2024-01-15 12:15:24
LH Deputy Landbauer: “The mobility offensive is working”
St. Pölten (OTS) – LH deputy Udo Landbauer and Lower Austria Railways managing director Barbara Komarek today, Monday, at the Alpenbahnhof depot in St. Pölten gave a look back at the 2023 passenger numbers and presented the highlights of 2024 for the Lower Austria Railways. You spoke of the year with the highest number of passengers in the company’s history.
LH deputy Udo Landbauer drew an “extremely positive performance balance” for 2023: “Family-friendliness and a high quality of life are essential for the well-being of Lower Austrians. The Lower Austria Railways play a very important and supporting role with their six cable cars and two mountain railways. They are an essential factor with which we can offer our compatriots a needs-oriented mix of everyday and leisure transport and where we consciously focus on safety, reliability and comfort.” He is very proud that the year 2023 will be the most successful year with the highest number of passengers the history of the Lower Austria Railways: “We can see very impressively that the mobility offensive is working. Families, commuters and students should find the best offer in Lower Austria.” The mobility offensive is taking public transport in Lower Austria to a new level and offering more trains, faster connections, modern train stations and better offers.
According to Landbauer, the state of Lower Austria has invested around 258 million euros since taking over the Niederösterreich Bahnen in 2010: “This year we are once more investing more than 30 million euros in the six railways and two cable cars. Because only those who invest can continually improve the offering and tailor it to the needs of Lower Austrians.” These investments are important and necessary because regional railways are lifelines, sources of inspiration and generate added value. “Every euro that flows into the ongoing operations of the Lower Austria Railways generates 3.8 euros. Every euro of investment triggers almost another euro in other sectors of the economy,” he emphasized. The best proof that the Lower Austria Railways are on the right track “are the passenger numbers for 2023.” With 706,000 passengers, the Mariazellerbahn recorded an increase of 14.1 percent compared to the previous year, the Waidhofen Citybahn with 208,300 passengers an increase of 14.2 percent, the Wachaubahn with 57,900 passengers an increase of 35.9 percent and the Schneebergbahn with 215,500 passengers an increase of 29.6 percent. In total, the six trains and the two cable cars transported 1.34 million passengers in 2023. “That is an incredible increase of 16.1 percent compared to the previous year 2022. We also see an increase of 13.2 percent compared to the most successful financial year to date, namely 2019,” said the LH deputy, who concluded: “The Lower Austria Railways are a model company.”
Lower Austria Railways Managing Director Barbara Komarek said that for the past five years she has been giving an annual review of the past year and an outlook for the new year: “These five years were very turbulent. 2019 was the best financial year to date with 1.187 million passengers, then followed the two very difficult Corona pandemic years, in which we only experienced a very moderate decline in passengers. The rapid return to pre-crisis levels followed in 2022 and now 2023 is a record year in the company’s history. I am particularly pleased that all of our railways and cable cars contribute to these success figures. Exceeding the sound barrier of 200,000 passengers on the Schneebergbahn was a very special experience for us. Likewise the sound barrier of 700,000 on the Mariazellerbahn. The smaller railways are seeing exorbitant growth rates – for example the Phylloxera Express with over 30,000 passengers for the first time (+47.5%) as well as our cable car operations. The Schneeberg chairlift also achieved an increase in passengers of 2.6 percent. At the Waldviertelbahn we also have an increase of 10.9 percent,” says Komarek. The Gemeindealpe Mitterbach had a special financial year; due to the renewal of the cable car control, an operational shutdown of several months was necessary, which was also reflected in the number of passengers (-6.8 percent, 68,800 passengers). According to Komarek, the Lower Austrian railways have understood how to make good use of the megatrend towards public transport in everyday life and leisure time. At the same time, they relied on proven success factors such as service orientation, consistent implementation of the brand strategy and cooperation with the regions, communities, clubs and organizations on site.
According to the managing director, the year 2024 will bring a “quantum leap” for the Mariazellerbahn in December with the half-hourly service from St. Pölten to Kirchberg/Pielach. In the future, there will also be an express train on the Mariazellerbahn on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, departing at 8:05 a.m. from St. Pölten main station. For leisure guests, theme rides such as moonlight rides, shooting star rides or Advent rides are offered on all rides. Other projects include renovation work at the Mariazell and Spitz train stations as well as extensive construction work on the Schneebergbahn.
Further information: Katharina Heider-Fischer, MSc., Communication Lower Austria Railways, Telephone: +43/2742 360 990-1311, Mobile:
+43/676 566 24 53 E-Mail: presse@niederoesterreichbahnen.at
Questions & Contact:
Office of the Lower Austrian State Government
State Office Directorate/Public Relations
Philipp Hebenstreit
02742/9005-13632
presse@noel.gv.at
www.noe.gv.at/presse
1705321932
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