After the flood of the century: rail traffic in Austria is picking up speed again
After the flood of the century: rail traffic in Austria is picking up speed again
Last month, the weather service warned of extreme rainfall, which were reinforced by climate change. These amounts of rain led to devastating floods in many regions of Austria, which affected hundreds of thousands of people. The effects of this natural disaster are still noticeable, especially on public transport.
The Western railway line in Austria is particularly affected. Train traffic is currently severely restricted. Only about 150 trains go from Vienna to Salzburg every day and vice versa, compared to 550 trains in normal operation. Commuters have to expect delays of at least 30 minutes, as there is a lack of connections and connections. As a result, many trains are overcrowded. An example of this is a departure at 5:15 a.m. to get in Wels on time for an appointment at 9 a.m.
improvement through adapted timetables
From October 10th, however, the situation will easily improve. Both the Westbahn and the ÖBB have announced that they will again offer two trains per hour in each direction. The ÖBB start their trains at minute 28 and 57, while the Western railway runs every hour and three quarters every hour - this means that they even take a little earlier than in the original timetable. The travel times between Vienna and St. Pölten shorten from 30 to 23 minutes. On this day, 25 trains of the Westbahn will run in both directions every day.
In addition, long -distance transport is almost completely restored: 90 percent of the usual connections are available, including the popular routes to Bregenz, Munich and Zurich. The ÖBB plans to regulate the travel times of the railjets in such a way that the original departure times from St. Pölten can be observed again. It is gratifying for passengers from Upper Austria and Salzburg that the train stations Vöcklabruck and Neumarkt on Wallersee will also be approached from October 10th.progress in freight transport
Progresses are visible in freight transport, since the route between Tulln via Tullnerfeld to Herzogenburg has been open to freight traffic since September 28th. This measure enables up to 75 percent of the usual capacities to be used, while only 25 percent were previously reached. This is crucial for the security of supply of industry in Austria and Europe.However, local transport is still limited to make room for freight transport. The S80 in particular is not served, while the lines S50 and S40 receive rail replacement traffic. Fortunately, the clock will be compressed from 30 to 15 minutes from October 10th. A ray of hope for commuters is the reopening of the Park & Ride system, which facilitates switching to rail replacement traffic. In addition, the bus connection between Vienna, Tullnerfeld and St. Pölten is reinforced.
The communication of the ÖBB on the current situation has been criticized in many ways, whereupon the responsible persons ask for understanding and improve the processes. In addition, a Christmas schedule is expected in a few weeks, which should better meet the needs of travelers.
The customers of both companies, Westbahn and ÖBB can now view and book the new timetables on platforms such as Scotty. Westbahn employees, Thomas Bosch, emphasizes the importance of a reliable offer: "People should continue to trust the train, we need that to achieve the climate goals." Important: From October 10th, the mutual recognition of the tickets between the two railway companies ends.
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