After mudslide

No trains run between Graz and Bruck during the day

Restricted train services in Graz

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

The storms in Styria have also had a negative impact on train services. Train services between Graz and Bruck an der Mur had to be suspended from Tuesday to Friday - the rail replacement service was unable to cope with the rush on Tuesday.

Severe storms caused numerous disruptions in Styria at the weekend - including a mudslide on the railroad line between Frohnleiten and Peggau-Deutschfeistritz. And this is likely to keep rail customers busy for some time to come: "In the course of today's assessment with the provincial geologist, extensive slope stabilization work was ordered between Frohnleiten and Peggau-Deutschfeistritz stations. For safety reasons, the work cannot be carried out at night," writes ÖBB in a press release on Monday.

The line will therefore be completely closed to local traffic from 08:15-18:00 and to long-distance traffic from 08:15-16:15 every day from June 11 up to and including Friday, June 14.

The effects in detail

Long-distance traffic:

• June 11 to June 14: daily from 08:15-16:15: rail replacement service with buses between Bruck an der Mur/Leoben Hbf and Graz Hbf, trains await the arrival of the buses
• June 14 to July 5: scheduled service with minor delays of up to 10 minutes

Local transport:

• June 11 to June 14: daily from 8:15 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.: individual train cancellations, reduced local service with shuttle buses between Frohnleiten and Peggau-Deutschfeistritz
• June 14 to June 16: local services with minor delays of up to 10 minutes
• June 17 to July 5: Local transport concept is currently being developed and will be announced shortly

A rail replacement service with buses will be set up for passenger transport. However, this was unable to cope with the rush of thousands of commuters. Hundreds of people were waiting at the train stations in Bruck, Leoben and Frohnleiten for transportation to Graz. Many people were also waiting for buses in the opposite direction at Graz main station. "In the morning, the rail replacement services on the southern line could not run at sufficient capacity," ÖBB admits. "We apologize for the inconvenience to our passengers and would like to point out that compensation is possible via passenger rights."

During the course of the morning, the capacity bottlenecks were resolved and the rail replacement service is now fully in place, ÖBB spokesperson Herbert Hofer reported shortly after midday.