Tauern car shuttle struggles under summer demand

High demand and technical problems have pushed Austria’s Tauernbahn car shuttle service to its limits, ORF reported on Wednesday. The service is a popular alternative to overloaded transit routes across the Tauern and Brenner passes.

The service loads cars onto trains and carries them through the Tauern main ridge in 13 minutes. It is a unique offering in Austria, in place since 1920, using train sets found only at this location.

Technical problems caused several cancellations and delays in July. Drivers and technical experts spent nights investigating the causes. ÖBB spokeswoman Rosanna Zernatto-Peschel said mobile maintenance teams were now inspecting the vehicles at night and several times a week to prevent further problems.

Summer demand exceeds capacity

Although the technical problems have been addressed, the shuttle remains chronically overloaded during the summer months. On Aug. 15, four of the 36 scheduled daily services had to be cancelled because staff could no longer process cars and bicycles within the hourly timetable.

Each service can carry about 55 cars and around 100 bicycles in each direction, according to Zernatto-Peschel. The service now carries about 30,000 cyclists each summer on the Alpe-Adria Trail, which runs from Salzburg to the Adriatic Sea.

ÖBB was caught off guard by the growth in cycling tourism, with the existing carriages unable to provide enough space. The carriages are due to be replaced by modernised double-decker vehicles, which are currently used as the City Airport Train in Vienna. ÖBB says the new trains will improve the service and help meet rising demand.

Service closure planned for next year

The Tauernbahn will be closed again from February to July next year for the second construction phase in the more than 100-year-old Tauern railway tunnel. ÖBB also plans to digitalise customer processing for the shuttle, promising a simpler and faster procedure.