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Migrant crisis to cost Austrian national railway 15 mln euros: CEO

Xinhua, November 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The present migrant crisis is expected to cost Austria's state-owned, primary rail service, the Austrian Federal Railways (OeBB), 15 million euros (16 million U.S. dollars) in 2015, its CEO Christian Kern said on Friday.

The rail service has been transporting transitory migrants travelling through Austria and onwards to Germany.

Speaking to local media in an interview, Kern said while the effect of the loss was "unpleasant," it was not something the company could not handle.

He warned, however, that the OeBB would not be able to maintain its present tempo in response to the crisis on a long-term basis, especially in terms of being able to convince drivers and other train staff to continue working extra shifts.

Kern also acknowledged that some damage to the interior of trains had occurred since the crisis began, though said it had not happened as a result of poor behaviour, but rather as a natural consequence of large numbers of people attempting to fit into a smaller space. Endit