Because a “very large number of passengers” is expected around the holidays of Ascension Day, Pentecost and Corpus Christi, the capacities have been expanded “as best as possible” and additional staff have been deployed, ÖBB announced on Wednesday. The offer will be increased by thousands of seats, but demand can still exceed supply on certain connections.
If there are too many passengers on the train, this might lead to the train journey being interrupted “for safety reasons” in “exceptional cases” and passengers without a seat or reservation having to leave the train, according to ÖBB. We therefore recommend that you make a reservation, especially on the most popular connections – also for holders of a climate ticket.
Recently there have been increasing complaints that overcrowded trains are actually cleared. ÖBB spokesman Bernhard Rieder explained that more people would be taking the train once more in the past few weeks, but ÖBB would offer enough capacity throughout the day. According to the spokesman, if passengers do not evacuate trains voluntarily, the police can also be called – more on this in kaernten.ORF.at.
Only a fraction of the trains were cleared at Easter
Overcrowding can occur at peak times, especially on busy travel days such as Easter or Pentecost, Rieder continues. Although more capacity had already been offered at Easter, that was sometimes not enough. In 0.3 percent of the trains, some passengers were asked to leave the train, Rieder told Ö1.
When asked regarding the rules for when a train is considered to be overcrowded and to be evacuated, Rieder stated that the train attendants must have access to the relevant areas of a train at all times, such as the fire extinguishers and the emergency call points. If that is not possible, security is no longer guaranteed. He did not give a specific number.
No increase in complaints
The Agency for Passenger and Passenger Rights said that there has not been a significant increase in requests for arbitration in the railway sector – although cases would only arrive with a time delay because passengers would first have to try to reach an agreement with the company concerned. In 2021 and in the current year, the agency received four requests for arbitration on the subject of train clearance.
At the Pro Bahn interest group in Tyrol, it was pointed out that even before the pandemic, it was sometimes the case that trains might no longer be boarded due to overcrowding – of course that changed in the course of the pandemic. It is not yet possible to say whether the current situation is related to the introduction of the climate ticket, following all many people are still working from home and that may not change anytime soon, according to Martin Teißl, also spokesman for the Tirol Passenger Working Group.
Accordingly, the ÖBB would probably first have to balance out on which route and when exactly more capacity would be needed. In addition, only time will tell how many people will be able to afford a high level of mobility or a vacation due to the current rise in prices.
ÖBB struggles with overcrowded trains
More people are taking the train once more. However, those who have not reserved a seat may have to leave a crowded train. It is said that entire trains have already been cleared by the police.
At the end of April, ÖBB said that in 2021 more guests were transported than in 2020, albeit still well below the pre-pandemic level of 2019: 266.7 million people were transported by rail at that time, 162.8 million in 2020 and 187.6 in 2021 million. As part of the annual balance sheet, ÖBB also announced at the end of April that it intended to invest a total of EUR 28 billion in railway expansion by 2027 with the help of the federal government, including in renewable energy, but also EUR 4 billion in new trains. ÖBB was initially unavailable for inquiries.
