Ghostly silence at the Styrian train stations on Monday: 400 trains were cancelled, but there was no great chaos on the streets. We asked around on site and with those affected and asked how things would continue…
The ticket counters are free, the escalators are empty, not a single chair is occupied at the bakery. The fog on platform 1 underscores the eerie silence that prevails at Graz Central Station. Only a few surprised people are standing in front of the large display boards with the alarm call: “Warning strike by the vida trade union!” work, to the doctor and to school. “I’m trying to take the bus to Carinthia now,” a passer-by tells us. These all drove regularly, but some also switched to the Flixbus. “We even have additional buses,” says one of the drivers in downtown Graz. Despite the traffic jam on the A9, there was no traffic chaos. “It was problematic in the morning, especially coming from the south in the direction of Graz,” says Barbara Kner from the ÖAMTC. On the A 9, commuters were stuck in traffic for up to an hour – and to make matters worse, there was an accident near Wildon. Which is why the B 67 and B 70 were also affected by the traffic jam. In the morning, we only went from the north to the state capital at walking pace. The great traffic chaos caused by the rail strike did not materialize, however, and many had gone to work earlier. “People were well informed,” said Kner. Normal operation resumed from midnight. A few tourists would not have known, there were hardly any complaints, according to ÖBB spokeswoman Rosanna Zernatto-Peschel. Train operations are scheduled to resume at midnight. “We positioned the trains correctly on Sunday so that everything could be started up again quickly.” However, it cannot be guaranteed that everything will be running smoothly again tomorrow, Tuesday.
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