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Currently, four out of ten regular rail customers prefer not to take the rail. The ÖBBs are still fully operational. That costs a lot of money and could still be useful for the state railroad.
Vienna Last Friday ÖBB boss Andreas Matthä had a great day. The Federal Railways will invest 17,500 million euros in the expansion of the railway lines by 2026, the head of the company announced with pride. Despite the Corona crisis, the company is expanding its range and is receiving a lot of wind in favor of the Ministry of Ecological Transport. “This is an announcement in the fight against climate change,” said Minister Leonore Gewessler, praising “his” company. But the ÖBB not only uses the political tailwind to expand the rail infrastructure, but also curbs nasty competition with its help.
The Austrian Federal Railways are only familiar with the actual competition in domestic passenger transport on the western route between Vienna and Salzburg. For several years now, Westbahn, mostly privately owned, has been challenging the former corporate monopoly. With the outbreak of the pandemic, passengers also stayed away from this lucrative route. The state had to step in and pay the two companies through emergency awards to ensure they continued to operate. The emergency award has ended almost two weeks ago and the railway companies have to recalculate harder. At least some.
