Recovery from floods in Austria is going ‘better than expected’

Dealing with the impact of the floods that recently hit Austria on the railways is going better than expected, rail freight operator Rail Cargo Group (RCG) said. “The recovery is happening faster and more effectively than expected, made possible by the exclusive opening of the Tullnerfelder railway for freight traffic”, commented CEO Clemens Först.

As Först mentioned on LinkedIn, the available capacity is back at 75 per cent than what it was pre-flood. Other than the prioritisation of rail freight along the Tullnerfelder line, this recovery was made possible by various diversions, including “via the southern route and Summerau”. The Tullnerfelder line connects Tulln and St. Pölten, west of Vienna.

Concerning the most impacted (and most important) line in Austria, the Westbahn between Vienna and St. Pölten, things are going according to plan. “We also expect further relief with the planned opening of the second track on the old Western Line from 10 October”. However the schedule for the reopening of the much more damaged new Westbahn remains unknown. “Ad hoc train orders on the current Western Line are not yet possible according to the infrastructure operator”, RCG concluded.