Nazi slogans on the train

“ÖBB fans” end up in court: playing conductor

The two friends have one thing in common: their love of railroads. Now also in the dock in Vienna.

(Bild: Zwefo/Zwefo, Krone KREATIV)

For the second time, their love of railroads has landed two young Viennese in the dock. But now the train has finally left the station: After playing a Hitler speech through loudspeakers, they played conductors and scammed themselves out of overnight vouchers from ÖBB. The result: station and train bans throughout Austria!

"They call themselves the ÖBB fans," explains defense lawyer Lukas Hruby in the Vienna Regional Court. Two young friends take a seat in the dock in front of him. "What connects you?" asks Ms. Rat. "We love trains. We often rode trains and would still like to, but we're not allowed to," replies the 21-year-old second defendant.

Hitler speech played
And for good reason: the two young men are no strangers to the media. In May 2023, they played a Hitler speech for several minutes through the loudspeaker system of an ÖBB train from Bregenz to Vienna. However, after completing a six-month "Dialogue instead of hate" program, the public prosecutor's office dropped the case for re-activation.

Continued to travel by train despite bans
Since then, the two defendants have been banned from traveling on ÖBB trains throughout Austria and banned from all train stations nationwide. However, this did not seem to have gone down well with the train enthusiasts, as the now 18-year-old in particular continued to travel around cheerfully - and illegally obtained overnight vouchers from the Austrian Federal Railways in December 2023. He spent six nights in Salzburg, one of them together with the second defendant. On another occasion, he checked into a hotel in Vienna at the expense of ÖBB.

Lawyer Lukas Hruby (Arbacher-Stöger law firm) defends the first accused train fanatic.

(Bild: Zwefo)

The young men were caught and testified to the police about fraud. But they just couldn't let it go and checked passengers' train tickets in conductor's uniforms. But what goes beyond reckless fun: at the beginning of March, they got into a locomotive and allegedly gained access to the engine room. Where damage was subsequently discovered that could have had fatal consequences ...

My client regrets to this day that he didn't apply properly to ÖBB. If he had, he would have been able to live out his love of the railroads legally. He will now stay away from ÖBB.

Anwalt Lukas Hruby verteidigt den 18-jährigen Erstangeklagten.

The train fanatic's final destination is now the Vienna countryside. The public prosecutor accuses the two of fraud and damage to property. Both admit to the former, but they would never willfully damage a train. The younger man's defense lawyer, Lukas Hruby, explains: "My client regrets to this day that he didn't apply properly to ÖBB. If he had, he would have been able to live out his love of the railroads legally. He will now stay away from ÖBB."

The 18-year-old does not get away legally with a conviction for fraud without punishment. His older friend received a five-month conditional prison sentence. However, the judge believed the ÖBB fans when they said: "We definitely didn't want to break the train. We just wanted to enjoy the ride." They were acquitted of criminal damage to property. However, they still have to stay away from ÖBB - journeys on the Westbahn are permitted ...