For a few months now, the private Westbahn has also been offering trips from Vienna via Salzburg to Innsbruck. Due to the high demand, the course pairs will be increased from three to four daily from June 11, 2023. In autumn 2023, five connections between Vienna and Tyrol are to be ramped up vice versa. The private railway operator is also planning to set course for Bregenz.
The Westbahn management makes no secret of the fact that they are profiting greatly from the climate ticket, as this has literally "washed" passengers into the private operator's double-decker trains. They have also come up with a number of ideas to offer network card customers a few little goodies that are not available from the state-owned competitor. For example, these include free seat reservations, free upgrades to Comfort Class and the opportunity to collect bonus points that can be redeemed at the coffee and snack machines, for example. Commuters in particular seem to be making intensive use of this.
"Even before we started our train service to Tyrol, we assumed that we would receive a good response; this had been suggested by the enquiries we had been receiving for years. However, the fact that our offer was so well received within a very short time that we can increase the frequency of the timetable is a positive development and a good basis for our further expansion strategy," said Westbahn CEO Thomas Posch.
In addition to the departures at 7.08 a.m., 11.08 a.m. and 17.08 p.m. (arrival in Innsbruck at 11.29 a.m., 15.29 p.m. and 21.29 p.m. respectively) from Vienna Westbahnhof to Tyrol, there is another morning connection with departure at 8.08 a.m. and arrival at 12.29 p.m. From Innsbruck towards Vienna, the departures at 6.31 a.m., 12.31 p.m. and 16.31 p.m. (arrival in Vienna Westbahnhof at 10.52 a.m., 16.52 p.m. and 20.52 p.m. respectively) are supplemented by an additional train in the afternoon with departure at 14.31 p.m. and arrival at 18.52 p.m.
"We were positively surprised not only by the demand from our travelers, but also by the uncomplicated coordination with the state and the Tyrolean transport association. Therefore, from autumn onwards we will even be offering a fifth pair of trains - with a departure from Vienna in the afternoon and from Innsbruck in the morning," says co-managing director Florian Kazalek.
Extension to Bregenz planned
But the current increase will not stop there, as Westbahn plans to run five times a day between Vienna and Innsbruck from autumn 2023. A specific date for the further increase has not yet been set. The Tyrolean capital will no longer be the "final stop" in the future, as the private railway operator wants to extend the route to Bregenz in the future. This could be realized with the timetable change in December 2023 at the earliest.
According to a report in the Tiroler Tageszeitung, which refers to managing director Thomas Posch, the plan was actually to run the planned Vorarlberg trains via Munich. That would have meant that Bregenz would have been reached via the German rail network. However, according to Posch, this plan was abandoned because "the route does not allow it." The Innsbruck route will therefore be extended to Bregenz. The exact date has not yet been set.
Fleet is expanded by four CRRC Demu II
The Stadler Kiss III sets are expected to be joined by four CRRC Demu II double-deck multiple units this year. Compared to the current rolling stock, which has 526 seats, these will have 571 seats. While you have bought the railcars from the Swiss manufacturer, you are leasing those from the Chinese CRRC. The Westbahn is the European launch customer of this model.
The video embedded below shows a Westbahn CRRC train on a test drive, which also served for approval purposes:
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