ÖBB Annual Report 2023

61 Group Management Report Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft Consolidated Financial Statements | Group Management Report 16 The availability of infrastructure also caused problems for rail freight transport in 2023. The railway over the Brenner Pass, which is one of the most important freight corridors for transit through Austria, was closed for three weeks in August 2023. At the same time, another central Alpine crossing was closed to rail traffic due to an accident in the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Storms and flooding in Slovenia and southern Austria in August 2023 also caused line closures for rail transport (see the “Rail infrastructure market environment“ section below). The infrastructural framework conditions remain challenging. As a result of climate change, extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent, while many central railway corridors require extensive repairs. For example, the German rail modernisation plan envisages complete closures of important main lines for several months in the coming years. The Tauern Tunnel, a central railway crossing through the Alps, will also be closed for eight months in 2024 / 2025. Such route closures are usually only partially mitigated by rail diversions and often have a lasting impact on rail freight transport. 34 Development of freight transport performance and prices Transport performance Rail and Road (net km, Road transport prices Europe change compared with the previous year quarter in %) (index Q1 2019 = 100) *preliminary estimates. Source: Statistik Austria, ASFINAG, Transporeon Insights, own calculations. The picture of recent years in intramodal competition remains the same. RCA’s market share of productive rail freight transport performance fell by 2.6 percentage points to 60.8% in 2022. RCA remains dominant in single wagonload transport and is losing market share almost exclusively in block train transport. The market share of competitors in block train transport was at an all-time high of 56.0% in 2022. 35 Other major players in the European rail freight market are also expected to see a decline in 2023. If we look at the half- year figures already available, however, the picture is mixed. The major state railways in Central and Eastern Europe were unable to maintain the high volumes of 2022 in the first half of 2023. The transport volume of the Czech company ČD Cargo fell by 5.0% compared to the same period of the previous year. Volumes and transport performance at Polish PKP Cargo fell by 18.0% and 13.0% respectively. DB Cargo’s transport volume and performance also fell by 10.0% and 11.0% respectively. Only the freight division of the Swiss Federal Railways was able to keep its key figures stable. A strong performance abroad almost compensated for the slump in demand at home, with the bottom line being that transport performance fell by just 1.0%. 36 34 Tagesschau. 35 Severe weather centre, Rail Control. 36 DB, SBB, ČD, PKP. 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Straße -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4.* 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Schiene Straße Rail Road Road MR16 |