Vienna public clocks pause as daylight saving time ends

More than 200 public clocks in Vienna will stop for an hour when daylight saving time ends overnight, ORF reports. Clocks will be set back from 3 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The city’s clocks will pause at 2:59 a.m. and receive a GPS time signal after the break, allowing them to reset to 3 a.m. The city department responsible for the clocks, MA 33, asks anyone who spots one that has not reset to call its service line.

The Vienna public transport operator will automatically reset about 4,500 clocks, including those on vehicles and 800 at stations, using a signal from its headquarters in Erdberg. The Austrian rail operator ÖBB will also reset its 4,000 clocks nationwide, including 620 in Vienna, by radio signal. Night trains will stop for an hour at the nearest station at 3 a.m. to keep their schedules on track.

The clock change has renewed debate over ending the twice-yearly switch. The European Parliament backed an end to the practice in 2019, but the change has not been implemented. The European Commission says it will publish a study on the effects of a permanent time arrangement by the end of this year. Any change would need approval from the EU Council and European Parliament, and a qualified majority in the Council. Member states have yet to agree on a common position.