ÖBB Annual Report 2023

55 Group Management Report Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft Consolidated Financial Statements | Group Management Report 10 Energy prices remain a challenge for public transport Energy prices were once again a major challenge for all companies involved in rail transport last year. ÖBB campaigned at both national and international level last year to improve the legal framework for the expansion of renewable energy in order to move closer to the goal of self-sufficiency and in so doing increase the company’s independence. Subsidies to compensate for high energy prices should also be made available to the transport sector – analogous to energy-intensive heavy industry. In November 2023, a new instrument was presented by the federal government in the form of the Energy Cost Subsidy II. It also enables large companies in the transport sector to access subsidies for the additional costs of electricity, natural gas and fuel. Both Österreichische Postbus Aktiengesellschaft and RCA have applied for corresponding subsidies for 2023. In parallel, ÖBB presented an updated expansion programme for renewable energy. The company will therefore invest a total of approx. EUR 1.6 billion in the construction of hydropower plants, wind turbines and photovoltaics by 2030. The aim is to increase in-house production of electricity required for operations – including the supply from fixed partner power plants – to approx. 80%. In doing so, the company was not only responding to the ever-increasing demand for green electricity on the market, but also to the prospect of rising electricity requirements due to the necessary expansion of the train supply. In another ÖBB division – Österreichische Postbus Aktiengesellschaft – the effects of CO2 pricing and the new fuel regulation had a negative impact. Postbus assumes additional costs of approx. EUR 40.0 million by 2030 due to rising diesel prices. ÖBB employees worked last year to valorise the diesel price development in the individual transport service contracts in order to counteract this additional burden on the already low-margin bus services. Employees wanted! ÖBB – like many other domestic companies – is looking to recruit employees. The company’s needs are further intensified by a current generational change due to a wave of retirements. The focus for ÖBB at the Alpbach 2023 Forum was therefore on the labour market. In stakeholder events, a workshop and discussion events, many facets of the focus topic were examined and solutions sought. Key questions such as “What do we need to do to mobilise more women for the labour market?”, “What opportunities do we need to create to keep older colleagues in work for longer?” or “How can we improve the integration of people who have immigrated to Austria?” were discussed. Naturally, Forum Alpbach was also used to recruit young talent. The general labour shortage was also clearly noticeable at the ÖBB bus company. In the past year, the responsible employees therefore campaigned for modern working time models, the reactivation of pensioners and the inclusion of bus drivers on the shortage occupation list. In addition, a model was developed with the aim of upgrading the profession of bus driver. A new apprenticeship is to be offered and the minimum age lowered from the current 21 to 18 in future. Another success for ÖBB was that the costs for bus stop licences were reduced as part of the amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act (41st KFG amendment). Back to the shortage occupation list: In addition to bus drivers, seven other public transport professions were added in 2024 – including shunters and train drivers. This is an important step for ÖBB, as it allows the company to access a sufficiently large labour force potential within the company in the course of the ongoing generational change. Strong increase in demand for passenger transport – rail freight transport under pressure There was a huge increase in demand for passenger transport last year. This has led in part to capacity bottlenecks and subsequently – unusually for ÖBB – to quality problems. This was attributable to a sharp increase in the number of travellers as well as delays in the delivery of some of the rail vehicles and replacement parts ordered. Stakeholders at federal, state and local level were kept informed in an open dialogue, and understanding was sought from the critical public. The situation is completely different in rail freight transport, which is coming under increasing pressure not only in Austria, but throughout Europe. The reasons for this range from the aforementioned rise in energy prices to the weakening global economy, which has led to a significant decline in overall transport volumes. This mix results in an increase in factor costs in rail freight transport with overcapacity on the roads. This led to a shift in transport from rail to road last year. ÖBB has counteracted this trend by focussing on freight transport. MR10 |