Confusion in Viennese traffic: Public fights with crowded pumice and failures

Confusion in Viennese traffic: Public fights with crowded pumice and failures

Public transport in Vienna is currently experiencing a phase of massive disorders, extending travel times and putting the patience of passengers to the test. After an empty subway train near the main station was caught on November 19, the U1 between Reumannplatz and Schwedenplatz has been closed indefinitely since then. The failures on Monday, including far-reaching disorders of the S-Bahn, ensured a paid chaos in the city.

passengers at Vienna Mitte station were faced with scoreboards that only announced failure reports and the word "canceled". The situation tightened when the tram line O, which theoretically offers a connection to the main train station, was overcrowded and numerous passengers could no longer get on. Also attempts to switch to other tram lines failed because many trams were stuck in a traffic jam and the patience of the waiting people was put to the test.

overcrowded vehicles and lack of replacement traffic

The Viennese lines had originally promised to organize a replacement rail traffic, which, however, still does not meet expectations. Contrary to the information at the stations, this replacement traffic hardly exists. The only visible progress is that the Wienmobil bikes were released for free use, but hardly anyone wants to switch to a rental bike in the cold. Instead, the Viennese lines rely on the tram as a main means of transport, which appears logical in theory, but leads to overfilled in practice.

The tram line D, which was introduced as a replacement line, has not significantly shortened the driving intervals. While the subway used to drive every five minutes, the D car now has to leave in the city center every ten minutes, which leads to an increase in overcrowding. Even on quiet days, passengers cannot get on at many stops, which further increases the frustration.

The Viennese lines themselves stated that a subway train that can transport up to 900 passengers cannot be completely replaced by other means of transport. The promise of an improvement remains far behind expectations, and the Austrian population is faced with an increasingly overloaded public transport network.

Although some traffic light systems were to be adapted to the travel routes, the promises of the Viennese lines could not be observed on Monday. It remains uncertain when the U1 will be put back into operation, and the patience of passengers seems to be finally over after this chaos on Monday. "We would like to thank our passengers for understanding during this challenge," says only succinctly from the official side.

For more information on this topic, a comprehensive report on www.falter.at are read.