For a pleasant glide

Hard preparatory work for a season full of nostalgia

The nostalgic contemporary witnesses will keep on track with their heavy diesel engines on the restored sections: The Reblaus-Express will be back in action from May 1.(Bild: NÖ Bahnen)

Heavy equipment has to be used so that much heavier vehicles can later keep on track in the dilapidated areas: The Reblaus-Express will be back on track from May 1, and before the landscape passes by the carriage window, it will undergo a lot of renovation work

They are working their way from station to station: those railroad enthusiasts from Niederösterreich Bahnen who are now toiling away at numerous points - from washed-out tracks, barrier systems and traffic signs to wooden sleepers - to ensure that everything runs like clockwork in time for the start of the Reblaus Express season. And that is no easy task: the work on the three-kilometre stretch between Retz and Drosendorf would have been completed long ago with the replacement of the rails if it weren't for the fact that the Thumeritzbach bridge, which is already getting on in years, also needs to be renovated. After all, at 114 years old, this is the oldest section of the line, which was closed in 2001.

And passenger safety has top priority: Niederösterreich Bahnen is investing around 650,000 euros in the nostalgic route of the Reblaus Express in order to set the course for the future of this cultural asset. This will start this year on May 1st and will bring a new mix of offers on the traditional and once indispensable connection between the Waldviertel and Weinviertel. Most of the program lives up to its name: Heurigen nostalgia rides are the most popular.