Traffic
The new train timetable will come into force across Europe next Sunday. The ÖBB promise more and better connections, for example for commuters on the Franz-Josefs-Bahn and the Marchegger Ostbahn. However, the new timetable will also increase prices.
With the timetable change, the range of services will be expanded: Four long-distance trains will be added to the Southern Railway between Vienna and Villach, enabling hourly services to and from Carinthia during rush hour. Travelers can also look forward to new morning and evening connections on the western route. A new Railjet connection brings passengers from Vienna back to Linz at around 00:28.
New in the timetable is a direct train connection – revived from history – from Vienna’s Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof via the Waldviertel and southern Bohemia directly and without changing trains to Prague. This connection is offered once a day from Monday to Friday and even twice a day on weekends.
1.3 million kilometers
Commuters also expect improvements in local and regional transport, emphasized the ÖBB in a broadcast, above all with various more frequent services and additional connections in the morning and evening traffic. In the new timetable year, local and regional transport throughout Austria would cover around 1.3 million kilometers more.
According to ÖBB, the largest electrification project in recent years was also completed on Sunday: the Marchegger Ostbahn. From the timetable change, priority will be given to the barrier-free Cityjets operated with 100 percent green electricity on the route from Vienna to Marchegg (Gänserndorf district). A total of 37 kilometers were electrified on the Marchegger Ostbahn.
According to the broadcast, speeds of up to 160 km/h shorten travel times by up to five minutes. All railway crossings along the route in Lower Austria were abandoned and replaced with overpasses and underpasses to improve traffic safety. The double-track expansion of the Marchegger Ostbahn, which started this year, should be completed by 2025.
Tickets are becoming more and more expensive
The ÖBB have also announced price increases with the timetable change. Second class tickets will be 3.9 percent more expensive on average. The price of the climate ticket remains the same. At the turn of the year, however, tickets for international long-distance transport will be cheaper because the VAT for international tickets for the Austrian section of the route will no longer apply.