Ukraine: ÖBB provides booster trains from Vienna

From now on, Railjet will provide an additional 420 seats on the same platform if needed.

So the train will depart shortly after EN462 at around 11:50 p.m. and arrive in Munich at around 5:20 a.m., the APA’s OBB office announced on Saturday. Until now, people in Vienna were often unable to board the overcrowded train for safety reasons.

On Friday, about 200 people were allowed to sleep in the closed station, in the public waiting area, 50 in the night waiting room. OBB stressed the importance of these people staying so that they can continue their journey as quickly as possible in the morning. ÖBB also has an extra waiting area in the back, quieter part of the station, especially for mothers with children. The people there are taken care of by Caritas as usual. In addition, ÖBB offers tea all day long.

There is also a new online website at oebb.at so that people displaced from Ukraine can get all the information they need: in Ukrainian, English and German you can find up-to-date information on tickets, travel options and food/accommodation in Vienna.

By itself, it is currently possible to control the flow of people fleeing in normal traffic. In the late afternoon or evening, people receive information sheets in both Ukrainian and English, whether the trains will run the same evening or when the next trains start in the morning.

The journey through Austria is free for the deportees, as the ÖBB office offers them their emergency ticket. This is currently used by about 1,000 people per day. Most people still come on trains from Hungary (Budapest), the Czech Republic (Prague), and Slovakia. The train from Przemysl in Poland arrives at 7:49 PM. It’s also very busy every day.

Currently, 100-150 people spend the night at the main station, and in the “night waiting room” specially created by the ÖBB office, there are about 50 people who are taken care of by Caritas, the rest are in the public waiting area. Toilets are of course free to use, and there are also free cell phone charging options (travel center). If there is another need, ÖBB says it is ready to provide any kind of help. In continuous exchange with the Ministry of Transport and the neighboring authorities and railways, joint activities and measures can be initiated upon request.