ÖBB blows the whistle on cyclists

Where mountain bikers now have to travel by car

Mountain bikers will find ideal trails in the Bucklige Welt - only the way there can be difficult.

(Bild: Red Bull Content Pool)

The Bucklige Welt attracts many mountain bikers. In future, however, recreational athletes will probably have to travel by car - because the bus service with bike trailers from Aspang station is being discontinued.

The Bucklige Welt is known as an Eldorado for off-road cyclists - nomen est omen. The journey can also be made by train using public transport. And from Aspang train station, a regular bus with a bike trailer to St. Corona and Kirchberg am Wechsel was available at the weekends. The bus continues to run - but the special trailer will no longer be available in future.

End of private initiative
"This special trailer was purchased three years ago by a private initiative," reports Ines Buchgeher, spokesperson for the Wexl Arena, the mountain bike center in St. Corona. Nobert Luckerbauer from the Krumbach Mobility Center and Karl Morgenbesser, head of the Wexl Arena, had set up this pick-up service for mountain bikers with the Eastern Region Transport Association (VOR).

Dominik Karas from VOR with Norbert Luckerbauer and Karl Morgenbesser (from left) in front of the bus that runs from Aspang station to St. Corona and Kirchberg am Wechsel.

(Bild: Wexl Arena St. Corona am Wechsel)

The special trailer for mountain bikes will no longer be available on the route from Aspang to St. Corona and Kirchberg am Wechsel.

(Bild: Wexl Arena St. Corona am Wechsel)

Rail replacement service is not for cyclists
This worked well until ÖBB started track construction work on the Aspang line last summer. "As a result, there was only a rail replacement service with buses between Wiener Neustadt and Aspang, but these did not transport bicycles," explains Buchgeher. Work is continuing this year. Conclusion: "The use of the bike trailer from Aspang no longer pays off, as the mountain bikers can't get there by public transport," says Buchgeher.

Contractually regulated
Talks with the railroad had run into bureaucratic sand. An ÖBB spokesperson emphasized that the track work on the route was absolutely necessary, but that not taking bikes on the rail replacement service was contractually agreed with VOR.

Aktuelle Tourismusstudie

Urlauber wollen bei uns in die Pedale treten

Tourism has become an important economic pillar in Lower Austria. After all, it contributes around two billion euros a year to the coffers of local businesses. This is shown by a recent study by the market research institute Manova. The study also examined the main areas of tourism. And they are clear: health tourists make up 21 percent of overnight stays, business travelers 36 percent and classic holidaymakers now make up 43 percent.

Every second foreign guest comes to Lower Austria for cycling

(Bild: Hannes Wallner)

Room for improvement
It is precisely in this segment that the aim is to focus in future. The largest group of tourists are hikers. This includes every fourth guest in the vast country. Culinary delights and culture follow. 13 percent of holidaymakers come for cycling, and every second foreign tourist in Lower Austria wants to pedal here. The experts see room for improvement here - travel problems (see above) are probably more of a hindrance.

Importance for the labor market
The fact that tourism is an important employer in all regions of Lower Austria is also underlined by the study: more than 42,000 people are employed in this sector in around 8,500 businesses.