Westbahn member of the Salzburg transport association
The cooperation with the Westbahn brings an expansion of the offer for commuters and helps above all with the capacity problems that exist between Salzburg and Straßwalchen, the transport association emphasized when presenting the cooperation on Tuesday.
Improvements between Neumarkt and Salzburg
“We actually want to order more local trains. But that’s not possible because the route is full,” said Johannes Gfrerer, Managing Director of the Salzburg Transport Association. “And the big advantage is that the long-distance trains not only drive through, but also take on a local transport function – especially during the rush hours in the morning hours in the direction of Salzburg and in the afternoon in the direction of Flachgau.”
There are already tangible improvements for commuters from Seekirchen or Neumarkt am Wallersee, says Gfrerer: “We just had the issue in Seekirchen that there was no train for 40 minutes in the morning. We now have ten connections into the city from Seekirchen between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and as many as twelve connections from Neumarkt am Wallersee. We already have a good offer early in the morning.” The connection between Seekirchen and Salzburg’s main train station is used most frequently.
Westbahn with offer for climate ticket holders
Above all, the Westbahn will also reach the owners of the Salzburg climate ticket: Until the end of May, they will receive discounts on train fares to neighboring Bavaria and a free upgrade to Comfort Class – “and on journeys beyond the network area, too,” says Westbahn Managing Director Thomas Posch. “You can then travel to Vienna, Munich or Innsbruck in this Comfort Class, where you enjoy more legroom, generally more space and the amenities that our train offers anyway.”
Westbahn member of the Salzburg transport association
Westbahn will also bid for other connections
The aim is to further expand the cooperation between the Verkehrsverbund-Westbahn and the parties involved agreed: “This full membership is the basic requirement for any further cooperation,” emphasized Transport Councilor Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP). “Strategic things are also discussed in the steering committee and the specialist committees. That’s why I think it’s important that we have Westbahn on board, because they now have a lot of expertise in further developing public transport in Salzburg.”
“If there is an opportunity to participate in a public tender, we will do so in the future,” announced Westbahn Managing Director Posch. “The public transport in Salzburg is also interesting for us. If the possibilities allow, we are also willing to serve other routes – for example from Salzburg in the south, in the direction of Zell am See”. Passengers can now use the Westbahn with all tickets of the Salzburger Verkehrsverbund in the fare area.
Cooperation intensified since the 2021 timetable change
This closer cooperation between the Westbahn and the transport association has been in the pipeline since 2021 – more on this in Timetable change: Westbahn helps in local transport (salzburg.ORF.at; December 11, 2021). Between 2011 and 2013 it was also possible to travel on the Westbahn between Salzburg and Freilassing with transport association tickets. At that time, however, the cooperation ended in a dispute.