Through October 2027

Chaos: S-Bahn Completely Paralyzed After Cable Fire

Cable fire at Vienna’s Praterstern: Following a fire overnight, major rail lines in Vienna are currently suspended—the closure will remain in effect until October 2027.(Bild: ÖBB/Werner)

Half of Vienna no longer has a functioning S-Bahn—and it will stay that way until October 2027! The reason is a cable fire near Vienna’s Praterstern, which has completely shut down the rapid transit line between Praterstern and the Central Station. Since the line is scheduled for renovation starting in September anyway, this technical issue means it will now remain closed immediately—and for over a year.

For rail travelers in Vienna, Thursday meant having to reschedule and allow for more time. A cable fire in the early morning hours of Thursday brought Austria’s most important S-Bahn line to a standstill between Praterstern and Hauptbahnhof, as well as on the eastern branch as far as Geiselbergstraße.

ÖBB: “Fire-Damaged Ruins”
The cable fire damaged technical equipment in the Praterstern area. ÖBB spokesperson Judith Winder explained: “Various signal boxes in the vicinity are controlled from Praterstern.” The technical facility there is now a “ruin left by the fire.” The railway is therefore implementing an emergency plan. In practice, this means that until October 2027, severe restrictions will be in place on the main S-Bahn line, which handles 800 trains and 250,000 passengers per day.

The S-Bahn Closure in Detail(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Getting to the airport will be more complicated
The City Airport Train (CAT) is also unable to run from Wien Mitte to the airport. As a replacement, the CAT is deploying five buses on the route. Passengers can currently reach the airport by train only via the Central Station or, via the Schnellbahn, starting from Geiselbergstraße.

The Vienna Fire Department, which was on the scene for nearly three hours with six vehicles, believes it was a “classic cable fire.” In other words, it was not caused by external factors but by a material defect, which cost tens of thousands of passengers a great deal of time. The extent of the damage remains unknown.

At least Wiener Linien will soon be back to “normal service”
According to information from “Krone,” the replacement trains and buses were extremely crowded on Thursday. Wiener Linien is accepting ÖBB tickets as valid fare. For the time being, CAT passengers can transfer to federal rail trains or the Vienna Airport Bus free of charge.

It was initially unclear whether they would be reimbursed for the difference (the CAT ticket is more expensive than a public transit fare).

A rail replacement service was set up between Wien Mitte and Wien Geiselbergstraße (file photo).(Bild: Christoph Engelmaier)

There is a silver lining at Wiener Linien, where many construction sites will be completed shortly:

• Starting August 17, tram line 31 will run again from Schottenring to Stammersdorf.
• Starting August 22, ten lines will resume regular service: Tram lines 5, 12, 37, 38, 40, 41, and 42 will once again run through the renovated Spitalgasse/Währinger Straße/Nußdorfer Straße area. Lines D, 1, and 71 will also be running on the Universitätsring again.
• Track construction in Hernals is entering the final stretch: Starting August 29, Line 43 will once again run on its regular route to Neuwaldegg.
• Starting August 31, the U3 will once again operate continuously between Ottakring and Simmering.