Westbahn: flood damage and the future of the rail infrastructure
Westbahn: flood damage and the future of the rail infrastructure
In the past few weeks, a natural disaster has severely affected the public transport system in Austria. A flood that is known as the "flood of the century" led to massive damage to the rail connection between Vienna and St. Pölten. These catastrophic events have not only led to delays and failures, but also put the urgently needed transport infrastructure to the test. In a recent press conference, the ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä said that the employees work tirelessly to fix the damage.
The Situation is particularly precarious because the company brings spare parts together from other federal states in order to be able to put the new western route back into operation on December 15th. This commissioning is crucial to secure Christmas traffic, which increases the urgency of the repair measures.
ÖBB boss explains the challenges
Andreas Matthä explained the worrying situation in detail. Passengers complained about unreliable trains, frequent delays and lack of connections. Trust in the reliability of rail traffic is difficult to maintain during this crisis period. Matthä asked the passengers for understanding and referred to the complexity of the rail system, which has come under great pressure due to the natural disaster.
In the middle of the chaos, Matthä announced that another lock of the route will be necessary in the coming year. This will take about four weeks because technical provisions have to be dismantled. The exact implementation of this work is only possible for May or summer due to late deliveries. This could bring more inconvenience for passengers.
The extent of the damage to the Atzenbrugger tunnel, the electrical system and emergency devices of which have been almost completely destroyed is particularly worrying. These damage must now be repaired comprehensively. Matthä pointed out the outdated planning parameters, which no longer apply due to the increase in extreme weather events. He estimated the damage to the infrastructure at around 100 million euros, without taking into account the losses in goods and passenger transport that could not yet be determined.reopening of the old route
In order to alleviate the effects of the interruption, the old western route through the Wienerwald will again be accessible in two ways from Thursday. This measure is intended to increase the capacity of around 150 trains to around 300 trains, which represents significant relief for traffic between Vienna and St. Pölten.
The reactions to ÖBB crisis management are not consistently positive. Many customers have experienced significant inconvenience in the past few weeks, and criticism of the company is loud. Nevertheless, the Westbahn expressed itself optimistically about the announced restart of the new western route. Managing Director Thomas Posch emphasized that the situation for the entire traffic system was new and challenging, but returning to normal rail operations is an important step in the right direction.
The coming weeks will be crucial for whether the ÖBB can regain the trust of passengers and how effective it succeeds in repairing the infrastructure according to the catastrophic damage. For more information and current updates, a look at the report on orf.at be helpful.
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