ESNTrain was supposed to be a private overnight train that would travel for 20 days in March/April 2009 through many European countries, including Austria, Italy, Croatia, Poland and Norway. This train was primarily meant to be used by Erasmus students.
The organizer cancelled the train on the day of its departure, leaving hundreds of students stranded.
Until now (January 2010) the organizer (Bernhard Jäggle) has not paid back a single penny to over 1000 students for the tickets and damages. The organizers also did not explain why the train was cancelled at all. Neither did he explain were all the money disappeared.
Chain of events (as the investigation has shown, subject to changes):
April, 2007:
ESN Zuerich organized ESNTrain and sold many tickets to students. Bernhard Jaeggle of ESN Zuerich was the head of the organizing team.
June, 2007:
ESN Zuerich cancelled ESNTrain, because of too few students, who signed up for the train. It is not completely verified whether all students got their money back. ESN Zuerich has not provided proof for that.
October, 2007:
ESN Zuerich announced that there will be a 2nd attempt to realise ESNTrain in 2009.
November, 2008:
Bernhard Jaeggle of ESN Zuerich founded and opened an own company with the name - Platform GmbH -. Bernhard Jaeggle became the CEO of Platform GmbH. Platform GmbH was the official organizer of ESNTrain in 2009. It was planned that the train would travel in March/April 2009 though more than 10 European countries. Jaeggle was very determined to make that train a reality, after it failed already in 2007.
December, 2008:
Platform GmbH started a campaign to promote ESNTrain. Paid employees of Platform GmbH have contacted various media organizations and ESN sections to spread the word about ESNTrain.
In most advertising material it was not mentioned that Platform GmbH would be the organizer. Rather, in some documents Platform GmbH employees (notably Remo Weber) wrongfully claimed that ESN would organize ESNTrain.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24126559/Remo-Weber-lies-again-in-EU-funded-Gmagazine
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16631865/Remo-Weber-ESN-organized-ESNTrain
http://esn-train-cancelled.blogspot.com/2009/05/remo-weber-organisation-behind-esntrain_1165.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/27319724/V%C5%A0E-ESN-says-The-ESNtrain-means-a-unique-journey-It-is-organised-by-the-ESN-Erasmus-Student-Network
Matthias Fenner, then President of ESN, allowed Jaeggle to use the brand "Erasmus Student Network".
Moreover, it was communicated by Platform GmbH that two thirds of the costs were planned to be covered by sponsors and suppliers. (this turned out to be a big lie afterwards)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16333840/Original-ESN-FAQ
January, 2009:
Platform GmbH started selling ESNTrain tickets to students.
Bernhard Jaeggle was in contact with OEBB (Austrian Railways). Jaeggle wanted OEBB to be the main supplier for the train cars, engines, and tracks. OEBB did not accept his price demand (too low). OEBB was rather surprised that Jaeggle was already selling tickets to students, despite having no contract with him to actually supply the train for a set price.
2nd week of March, 2009:
OEBB and Jaeggle still have not reached an agreement about the price and payment conditions for the supply of the train. Jaeggle did not want to make any prepayment, because he did not have enough money to fund such a prepayment. OEBB wanted Jaeggle to pay 50% of the estimated total costs as prepayment.
The total cost estimate of Jaeggle was 500 to 600 thousand Euros.
The total costs estimate of OEBB was close to 800 thousand Euros.
Time was running out, because without a deal there would be no train on March 28.
OEBB finally asked Jaeggle whether he wanted OEBB to be his main supplier and whether Jaeggle would accept a prepayment of 400 thousand Euros. Jaeggle finally agreed to that.
Bernhard Soukup (direct contact person at OEBB) confirmed that*:
There is a written order of the ESN-Train 2009 according to the*according to the blog post comment and newsletter http://esn-train-cancelled.blogspot.com/2010/02/only-40-days-left-until-our-claims.html#comments
conditions of the offer, signed by Mr. Jäggle.
This prepayment of EUR 400,000 was due a number days before the departure of ESNTrain train on March 28.
3rd week of March, 2009:
Jaeggle was begging a number of Universities (incl. ETH Zuerich) for emergency sponsoring. He asked for several hundred of thousand of Euros. Jaeggle naturally didn't get that kind of money.
According to ÖBB:
[ÖBB] was told by Mr. Jäggle that with the help of certain EU -
commissioners he was going to obtain discounts by the involved railway
companies. However, [ÖBB] never saw a correspondence about these negotiations.
March 27, 2009:
OEBB informed Jaeggle that OEBB won't supply ESNTrain because Jaeggle failed to make the prepayment of 400 thousand Euros in time. Jaeggle just paid 100 thousand Euros to OEBB.
Jaeggle informed ESN about the financial troubles at the annual ESN meeting AGM in Utrecht. This is the first time ESN officially became aware of the troubles.
However, ESN couldn't help him with the money either.
March 28, 2009:
Jaeggle informed all students with paid tickets by email that ESNTrain was cancelled.
Hundreds of students got stranded in icy weather in Slovakia and Austria, because the information did not reach them in time. On this day (March 28, 2009) the ESNTrain was supposed to depart Bratislava.
March 29, 2009:
Jaeggle initiates an misinformation campaign and blamed OEBB for breaching the contract with him. (it is unclear, which contract Jaeggle meant)
Many students at this point learned that not ESN, but Platform was organizing ESNTrain.
This blog - critical towards Bernhard Jaeggle - went online.
March 28/29/30, 2009:
ESNTrain was vandalized by unknown individuals. Jaeggle communicated that burglary to a number of people at various ESN sections, but not to all students with paid tickets.
ESN President (Matthias Fenner), who was the main contact person for Jaeggle at ESN, resigned. Matthias Fenner failed to say anything substantial about ESNTrain and the causes of its cancellation until today.
April, 2009:
ESN and students were asking Jaeggle to pay back the ticket money (close to EUR 400 for each students; several hundred thousand Euros in total). Jaeggle has not answered most of their emails. ESN and students are asking Jaeggle to show them the contract between Platform and OEBB in order to verify Jaeggles' claim that OEBB was at fault. Jaeggle refused to do so.
Despite having virtually no money and enourmous debt (ticket money of students), Jaeggle refused to declare Platform bankcrupt.
Jaeggle has not refunded a single cent to students with paid tickets.
April, 2009:
This blog correctly predicted that all of the students was lost and that student won't get their money back. This prediction was right.
May, 2009:
Jaeggle acknowledged to Austrian TV station ORF that he didn't have a written contract with OEBB.
http://esn-train-cancelled.blogspot.com/2009/07/jaggle-didnt-have-contract-with-obb.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moyqOUPzCBA
Jaeggle received a written warning from OEBB (Abmahnung) not to blame OEBB any longer.
June, 2009
Jaeggle organized a party at his home in Maennedorf, Switzerland. His friend and ESNTrain board member Martin Kos put the party pics on the internet.
http://maia.fotopic.net/c1749509.html
These photos show Jaeggle having a good party and ridiculing our paid ESNTrain materials, which were supposedly vandalized during the burglary in March.
These photos show that Jaeggle was not hard working to return our money, but instead was flirting with Martina Bader (President of ESN Zuerich) with a spoon.
June, 2009
ESN International (Marketa Tokova) proposed a number of mediation rounds to settle the ESNTrain issue. ESN, Jaeggle, students with paid tickets and OEBB were supposed to take part in the mediation.
July, 2009
Despite numerous attempts Jaeggle refused to participate in the mediation round because he had other stuff to do (e.g. holiday).
Moreover, Jaeggle refused to accept postal letters at his address (= Platform GmbH). Letters were returned unopened to angry participants.
October, 2009
Finally the mediation round took place in Vienna. Jaeggle did finally agree to participate at last - after four months. According to sources from ESN sections (thanks to them) Jaeggle refused to tell anything specific why ESNTrain was cancelled at the last minute. In addition, Jaeggle acknowledged that Platform GmbH had no money to repay students, everything was spent. Platform GmbH had many additional unpaid bills with other suppliers, as well.
Jaeggle refused to account where all the ticket money of the students went. Moreover, he admitted of having almost no sponsors who gave him substantial amount of money prior the ESNTrain departure.
November, 2009
ESN International sent an open letter to Jaeggle.
http://www.esn.org/files/uploaded/Open_letter_061109.pdf
ESN blamed Jaeggle for the bad communication policy and accuse Jaeggle that he was responsible for the negative feelings students have against him. Moreover, ESN demands Jaeggle to turn over accounting books of Platform GmbH and the contract with OEBB. ESN wanted to verify whether Jaeggle told us all the truth.
November, 2009
Jaeggle refused to handover any documents or to tell anything substantial where the money of students went (disappeared) and why the cancellation had happened at all. Bernhard Jaeggle blames ESN for jeopardizing his efforts to sue OEBB.
Moreover, Jaeggle announced that he was working hard to organize a follow-up ESNTrain project.
November, 2009
Bernhard Jaeggle announced that he would sue OEBB for all damages, despite him admiting that he had no contract. Moreover, he would sue students with paid tickets who speak badly about him on the internet. He wanted to sue the people behind this blog, as well.
(comment: Jaeggle has virtually no chance in wining a case against OEBB; it is just another game of him to gain time and to shift blame away from him)
December, 2009
Sadely, ESN International announced that they won't take any legal action against Jaeggle. More decisive action against Jaeggle is not in the card for ESN International.
Jaeggle speculates that all students with paid tickets would forget this scandal over time.
