ÖBB investigates after 21 freight wagons roll away
Tuesday 13th October 2026 on 14:15 in
Austria
Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) is checking whether all rules were followed when 21 freight wagons rolled away at Wiener Neustadt railway station on Monday, disrupting rail services. ORF reported that the wagons had been parked in the station’s southern departure area.
ÖBB spokesperson Christopher Seif said the wagons had not travelled a long distance. They were parked where wagons are usually later assembled into trains. Staff responsible for shunting must secure parked wagons using onboard brakes and rail chocks placed in front of the wheels. The number of safeguards required depends on the number and weight of the wagons.
ÖBB will check whether the required measures were taken and plans to question the employees involved. It has not yet determined whether a technical fault, human error or another problem caused the wagons to move. The company is preparing a final report, and the Federal Safety Investigation Authority is usually involved in inquiries into incidents of this kind.
The wagons damaged an overhead line mast overnight on Sunday into Monday. ÖBB recorded a power outage at 1:09 a.m. and shut down electricity across the station for safety reasons. Without power, electric trains cannot run and switches and parts of the signalling system do not work, causing major disruption to rail services.
The partly derailed wagons were removed on Monday evening. ÖBB said it could now fully assess damage to the overhead line, tracks and other infrastructure. No one was injured.
Nine of the station’s 10 tracks have been back in service since late Monday afternoon. Track 1, where the wagons derailed, remains closed. Regular trains are not running on the Aspang Railway between Wiener Neustadt and Lanzenkirchen, and replacement buses remain in operation. North of Wiener Neustadt, some rail services were able to continue.
ÖBB faced criticism over its communication after the incident. Seif said the company reviews and evaluates every incident, but was still carrying out repair work.