Railroad barriers broken

Pensioner outraged: “It’s a matter of life and death”

In Mauerkirchen in the Braunau district, the level crossing is often defective.(Bild: Pressefoto Scharinger/Daniel Scharinger)

"I hope that action is finally taken before something happens." A sprightly pensioner goes on the barricades because the rail barrier in Mauerkirchen (Upper Austria) is not working. But ÖBB's customer service department only had one cheeky answer: "Then they'll just have to look left and right." 

Rudolf Fröhler is a pensioner who lives near a level crossing in Mauerkirchen. The 74-year-old has plenty of time to explore his surroundings. And that's why he's noticed that the barrier often doesn't work there. "I've seen it four times. And on July 15, nothing worked at all between 8 and 11 pm. The traffic lights were red, but the barrier was open. During the three hours, the train driver must have known that the Klumpert wasn't working, as there was a signal every time he drove past. I just hope that action is finally taken now before an accident happens," says Fröhler indignantly.

Shocking answer
And rightly so. "I then tried to call the ÖBB service number, but only ended up with an announcement. The next day there was a lady on the line and I explained the problem to her," says the pensioner. The answer was shocking. "Then they'll just have to look left and right," Fröhler repeats the derogatory statement to us. "This is a matter of life and death. I look both ways before I cross, but children and teenagers often don't."

"I immediately raised the alarm"
 Another problem with the situation is that the railroad line in Geretsdorferstraße is difficult to see on the left. "You'd have to drive right up to the front to be able to see if a train is coming," says Fröhler, stunned. "I don't want to die at the level crossing at the age of 74. I immediately raised the alarm, but nobody seems to care."

I just hope that action is finally taken now before an accident happens. Children don't look left and right.

Rudolf Föhrer, Anrainer

At least ÖBB has responded to the Krone's inquiry. "Unfortunately, there were technical problems with the system, which is why it immediately switches to red for road traffic as a safety measure. All trains within immediate sight of the level crossing will stop for several seconds and give a loud signal. We immediately started to rectify the problem."