In the future, ÖBB wants to serve the Brenner route from Munich to Italy with comfortable railjets.
A speaker responds to criticism of the new concept.
Munich/Vienna – The new trains from Munich to Italy should offer significantly more comfort.
Also for travelers with bicycles.
However, a spontaneous trip will be much more complicated for them in the future.
From April 2024, the Austrian Federal Railway (ÖBB) wants to serve the Brenner route Munich-Innsbruck-Bozen-Verona (options to Bologna/Venice) with ultra-modern railjets.
There are over 500 seats on the trains, but only six spaces for bicycles.
“Significant step backwards” when it comes to taking bicycles on new Railjet trains
There was previously space for around 40 bicycles in the old Eurocities.
There were two parking spaces in each of the eight wagons and their own luggage wagon.
This is no longer intended for the new Railjets.
Laura Ganswindt, press spokeswoman for the General Bicycle Club of Germany (ADFC), reacted sniffily to the announcement in autumn 2023: “A clear step backwards in terms of taking bikes with you.” Cyclists have previously resorted to travel to and from the event, especially for tours around Lake Garda back with the Eurocity.
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This is what it looks like in ÖBB's new Railjet.
© ÖBB
When designing new trains, efforts are made to take the requirements of all target groups into account, explains an ÖBB spokesman when asked by our editorial team.
“On the Brenner route, on which the new trains are used, hardly any bicycles are transported for many months.
Bicycle transport is essentially limited to a few months in summer.
However, since the demand for seats is consistently high all year round, we have focused on this when designing the space." It is important to him to emphasize that comfort also increases for cyclists: "This is no longer possible, especially due to the possibility of standing loading “More laborious lifting of the bike to the suspension devices, which is a significant relief, especially when taking e-bikes with you.”
Traveling from Munich to Italy by bike doesn't get any easier
He recommends travelers to book one of the six parking spaces in the new Railjets early.
An experiment with the ÖBB ticket navigator shows how early this should be.
For a couple with bicycles, a ride home from Rovereto to Munich is no longer available for the period between June 7th and 10th (as of March 13th).
When confronted with this, the ÖBB spokesman points out that the trip to Italy is also possible on local trains, “in which more parking spaces are available and no reservation is required”.
However, taking bicycles with you is not guaranteed if regional trains are overcrowded.
And for the Rovereto-Munich example, the travel time would be extended by at least two hours.
Holidaymakers with bicycles would have to change at least twice.
Other alternatives that the ÖBB spokesman refers to:
“Since 2022, the ÖBB has also made it possible to take folded folding bikes (up to certain dimensions) free of charge in marked luggage compartments (long-distance transport) or multi-purpose compartments (local transport).
Another option is the ÖBB luggage service with collection/delivery of bicycles to/from a desired address in Austria, Germany and South Tyrol, provided the start or destination is in Austria.”
Wouldn't it be conceivable to have a luggage trolley for additional bicycles, at least in the summer months?
Corresponding hopes had already been raised in relevant Internet forums.
The ÖBB spokesman initially rejects you.
“There are currently no plans to expand the capacity for taking bicycles on the Brenner route.” But: “We continue to monitor utilization closely and are in regular contact with the bicycle lobby and are always open to implementable ideas.”
Category list image: © ÖBB/IMAGO/Sven Simon