traffic will be increasingly shifted to the streets. The A8 in Upper Austria in particular is affected. The member of the state parliament Günther Steinkellner (FPÖ) has already made suggestions to defuse the traffic on this route. These developments also bring about challenges for industry, as the Vice General Secretary of the Industrial Association, Peter Koren, emphasizes. Companies should check their logistics chains as quickly as possible to consider alternative transport options in good time.

growth in goods handling on inland waters