All Austria articles
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News
Narrow gauge infrastructure maintenance vehicle delivered
AUSTRIA: Plasser & Theurer has delivered a maintenance vehicle for use on NÖVOG’s 760 mm gauge Mariazellerbahn. It is the first of two machines ordered for €7·2m. The second is to be delivered in 2025. Austria’s longest narrow gauge railway runs 84 km from Sankt Pölten ...
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News
DB InfraGO set to order Plasser CatenaryCrafter vehicles
INNOTRANS: Austrian Federal Railways has ordered 29 Plasser & Theurer CatenaryCrafter 15.4 E3 electric-battery overhead line maintenance vehicles which will soon begin entering service, and an agreement to supply Germany’s DB InfraGO with 15 from 2029 is expected to be finalised shortly. The CatenaryCrafter 15.4 E3 can ...
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In depth
Interview: Innovating in the complex railway system
Whereas innovation in railways was once about the search for higher speeds or energy efficiency, Prof Peter Veit believes that the primary focus is now shifting to a whole‑system understanding. It will also be necessary to optimise infrastructure maintenance methods to accommodate rising demand, he explains to Reinhard Christeller.
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News
First bore of the Semmering Base Tunnel broken through
AUSTRIA: The first bore of the 27·3 km Semmering Base Tunnel was holed through on September 11. The tunnel is being built from five locations, with 14 simultaneous drives of which 12 have been completed. Construction started in 2014, and the second ...
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News
Plasser & Theurer begins construction of €60m assembly and commissioning workshop
AUSTRIA: Plasser & Theurer held a ground-breaking ceremony for a €60m track machine final assembly and commissioning facility at its Pummererstrasse site in Linz on September 11. Production capacities that are currently separated will be brought closer together, with the integration of commissioning significantly increasing efficiency. ...
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News
Cross-border complexity puts brakes on Nightjet expansion
EUROPE: Further expansion of Austrian Federal Railways’ Nightjet overnight train network beyond the routes already announced is on hold amid ongoing operational and approvals challenges, according to ÖBB.
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News
Bilingual station signs installed in Austria
AUSTRIA: Austria Federal Railways has begun installing bilingual signs at stations in communities that are legally defined as bilingual. The first such signs were installed at St Michael ob Bleiburg/Šmihel pri Pliberku station. Four stations in the Land of Kärnten are to get signs in Slovenian, ...
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News
Brussels – Venezia night train to serve winter sports and city break destinations
EUROPE: Open access night train operator European Sleeper is to launch a seasonal Brussels – Utrecht – Köln – München – Innsbruck – Verona – Venezia service to winter sports and city trip destinations. The service is being planned around school holidays, the peak winter sports ...
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Metro Report International
Wien’s U2xU5 metro scheme delayed to 2030
AUSTRIA: The planned opening of the Wien metro Line U2 extension south to Matzleinsdorfer Platz has been pushed back from 2028 to 2030, after ground conditions provided more challenging than expected.
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News
Liechtenstein railway modernisation project launched
LIECHTENSTEIN: A €100m project has been launched to modernise the 18·5 km single track railway running through Liechtenstein from Feldkirch in Austria to Buchs in Switzerland.
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News
ÖBB awards €100m ETCS upgrading contract
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has awarded Alstom a €100m framework contract covering the upgrading of ETCS onboard equipment on 449 vehicles by 2030. This will include Railjet trainsets and locomotives. There is an initial firm order covering 195 trains, which Alstom will upgrade to ETCS Baseline ...
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News
TransFLEX launched to offer freight customers more flexibility
EUROPE: Austrian Federal Railways’ freight business ÖBB Rail Cargo Group has formally launched its TransFLEX product, which aims to offer flexible freight services tailored to a customer’s individual needs. TransFLEX offers ‘uncomplicated ad-hoc or spot’ transport, as well as multimodal service including first and last mile ...
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News
Semmering Base Tunnel fit out contract awarded
AUSTRIA: ‘Never change a winning team’, Porr Group and Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group said when they announced that their joint venture which is fitting out the Koralm Tunnel has been awarded a contract for similar works on the 27 km Semmering Base Tunnel project. The €176m ...
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Metro Report International
Salzburg Stadtbahn project to go ahead
AUSTRIA: The Federal Ministry for Transport & Environment has authorised the construction of a 15 km Stadtbahn line running from the main station in Salzburg to the south of the city and on to the suburb of Hallein. Dubbed S-Link, the project forms an end-on extension ...
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News
Tri-mode tunnel rescue train designed for the ‘worst-case scenario’
AUSTRIA: Stadler and Austrian Federal Railways have unveiled the first Servicejet multifunctional firefighting and rescue train, which the manufacturer says is tailor-made ‘for the worst-case scenario’ of a fire in a tunnel. The Rail Equipment GmbH subsidiary of infrastructure manager ÖBB-Infrastruktur has ordered 18 of ...
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News
Cross-border train services stepped up
EUROPE: Slovenian Railways and Austrian Federal Railways have launched two cross-border passenger services as an initial step towards better and more frequent connections between the two countries. One links Ljubljana with Villach and the other connects Ljubljana with Pragersko, Maribor and Graz. An inaugural train between ...
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News
ÖBB orders electric multiple-units for eastern Austria
AUSTRIA: Austrian Federal Railways has placed a firm order for Siemens Mobility to supply a further 21 Desiro ML electric multiple-units, which the operator brands as Cityjet. The order announced on April 29 takes ÖBB’s Desiro ML fleet to 294 units, of which 236 are now ...
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News
Next-generation Railjets enter service to link three countries
EUROPE: Austrian Federal Railways has put into service the first of its updated Railjet trainsets on services linking Germany, Austria and Italy. Toma Bačić rode on a preview run between München and Verona on April 5.
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In depth
Europe: IoT tools help to ensure a rapid response
German IoT specialist Optimeas is working with infrastructure manager DB InfraGo to enhance the availability of its electrification inspection and repair vehicles as part of efforts to reduce the impact of power supply failures across the network.