Commuters face frequent disruptions on Southern Railway line

Commuters on the Southern Railway line between Wiener Neustadt and Vienna are frequently affected by disruptions, ORF reports. Recent punctuality on the route was 88 percent.

One in three people has an annual public transport pass, but delays are a regular concern for many passengers on the line. A commuter train scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. on Wednesday waited for another train to pass before setting off six minutes late.

Emil S. from Wiener Neustadt said he now leaves two hours before he needs to arrive, compared with an hour and a half when he started studying, yet is still often late. Bernhard A. from Wöllersdorf said delays can mean he misses meetings. Regina H. from Payerbach, who has travelled regularly by train for more than 20 years, said she was used to delays and noted that drivers also get stuck in traffic.

The 88 percent punctuality figure does not include delays of up to five minutes. Those can lead to missed connections and, in some cases, an hour-long delay, according to the report.

ÖBB spokesperson Christopher Seif said delays have several causes, including train faults, infrastructure problems, late handovers at the border and other external factors.

ÖBB says it is working on improvements, including expanding the southern rail route via the Pottendorfer line and investing in modern double-decker trains. However, the new trains have frequently caused problems or been cancelled. Seif said some issues were “teething problems” common with new products, but that disruptions and cancellations had recently decreased.