ÖBB Annual Report 2023

Group Management Report 62 Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft Consolidated Financial Statements | Group Management Report 17 Market environment The operating performance of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG’s network has grown for another year in a row. Overall, the increase in train kilometres was 1.3%, setting a new record. The level of the pre-corona year 2019 has now already been exceeded by 6.0%. This is entirely due to the increase in passenger transport. The increase in train kilometres came to 3.2%. The economic slowdown in Europe and Austria was however already making itself felt in freight transport. The year-on-year decline in operating performance totalled 3.6%. This is still a decline of 3.2% compared to the 2019 level. 37 The number and extent of various disruptions caused by special events and accidents on important infrastructure in neighbouring countries, which affected domestic rail traffic, are noteworthy this year. The so-called “German Corner“ between Salzburg and Kufstein – important for Austrian east-west railway traffic – was particularly affected. In addition to the planned construction sites between February and May 2023, in August 2023 and in October 2023, there were also some unscheduled events. At the end of January 2023, a shunting locomotive burnt out at Freilassing station after a kilometre-long “ghost run“. This led to massive restrictions in cross-border local transport for several days. In August 2023, a construction train caught fire in the Traunstein area. This resulted in massive restrictions on the entire German corner for several days. 38 On 10.08.2023, a goods train derailed in the west tunnel of the Swiss Gotthard tunnel. As a consequence, it was necessary to close the line to all railway traffic for several months. The east tunnel was also impassable until the end of August 2023. The combination of this incident and the scheduled closure of the Brenner line for construction meant a massive disruption to transalpine rail traffic. On 23.08.2023, at least freight traffic could be resumed via the east tunnel. The line was opened to passenger traffic at the end of September 2023, but still only for a reduced number of trains in single-track traffic. 39 The severe weather events in 2023 caused some serious damage to infrastructure and disruption to rail passenger and freight transport, and not just in Austria. For example, rail traffic in and across Slovenia was severely disrupted for weeks by the storms at the beginning of August 2023. 40 Nevertheless, the 3.7 km long new section of the line between Maribor and Šentilj was put into operation on 14.08.2023 as planned. This forms the approach to the Austrian state border in Spielfeld and is therefore an important part of the Baltic-Adriatic axis. 41 An infrastructure project that is further away from a geographical perspective is the so-called “Rail Baltica“. It is, however, all the more important for Europe, especially after the developments surrounding the war in Ukraine. This involves the construction of a double-track corridor in European standard gauge. It will connect the capitals of the Baltic states directly to the European rail network via Biaystok in Poland. The route in Lithuania from Kaunas to the Polish border was defined here in 2023. The project is funded by the EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). It is part of the Baltic-Adriatic TEN-T corridor, the final stage of which will run from Ancona in Italy – with a sea transfer across the Gulf of Finland – to Helsinki. 42 The so-called trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) were created in 2013 with EU Regulation 1315 / 2013. This regulation comprises several transport modes and prioritises expansion activities in the European transport network by defining different network levels. The current regulation is currently being revised. The EU Commission’s ambitious legislative proposal has been available since 2021. ÖBB considers the planned introduction of a new network category “extended core network“ for the European transport corridors to be positive. In this context, an implementation horizon up to 2040 has been defined. The Pyhrn and Tauern routes are to be included in this category. The EU Parliament committee in charge was the Committee on Transport and Tourism. The EU institutions reached a provisional agreement on the revised regulation during the trialogue negotiations in December 2023. The final legislative text is expected to be published in April 2024. Another important dossier at EU level deals with the improvement of capacity and traffic management at European level. This new regulation replaces Regulation 913 / 2010 on the creation of a European rail network for competitive freight transport. It also amends Directive 2012 / 34 on the creation of a single European railway area. Its focus is on improving national and European processes, among other things to create more capacity on existing railway infrastructure. The Commission proposal was published in 2023. The focus on sector initiatives such as Timetable Redesign (TTR) should be viewed favourably from an ÖBB perspective. The EU Parliament committee in charge in is the Committee on Transport and Tourism. The final text of the law is expected at the end of 2025, depending on the negotiations between the EU Commission, the EU Parliament and the EU Council. 37 ÖBB Infrastruktur. 38 Tiroler Tageszeitung, BR24. 39 Süddeutsche Zeitung, SRF. 40 RCG. 41 Eisenbahn Aktuell. 42 LOK-Report. | MR17