ÖBB Annual Report 2023

For a reliable future 32 be good interaction between bus and rail if public transport is to be a success in Austria. This is a challenge for the transport associations. They have the power to improve the networking of rail and bus services with their tenders and thus motivate more people in rural regions to switch to public transport. And let us not forget: if a bus is utilised to 40 to 50 percent of its capacity, then it is significantly more eco-efficient than a private car. The bus has long been in competition. How does that work? WALDNER: Postbus knows the business like no other. Our greatest asset is undoubtedly our drivers, who are highly valued by our customers and consistently receive very positive feedback in surveys. However, it is also a fact that the bus market has been fully liberalised since 2013 and the tendering competition is a fierce price war. Unfortunately, tenders currently pay too little attention to the quality of the transport service, for example the networking of bus and rail connections. Back to the railway: a section of the Koralm Railway went into operation with the 2023 timetable change. How is progress on this section? MATTHÄ: The commissioning of the first section of the Koralm railway between Klagenfurt and St. Paul im Lavanttal was certainly a milestone achievement in the past year. The S-Bahn journey between the state capital and St Paul now only takes 26 minutes, half an hour shorter than before. And in another 20 minutes you arrive by train in Wolfsberg. This means that local transport clearly leaves the car behind, despite the many stops. I do believe it is fair to say that this has ushered in a new era of mobility in the south of Austria. WALDNER: The partial completion in Kärnten is a first taste of what we may expect from the expansion of the southern line in terms of overall improvement in speed and comfort. This will create a similar suction effect as the expansion of the Westbahn line and we will experience a massive increase in passengers. And how are the major projects Koralm, Semmering and Brenner developing? MATTHÄ: At the Koralm railway we are more or less in a sprint to the finish. The railway technology is currently being installed with countless kilometres of cables and systems. In just under two years – at the end of 2025 to be precise – it will then also be a case of “all clear!” for long-distance transport between Graz and Klagenfurt. The journey time between the two state capitals will then be just 45 minutes. Work is also progressing “We will not be able to achieve the previously mentioned transport turnaround in Austria without the bus.” MANUELA WALDNER ANDREAS MATTHÄ. “Our goal is to increase the proportion of traction current we supply ourselves from 60 to 80 percent in the coming years“