ÖBB are working out which big stations get an alcohol ban next — nine already have one
Transport minister Peter Hanke has instructed ÖBB to examine bringing in alcohol bans at heavily used stations, and the railway has said it would welcome them. Nothing has been decided yet, and no station has been named as certain.
Nine stations in Austria already have a ban covering the whole station area, and if you travel through one of them the rule applies to you today. They are Praterstern, Floridsdorf and Westbahnhof in Vienna, plus the main stations in Wiener Neustadt, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, Innsbruck, Dornbirn and Feldkirch. ÖBB say the model has worked where it has been tried.
The stations now being looked at include Graz, Linz and Wels, and ÖBB say they are reviewing all their larger stations for where such a zone could be set up. A spokesman put the case in terms of protecting both passengers and railway staff. According to ÖBB, roughly one in six security-related reports at stations involves alcohol.
This will not happen quickly. ÖBB first have to change their house rules, and they say they must also consult the police, the municipalities and the owners of the land the stations sit on. The decision on which stations are covered is expected in the coming months. A ban on drinking inside the trains themselves has been raised, but the transport ministry says the current situation would have to be analysed before any conditions are set.
Graz is a useful warning against assuming this is settled. A ban on the station and its forecourt was already discussed there in 2019, with the police in favour, but a working group set up by the city rejected it and more police patrols were put on instead. Body cameras, which train staff can clip to their jackets, have been in use since 2018, and the minister says the measures taken so far are working — while adding that protection for staff cannot be allowed to slip.