Verdes/Weratschnig: Countries must fulfill their responsibility and revitalize deactivated railways







“We have taken many important steps towards railway expansion”



Vienna (OTS) – “The current Greenpeace report on changes in railway infrastructure over the last 30 years clearly shows that this federal government and, above all, Minister Leonore Gewessler have done their homework. Never before has so much budget been allocated to improve the railway connections in Austria are more expensive than in the last three years and the federal road construction program has never been simplified so efficiently”, says Green Party transport spokesman Hermann Weratschnig and says ÖBB’s current framework plan with an investment volume of around 19 billion euros by 2028.

“The fact that the construction of expressways and motorways cannot be an end in itself, but can only be implemented with a clear effect on road safety, taking into account our valuable non-impermeable soils, is a great and far-sighted success At the same time, we, the Greens, are ensuring a remarkable improvement in public transport “To be able to provide people with mobility that is as accessible and enjoyable as possible and, by taking responsibility, we are also able to put an end to further route closures”, he says Weratschnig and continues : “As part of the negotiations with the states on the climate ticket, we were also able to secure regional railways that had previously been threatened with closure and begin their modernization, for example as part of the 1.4 billion euro package of Styria.”

“In previous decades, it was opportune for many federal and state governments to deprive regional rail connections and ultimately discontinue them, in order to improve budgets in the short term. It is not just the people of Lower Austria who feel all the days where this has It is time for Weratschnig to appeal to the federal states to ensure that the states fulfill their responsibilities and reactivate the railways whenever possible. According to the constitution, they are responsible for regional transport and receive annual payments from the federal government a total of 180 million euros, coming solely from the climate ticket funds.

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