A combination of German infrastructure upgrades and capacity bottlenecks on Austria’s Weststrecke caused widespread delays and selective cancellations across the Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) network on Friday, 6 February. The *Tiroler Tageszeitung* reported long passenger queues in Innsbruck as trains on the Brenner and Unterinntal corridors ran up to 60 minutes late, with some regional services annulled altogether.
The root cause is a month-long Deutsche Bahn (DB) maintenance project on the so-called "DB-Korridor" between Freilassing and Rosenheim that ended on 6 February. ÖBB’s service notice explains that during the works Railjet Xpress trains to Munich were rerouted via Passau, and up to 80 German freight trains per day were diverted over Austrian tracks, saturating the two-track Weststrecke.
![Track Works and Freight Diversions Trigger Wide ÖBB Delays Nationwide]()
Travelers grappling with these unexpected disruptions may also find themselves needing to adjust visas or other entry documents at short notice. VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) streamlines the process for Austrian, German, and Schengen visas, offering fast online applications and real-time status updates—particularly helpful when re-routing through alternative countries becomes necessary.
Although the construction window officially closed on Friday evening, residual congestion is expected over the weekend as rolling stock and crews are repositioned. In Salzburg province the R21 commuter line between Neumarkt and the city will remain truncated outside rush hours until mid-June because a second German upgrade between Regensburg and Nürnberg begins this week, according to ÖBB spokesperson Robert Mosser.
For employers the knock-on effect is lost work time for cross-border commuters and tighter seat availability on key Vienna–Munich and Vienna–Innsbruck business links. HR departments are advised to authorise flexible working or hotel overnights and to remind staff that cash compensation under EU passenger-rights rules begins at 60-minute delays. Business-shipment planners should switch time-critical freight to road or air until the timetable stabilises.
The root cause is a month-long Deutsche Bahn (DB) maintenance project on the so-called "DB-Korridor" between Freilassing and Rosenheim that ended on 6 February. ÖBB’s service notice explains that during the works Railjet Xpress trains to Munich were rerouted via Passau, and up to 80 German freight trains per day were diverted over Austrian tracks, saturating the two-track Weststrecke.
Travelers grappling with these unexpected disruptions may also find themselves needing to adjust visas or other entry documents at short notice. VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) streamlines the process for Austrian, German, and Schengen visas, offering fast online applications and real-time status updates—particularly helpful when re-routing through alternative countries becomes necessary.
Although the construction window officially closed on Friday evening, residual congestion is expected over the weekend as rolling stock and crews are repositioned. In Salzburg province the R21 commuter line between Neumarkt and the city will remain truncated outside rush hours until mid-June because a second German upgrade between Regensburg and Nürnberg begins this week, according to ÖBB spokesperson Robert Mosser.
For employers the knock-on effect is lost work time for cross-border commuters and tighter seat availability on key Vienna–Munich and Vienna–Innsbruck business links. HR departments are advised to authorise flexible working or hotel overnights and to remind staff that cash compensation under EU passenger-rights rules begins at 60-minute delays. Business-shipment planners should switch time-critical freight to road or air until the timetable stabilises.
