Austrian rail company ÖBB will continue to increase its offer and invest in development in 2018. In passenger transport, the successful night traffic model of the ÖBB Nightjet will be expanded in 2018. From the beginning of December, the ÖBB Nightjet will be introduced on the Vienna-Berlin route. At the same time, the modernization of the local transport fleet is underway by retrofitting the existing trains to Cityjet level and procuring new sets of equipment.
The Rail Cargo Group will further strengthen ÖBB’s international presence. In addition to logistics services in Europe, RCG will establish new connections to China this year. In 2018, RCG plans up to 600 connections on the routes between Europe and China. In addition, new shuttle services, such as between Linz and the Rhine-Ruhr area will be implemented and transports from and to the ports will be expanded. Furthermore, RCG will continue the procurement of modern Vectron multi-system locomotives and freight cars equipped with GPS.
ÖBB Infrastruktur will invest around 1.9 billion euros in 2018. The focus continues to be on the expansion of the southern route. Projects such as the Marchegger Ast for a better connection between Vienna and Bratislava are also being implemented. Significant investments are also planned for the expansion of the Pottendorfer line, the four-track extension of the Linz-Wels line and station modernization.
In 2017, ÖBB’s sales increased by around 5% to more than 5.5 billion euros. Earnings before taxes (EBT) increased by 6% to 176.3 million euros. ÖBB thus recorded the second-best result in the history of the company. All subgroups generated positive results in 2017. Passenger traffic increased its EBT by 6% to 86.7 million euros (+ 4.8 million euros compared to 2016). At 42.3 million euros (- 2.0 million euros), the Rail Cargo Group is slightly below the level of the previous year. ÖBB Infrastructure delivered a result of 47.1 million euros (- 2.5 million euros compared to 2016). ÖBB transported 246 million passengers last year. The most important growth drivers with an increase of 4% were in long-distance traffic and the connection to Vienna Airport. The popular night trains, which operate as ÖBB Nightjets in Europe, welcomed around 1.4 million passengers.
ÖBB invested around EUR 1.8 billion in the maintenance and expansion of its efficient infrastructure in 2017. More than 200 planning and construction projects were completed in 2017 within the specified timeframe and budget. The most important projects completed in 2017 included the completion of the St. Pölten-Loosdorf gap and the extension of the line from Salzburg main station to Freilassing. Important milestones were reached in the major projects on the southern route. The 130-kilometer-long Koralmbahn between Graz and Klagenfurt already has around 120 kilometers to be built or completed. Significant progress has also been made in the construction of the Semmering Base Tunnel. ÖBB is therefore well on its way to connecting Vienna with Klagenfurt in 2 hours and 40 minutes from 2026.
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