Train service stopped

Mystery surrounding billows of smoke at U3: train in workshop

The train is currently being examined in the workshop to determine the cause of the smoke.

(Bild: Leserreporter)

On Thursday evening at around 10 p.m., smoke developed in the U3 subway line at Vienna Landstraße subway station. The fire department quickly ruled out any further danger. The affected train was handed over to Wiener Linien for further investigation to determine the cause.

Fire department spokesman Christian Feiler explained on Friday morning that he did not anticipate any significant damage. "Even when our emergency services arrived, the billows of smoke were considerably less," said Feiler. Both the train and the tunnel were examined using thermal imaging cameras. The cause of the smoke could not be found by the fire department. 

Train traffic stopped for 30 minutes
After a thorough inspection, the fire department's work was quickly completed and the train was "handed over to Wiener Linien for further inspection", as fire department spokesman Feiler confirms. Operations on the U3 subway line were interrupted for around 30 minutes due to the heavy smoke development.

The cause of the smoke was investigated by Wiener Linien. We are currently unable to provide any information on the extent of the damage.

Feuerwehrsprecher Christian Feiler

Electrical fault probably the cause
Following an assessment of the train by Wiener Linien, an electrical fault is likely to have been the cause of the smoke. "For safety reasons, we have temporarily suspended operations between Stubentor and Rochusgasse," explains Wiener Linien spokeswoman Annina Kummer. The affected train is located at Erdberg station.

Passengers were asked to use alternative means of transport during the interruption. There were no reports of injuries on Friday morning. Traffic on the affected line was able to resume without restrictions after the interruption.