Starting 14 June, commuters in Salzburg’s Flachgau district face sweeping timetable cuts after German infrastructure works force rerouting of freight via the Austria–Germany border. ÖBB confirmed on 12 June that the Westbahn mainline will lose several regional services each day, while the Salzburg Lokalbahn will close the Salzburg–Bürmoos section entirely until 13 September. The bottleneck arises because Deutsche Bahn is upgrading tracks near Freilassing, pushing additional freight trains through Salzburg’s already congested node. To free capacity, ÖBB is suspending off-peak S-Bahn runs and advising passengers to use Regional-Express (REX) or InterCity services instead. A fleet of express and all-stops buses will replace Lokalbahn trains, with 15-minute headways during rush hour. Yet traffic engineers warn that the parallel B156 road corridor is prone to rush-hour gridlock, potentially lengthening door-to-door journeys by 30–45 minutes. For cross-border employers such as Bosch and Porsche Salzburg, the disruption complicates staff commutes and logistics links to German plants. Many are updating mobility allowances, encouraging car-pooling or temporary remote work. Austrian relocation specialists also flag visa-renewal appointments in Salzburg that may be missed if applicants rely on the suspended rail line. ÖBB advises travellers to check the online trip planner and subscribe to push notifications. Full rail service is expected to resume on 14 September once German works finish and Austrian track upgrades are completed.
Source: ORF Salzburg
