Summer of trouble

Wiener Linien is looking for a solution to the U4 chaos

Even outside of peak times, the platforms are very crowded due to the chaotic U4 summer closure, making it almost impossible to make progress.(Bild: Lukas Zimmer / Krone Kreativ)

The summer U4 closure means daily annoyance for thousands of passengers. Wiener Linien apparently underestimated the challenges of this year's construction site, which only looks the same from the outside as last year. Now they are looking for ways out after the event.

It probably didn't go as planned: The summer closure of the U4 line between Schwedenplatz and Schottenring is paralyzing city transport and causing annoyance for thousands of passengers every day: overcrowded platforms even off-peak, delays beyond the already agonizing seven-minute intervals and drivers closing doors in passengers' faces because they are chasing after their unrealistic timetable between Heiligenstadt and Schottenring.