Annual Report 2025 – ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG

ÖBB-Infrastruktur Aktiengesellschaft Group Management Report | Consolidated Financial Statements 83 Other measures in the field of biodiversity and ecosystems Status Material IRO Wildlife warning devices for railways VIF research project to test wildlife warning devices in the railway sector to reduce wildlife collisions on the ÖBB rail network completed, further evaluation ongoing. ongoing E4-A-4 Projects for water ecology R&D projects for the compatibility of hydropower and environmental protection are continually supported and actively shaped. For example, the ÖkoResch project has been running since 2020 to achieve good ecological potential for water bodies affected by high water levels and high alpine residual water routes. ongoing E4-A-3 E4-5 Impact metrics related to biodiversity and ecosystems change Key locations of the ÖBB-Infrastruktur Group that overlap with areas of biodiversity in need of protection are identified in sub-section SBM-3 . The ÖBB-Infrastruktur Group contributes directly to the influencing factor of land use change. In 2024, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG commissioned the Institute for Landscape Development, Recreation and Nature Conservation Planning (Institut für Landschaftsentwicklung, Erholungs- und Naturschutzplanung) at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, to update the ÖBB potential site analysis from 2021. The aim was to provide an up-to-date overview of the land cover and potential uses of all railway land. Thanks to the availability of new data sets, the analysis was able to be performed in greater detail. 38 The assessment of land inventory reveals that the ÖBB-Infrastruktur Group owns more unsealed forest and meadow areas than sealed transport infrastructure areas. The assessment of land inventory is updated as and when required, at intervals of several years. Sealed: parking and traffic areas, buildings; partially sealed: railway ballast, ballast surfaces, gardens; unsealed: grassland, arable land, woodland and scrubland. Source: Schauppenlehner, T., Baumgartinger-Seiringer, M., Bittner, K.: ÖBB potential area update of land cover 2024. Institute for Landscape Development, Recreation and Nature Conservation Planning, BOKU University Vienna 2024. 38 Various publicly available databases (including the Austrian Environment Agency [Umweltbundesamt], the Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying, and OpenStreetMap contributors) were used to determine the land cover for ÖBB properties throughout Austria. The most recent data sets available were used.