Scathing report

Wiener Linien sees auditors’ accusations dealt with

Michelbeuern was one of three subway stations classified by the City Court of Audit as seriously dilapidated. According to Wiener Linien, the damage has already been repaired.

(Bild: Wiener Linien / Manfred Helmer)

The City Court of Audit has listed hundreds of pages of accusations in its reports on Wiener Linien. In their response, they claim that the audit only covered the period up to 2022 - and that everything has improved since then. In two cases, Wiener Linien also feels it has been unfairly criticized.

Let's stop talking about the past - this is the motto of Wiener Linien's response to criticism from the City Court of Audit, which reviewed the company's infrastructure down to the smallest detail for the period between the beginning of 2017 and the end of 2022 and gave the rail network, vehicle fleet and buildings a harsh report card.

Wiener Linien would rather look ahead than back
Wiener Linien does not want to talk about whether the wrong business decisions were made in the past. For example, the Court of Audit criticized the fact that the budget for track maintenance was halved in 2020. One year later, the number of broken tracks, damaged points and other problems on the rail network exploded. From Wiener Linien's point of view, the auditors' recommendation to catch up has long since been implemented.

The recommendation of the City Court of Audit is already being implemented through our "Netz erst Recht" track renovation offensive.

Wiener Linien

Slow speed sections should disappear quickly
According to Wiener Linien, the budgets for track refurbishment have been "constantly increasing since 2022", i.e. the period after the ACA's audit period. However, the company only gives a figure for the streetcar network: 76 million euros will be invested here this year and next year. The focus here is on reducing the number of low-speed sections. According to the City Court of Audit, 4.87 percent of the streetcar network is now designated as low-speed zones.

Crumbling stations safe again according to Wiener Linien
According to Wiener Linien, the worst shortcomings in terms of building safety have now also been rectified. The City Court of Audit report had stated that, among other buildings, three subway stations - Schwedenplatz, Taubstummengasse and Michelbeuern - only earned a school grade of 4. This means that the safety of the buildings could no longer be guaranteed one hundred percent. However, according to Wiener Linien, the necessary renovations have now been carried out.

Serious construction defects rectified

• In Michelbeuern, the main reason for the grade 4 was a leaking roof, which was sealed and partially re-roofed. For reasons of efficiency, defects in the cladding are not to be rectified until the new U5 line is built.
• Schwedenplatz: Defects in beams and joints as well as in the cladding of the station were repaired. A complete refurbishment of the façade along the Danube Canal is "in the planning stage".
• Taubstummengasse: There were crumbs here in the truest sense of the word - concrete had flaked off and parts of the reinforcement were corroded. According to Wiener Linien, the damage has already been repaired.

However, the company is not prepared to accept the criticism from inspectors that Wiener Linien could have saved itself a lot of problems through preventative rail grinding - this practice was discontinued in 2012: They now know exactly which sections of track need it thanks to measurements and only carry out milling work on the rails at selected points, which produces better results.

Wiener Linien also feels misunderstood by the criticism that the City Court of Audit did not find any data on whether the maintenance work on the vehicle fleet in the main workshop was carried out on time: The auditors simply did not ask, according to the company. However, the company concedes that it would be useful if this data could be accessed centrally via computer. In future, this will be "reflected in a key figure in the overall system", they promise.