Political alliance in Upper Austria is fighting for the preservation of the regional trains!

Political alliance in Upper Austria is fighting for the preservation of the regional trains!

Oberösterreich, Österreich - In Upper Austria, a political shoulder is based on the changes in the regional trains planned by the ÖBB to bus operations. The ÖBB, the Hausruckbahn, Almtalbahn and the northern part of the Mühlkreisbahn currently intend to convert due to low utilization. In the region, the current passenger numbers are quite low, with 375 passengers per day on the Mühlkreisbahn, 1,200 on the house jerking and 1,500 on the Almtalbahn, which makes ÖBB classify these routes as economically not reasonable if they are below 2,500 passengers per day, as is [KURIER] (https://kurier.at/chronik/oboberoesterreich/bus-regionalzuge-oebb-protest-mobilitaet- Oberoesterreich/403043359) reported.

The state parliamentary groups in Upper Austria, including the FPÖ, ÖVP, SPÖ, Greens, Neos and MfG, are clearly positioned against these plans and have brought in an urgent urgent application to maintain the regional trains for the meeting on June 5 in the Linz Landhaus. The state parliament calls on the Federal Government to comply with existing financing commitments and not to reduce the railway lines, but to further develop it. These regional trains are referred to as "indispensable lifeline for rural areas", emphasizes [vienna.at] (https://www.vienna.at/ooe-erbet-politischem-schulzeg- opposite

background of the change

The possible switch to bus operation is in the context of a budget consolidation of the federal government. From 2025 to 2030, the new ÖBB framework plan provides only 19.7 billion euros after originally planned 21.9 billion euros. This savings package means that around 10 percent of the expenses for rail expansion are reduced, which significantly endangered the quality of offer in regional rail transport.

Traffic Councilor Günther Steinkellner (FPÖ) is critical of the ÖBB plans and describes them as the "frontal attack on mobility needs". At the same time, ÖBB makes it clear that the southern section of the Mühlkreisbahn is not affected, and refers to the dense bus offer between Aigen-Schlägl and Linz, which could facilitate the relocation to buses.

Mobility transition in the country

The debate about the withdrawal of local public transport (public transport) in rural regions is further complicated by increasing dependence on the car. A mobility turnaround is already being worked on in the cities, but in rural areas the affordability and availability of local transport offers are becoming increasingly critical. Developments such as the conversion to buses mentioned could further exacerbate the situation, especially in an environment, where the car is already the preferred means of transport, such as [future mobility] (https://www.zukunft-mobilitaet.net/171427/analysis/laendliche- regions-mobilitaets-zukun-der-mobilitaet-auf- der-land/).

A fifth of the rail network has been shut down since 1990, and the traffic services of the bus companies in rural regions have dropped by 27 percent in the past ten years. The mobility turnaround in rural areas is still at the beginning, and there is a clear political will to change the direction before the trends become irreversible to dependency on the traffic.