SPEAKING at the IRCA-UIC World Railway Congress in Wien on September 25, held jointly with the European Conference of Ministers of Transport, Austrian Transport Minister Dipl-Ing Dr Monika Forstinger announced a 30-year National Transport Plan. Of a total spend of Sch644bn, as much as Sch400bn is earmarked for rail, although Forstinger said this could be reduced by up to one-third. Details and funding proposals will be announced by the end of the year.
Forstinger said that Austria expects north-south transit traffic to grow by 90%, with a 100% rise in east-west traffic as the EU expands to the east, and ÖBB Director General Rudiger vorm Walde confirmed on September 27 that tonnage was predicted to rise from 84·7 million in 2000 to 117·5 million by 2015.
Affirming that ’it is our objective to transfer more freight from road to rail’, Forstinger said that lorries in Austria will have to pay a ’traffic tax’ from 2003, the fees being used to fund infrastructure investment. She saw little chance of rail winning short-distance freight, but much potential for long-haul, especially intermodal; Austria pays Sch900m a year in grants for rolling motorway services. During September ÖBB and Ökombi increased rolling motorway capacity by 40% using a recently-acquired fleet of 200 small-wheeled 10-axle wagons. Grants amounting to a further Sch900m a year are provided for unaccompanied piggyback traffic.
The minister believed that better use could be made of ÖBB’s infrastructure, citing a study suggesting that as many as 154 extra paths for transit freight were available every day. Using these, she said, would allow a further 1·5 million lorry trips a year to be avoided, and she set a target of reaching at least half this total within two years. She then invited domestic and foreign operators to use opportunities available under open access rules in Austria - ’we are opening the network and we look forward to welcoming newcomers’.
So far, 10 operating concessions have been agreed, including ÖBB. Operators holding concessions include the Graz-K
