2411 - Passing The Time

Improvements implemented by big corporations are almost never aimed primarily at their customers, they are intended to increase shareholder value. So far the Austrian Federal Railways have not been privatized, but funnily enough it does not make a big difference whether the state or a bunch of rich, private individuals own a company; the principle stays the same.

When new trains were introduced a few years ago, they were given the fancy name “Railjet”, and it took some time until most of the south-bound trains had been replaced.

Improvements? None. In fact I hate them. They have no compartments any more, not even in the business class. It’s impossible to sleep, you can’t turn off the lights, you always hear someone in the car making a phone call, people chatting, in other words there are only substantial drawbacks for the passengers. Of course not so for the railway company. The first thing that gets damaged in a railway car are the compartment doors. No doors, no damage, much money saved.

Anyway. Riding from Carinthia to Vienna, I am forced to use a Railjet, but the other way round I always use a train that still has compartments. The only problem is, this train comes from Hamburg via Berlin and Prague, therefore it is frequently late, and when it’s late it is normally very late. See, that’s the reason for all those railway station pictures 😄

The Song of the Day is “Passing The Time” from the classic Cream album “Wheels Of Fire”. Hear it on YouTube.