While the new timetable will be presented on Friday, criticism of the ÖBB is increasing, and not just in Lower Austria. The focus is on train cancellations, delays, overcrowded carriages, etc.
Does Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler still have control over her company? State Vice President Udo Landbauer is asking himself this question on the occasion of the ÖBB’s upcoming timetable presentation today. Because while the Green Party, according to the Blue Party, has recently paid great attention to ensuring that ticket machines use gender-neutral salutations for customers, the Federal Railways are increasingly failing to fulfill their actual core mission – passenger transport. Problem areas on the western and southern routes Landbauer cites as examples Serial failures of REX trains on the southern axis: “Sets that normally carry five to six wagons simply fail, and the subsequent connection then only has three wagons, so that the passengers literally have to squeeze on board!” Also on the West axis there are always delays in long-distance traffic with connection losses in Tullnerfeld, St. Pölten or Pöchlarn. “And commuters often have to wait an hour until they can finally change,” says the Freedom Party, mocking the serious loss of time. This is only surpassed by the Franz-Josefs-Bahn, where waiting times of up to two hours for commuters and students are almost part of everyday life. 90 million euros for modern rails This year alone, the state of Lower Austria is giving ÖBB 90 million euros to modernize the railways rail networks too. Money that falls by the wayside for rural farmers: “Minister Gewessler is unable to act,” rumbles the State Transport Council. According to the ORF, the ÖBB now apparently also wants to ban gender: “The federal railways must finally fulfill their core task again instead of selling gender-neutral tickets,” said Landbauer.
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