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PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Stockholm commuter train station to reopen after emergency closure

Stockholm's main commuter train station is expected to reopen by the end of the week.

Stockholm commuter train station to reopen after emergency closure
Stockholm City has been closed since July 13th. Photo: Hossein Salmanzadeh/TT

Stockholm City and Odenplan closed earlier this month after an incident in which an escalator lost control and started running in the wrong direction. After safety checks, several of the escalators were found to be suffering from “significant wear and tear” despite being in use for only a year.

Public transport operator SL then decided to close the stations completely for safety reasons, until its maintenance teams had had the opportunity to further inspect and repair the escalators.

Odenplan reopened three days later, but Stockholm City remained closed. However, on Monday SL announced that the busy commuter train station would reopen by the end of this week.

It said 33 escalators had been examined without any faults noted and would be running again at the northern end of the platforms. Another 17 escalators will not yet have been repaired, but SL said they would be secured in a fixed position and passengers would be able to use them as regular stairs.

Stockholm City is part of the Swedish capital's main transport hub, connecting both to Stockholm Central and the underground. The closure has not affected other transport via the station (however, some other trains are not running due to unrelated scheduled repairs).

The commuter trains are currently passing Stockholm City without stopping. The closest alternative stops are Stockholm Södra (south of the city centre), Odenplan and Solna (north of the city).

If you need to travel onwards from Stockholm Södra, walk to metro station Mariatorget (red line) and travel by metro to T-Centralen or your preferred stop.

From Solna, replacement buses are transporting passengers from the train station to the metro, where you can take the blue line to central Stockholm.

READ ALSO: How to navigate Stockholm's public transport disruptions

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PUBLIC TRANSPORT

1-2-3 Ticket: Austria’s nationwide unlimited rail pass available from October

After several years of waiting, Austria's nationwide unlimited rail pass - now renamed the Klimaticket (climate ticket) - will be available from October, although some states have yet to sign up.

1-2-3 Ticket: Austria's nationwide unlimited rail pass available from October
A person boards a subway train in the Austrian city of Vienna. Photo by Samuel-Elias Nadler on Unsplash

Austria’s much awaited ‘1-2-3 Ticket’ – which gives unlimited travel across the entire country – will be valid for travel from Austrian National Day on October 26th onwards.

The idea behind the 1-2-3 ticket is that Austrian residents can choose to pay one euro per day for unlimited public transport in their own state, two euros per day for travel in two neighbouring states or three euros per day to travel throughout Austria. 

The ticket has been renamed the Klimaticket – meaning climate ticket – to highlight the positive environmental outcomes associated with rail travel. 

The ticket has been repeatedly delayed due to disputes over costs and the suitability of particular routes, however these look now to be settled.

The official announcement was made on Wednesday, with Austria’s Kronen Zeitung newspaper saying Austria chipped in an additional 100 million euros to make the project work.

How much will it cost? 

The ticket for the whole of Austria – including all nine states – will cost 1095 euros per year, although it will go on sale for an introductory price of 949 euros annually from October 1st.

Senior citizens and people under the age of 26 will only have to pay 821 euros per year – or 699 euros if they buy the ticket before October 26th. 

For those who want to travel through two states, it will cost 730 euros, while travel through one state will be 365 euros annually.

The 365 euro ticket has been in place for some time in the state of Vienna and has won International acclaim.

READ MORE: What is the 1-2-3-ticket? Everything you need to know about the new ticket planned to give unlimited public transport across Austria

Which types of travel are included – and which states are part of the plan? 

When it is launched, the ticket will be valid for all types of travel in Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, including buses, trains, long-distance trains (i.e. ÖBB) and trams. 

Three eastern states – Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland – are however still holding out on the project. 

As it stands, ÖBB travel in these states as well as bus travel and S-Bahn services will be included in the ticket, along with travel on services operated by Wiener Linien. 

Other forms of regional and local transport will not be included in these three states. 

Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler said she was confident the other three states would sign up. 

“We’ll make it there as well, I’m certain” she said. 

“You really get a hell of a lot for your money.”

Why are these three states holding out? 

Broadcaster ORF says the fact that no solution has yet been found is also due to the resistance of the federal state of Burgenland.

The complaint relates to the fact that the ticket would dramatically increase the cost of travelling from Burgenland to Vienna, which is a relatively common commuter trip. 

As travelling from Burgenland to Vienna involves crossing Lower Austria, the price of a season ticket from Neudörfl to Vienna, for example, which currently costs 730 euros, would increase to 1,095 euros per year under the new scheme.

An estimated 25,000 people commute regularly from Burgenland to Vienna, based on pre-pandemic numbers

Transport authorities are pushing for Lower Austria and Burgenland to be treated as one state for the purposes of the pass, Der Standard reports, thereby allowing for a reduction in the cost for commuters. 

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