Like most of its European counterparts, the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB will commission their 2021 timetables on 13 December. And these timetables contain a series of new features presented by the company's CEO Andreas Matthä at a press conference in Vienna at the end of October.
" We are of course affected by the health crisis, with the loss of several million passengers from our lines. Our trains are currently showing a load factor of 60% on main lines and 70% on regional lines compared with last year. The new restrictions are also affecting our night services. After reaching a load factor of 90% this summer, we are now at around 60%." says the Managing Director.
However, this situation should not affect the rail operator's expansion plans. ÖBB confirms order for nine trains Railjet on its main features and 13 trains Nightjet for its night shift. The new Railjets will enter service in 2023/24 and the Nightjets in 2022. In the meantime, ÖBB will continue to modernise its existing trains. And it is announcing improvements to its lines, with denser connections between Austria's major cities and international destinations.
More Nightjets to Brussels while waiting for Paris
An early-morning Railjet train will now run between Vienna and Salzburg via Linz. More day trips will be offered on the Vienna-Graz, Innsbruck-Salzburg and Salzburg-Klagenfurt. An agreement has also just been reached with Austrian Airlines for four trains a day directly linking theVienna to Graz airport in the south of the country.
Internationally, the operator will once again be offering one train every hour on the Vienna-Budapest route as well as more trains on Munich and Zurich. Trains also run every 30 minutes between Vienna and Bratislava.
While Nightjets night trains are temporarily suspended between Austria, Germany and Switzerland between 8 November and 2 December, the company has confirmed its plans for 2021. A new daily service will be launched from 13 December between Vienna, Innsbruck and Amsterdam.
The company is also ramping up its Nightjet Vienna-Brussels. Trains will now run between the two towns three times a week. The Nightjet will depart every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 19:32 from Brussels midday to reach Vienna Central at 09:19. In the opposite direction, trains will leave Vienna at 20:13 on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, arriving in the EU capital at 09:55.
According to Andreas Matthiä, the Nightjet service will continue to develop with the arrival of thearrival of new trains. Lines will be launched in the short term from Zurich to Amsterdam and Brussels. By 2024, a link should have started between Vienna and Barcelona via Zurich and Geneva. No stops have yet been defined in France, but it is likely that Lyon and Montpellier would be affected.
Paris is still on the agenda for the CEO. Talks have already begun between SNCF, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB, with the hope of a forthcoming announcement.
View reservation seats on the app. ÖBB
In terms of services, First Class passengers on Railjet trains will once again benefit from a seat service. The rail company is also offering a range of newspapers.
ÖBB has also enhanced its application with the possibility of be able to select your seat on a graph. This makes it possible to assess the occupancy rate of the cars, which is an advantage during the holiday season. An English and Italian version is also available.
" Travellers can rest assured. We are taking every health precaution during this pandemic period. According to studies, no clusters have been reported on our trains. Travelling with us remains very safe" concluded Andreas Matthä.
