Punctuality in rail transport in Austria in 2024

Across local and long-distance transport, punctuality on the ÖBB infrastructure network in 2024 was 93.5 percent, down from the previous year's figure (94.9 percent).
When unplanned rail replacement services and train cancellations are taken into account, this figure drops to 91.7 percent.

September 2024 proved to be particularly critical in terms of punctuality following flooding and subsequent line closures and diversions on the busy western axis.

Local transport has a much greater impact on punctuality statistics than long-distance transport. Up to 5,900 local trains run daily, compared to around 400 long-distance trains on the ÖBB infrastructure network. In 2024, local transport in Austria on the ÖBB infrastructure network achieved a punctuality rate of 94.3 percent across all rail transport companies, based on 20.8 million arrivals in total (
).

Taking into account spontaneous train cancellations—for example, due to technical defects during a train journey and unplanned rail replacement services—the figure fell to 92.4 percent.
The most punctual months for local transport on the ÖBB-Infra network were January to March and August, with punctuality rates of over 93.5 percent in each case.

Significantly lower values were recorded in September:

Due to flooding, punctuality in local transport fell to 82.8 percent overall this month, including spontaneous train cancellations. September alone accounted for
128,000 of a total of 386,000 train cancellations in 2024. This represents approximately 33 percent of all train cancellations in local transport. Compared to 2023, there was a significant increase in train cancellations from 244,000 to 386,000 (+58.2 percent).

Punctuality in long-distance transport was significantly lower than in local transport, mainly due to international connections. Delayed border crossings from Germany, Italy, and Slovenia, as well as extensive construction work, were the main causes in 2024. In addition, flooding in September led to significant restrictions on the Westbahn line to Innsbruck, Munich, and Nuremberg.

In 2024, punctuality on long-distance routes was 79.3 percent (2023: 81.0 percent) – the lowest figure in recent years. Taking into account spontaneous rail replacement services and train cancellations, the figure was 75.7 percent.

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