No saving on railway safety!
Savings in the ÖBB operations management system threaten security gaps
Railroad
At ÖBB, savings are planned for emergency and train attendants. The trade union vida warns of an imminent safety-related wrong decision. There is currently a network of 55 locations where incident commanders work. From 2027 at the latest, no incident commanders could be on duty between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. at many locations (Vienna-Floridsdorf, Linz, Salzburg, Saalfelden, Gänserndorf, Mürzzuschlag and Lienz).
Emergency needs decision-making power on the ground
In emergencies, there would then be no qualified decision-maker on the spot. "The safety of passengers and employees could be massively endangered by this," criticizes Gerhard Tauchner, chairman of the railway department in the trade union vida.
Incident commanders may not be on duty every day, but if something happens, they bear enormous responsibility.
Supporting pillars of railway safety
"Incident commanders and train attendants are not dispensable cost centres, but supporting pillars of safety in rail transport. Anyone who believes that technology and drones can replace human experience and quick decisions on the ground misjudges reality in an emergency," criticizes Tauchner.
Human lives are at stake
"If savings are made here, then in many locations there is no longer any qualified decision-making power on site in the event of an accident or fire. Rescue workers have to stand idly by until someone arrives from far away, for example to ground the overhead line," Tauchner continues. An example of this is the train accident in Münchendorf in May 2022, in which the fire brigade publicly criticised the fact that the incident commander arrived at the scene of the accident with a significant delay.
Incident commanders bear enormous responsibility
"Nobody would think of abolishing fire extinguishers just because they are not needed every day. It's the same with incident commanders – they may not be on duty every day, but if something happens, they have enormous responsibility. To signal to them now that they are no longer needed is completely unacceptable," Tauchner concluded.
Further links: