ÖBB western route through Wienerwald: Ready for train traffic from Thursday

ÖBB western route through Wienerwald: Ready for train traffic from Thursday

According to the damage caused by the flood in September, there is positive news for travelers. From next Thursday, the so-called "old" ÖBB western route through the Wienerwald will be released for two-track rail traffic. The responsible bodies, ÖBB and Westbahn, have completed the necessary repairs and the route is thus put back into operation. The new timetables come into force on October 10th and again enable four train connections per hour between Salzburg and Vienna, including two of the ÖBB and two of the Westbahn. By Wednesday, both railway companies accept each other's tickets, after which the regular conditions apply again.

The Situation was extremely challenging after the storms. "It was an extremely difficult situation for the passengers and the ÖBB," said the officer of the ÖBB Peertauf-AG, Sabine Stock, in a recent press conference. Despite the difficulties, long -distance traffic on the most busy railway line in Austria will be raised to around 90 percent of the usual level this week. However, travelers should expect a delay of around 30 minutes if they want to use the connection from Salzburg to Vienna. Information on the exact travel times is available in the "Scotty" timetable app of the ÖBB.

timetables and future developments

For the upcoming Christmas holidays, a new plan for train connections is already being worked on. This information is to be published in the next two weeks. In the meantime, however, the "new" western route, which leads through the Tullnerfeld, has to be further dispensed with. This is closed for an indefinite period due to considerable damage after the storm. According to Judith Engel, director of ÖBB-Infrastructure AG, the costs for the damage to this section of the route amount to at least one three-digit million amount. In particular, the Atzenbrugg tunnel and the Tullnerfeld train station were badly damaged. The tunnel is considered "destroyed" and the train station was completely flooded.

The newer part of the western route was only opened in 2012 with a financial effort of 2.8 billion euros. Now the big effects of the natural disaster are shown: a loss of 125 kilometers tracks, 67 soft and numerous lifts and switchgear are affected. Such damage not only has logistical consequences, but also require extensive construction activities to restore the infrastructure. The repair work will take time, which unfortunately means for passengers that you have to do without the "new" west route for a long time.

In the coming days and weeks, progress in the restoration of the damaged routes will continue to be observed closely. Travelers who rely on the train can hope that the situation will soon take a positive turn. Until then, it remains important to find out about current timetables and possible delays in order to ensure the best possible travel planning. You can find more information about this here .