“We are breaking records,” he said, stressing that “demand for us is very high.” At the same time, there are “more construction sites than ever before” on the railway lines. However, these are necessary to avoid “German conditions,” said the railway boss.
He was referring to extensive repair and maintenance measures by Deutsche Bahn, which include the general renovation of the Rhine-Danube-RFC9 rail freight corridor, the most important east-west connection across continental Europe. And the problems with long-distance traffic would then continue in local traffic. Matthä commented on the fact that the Federal Railways had sold train equipment in the past in order to now rent back capacity: “Not everything is always satisfactory, that’s true.” But this happened before his time as CEO of the ÖBB.
Staffing situation is “tight, sometimes too tight”
The staffing situation, which the union criticised as precarious, is “tight, sometimes too tight”, and the railways have an “enormous need”. Matthä also sees this in the harmonization of national rules in rail transport. These differences have historical reasons, but now it is time “to stop this nonsense, we need more Europe”.
The recent expansion of the Austrian Federal Railways into Bavarian local transport is “challenging” and the fact that no money is currently being made from it is not unusual given the short period of time. The commitment must be seen “in a longer context”.
His wish for politicians is that the infrastructure framework plan – to which “all parties that are included in the constitution” have committed – is also implemented; this would be a “role model” for other European countries.
ÖBB is heading for a passenger record
As the railway emphasized today, it is “heading for another passenger record in 2024.” According to the report, the increase in the first half of the year was ten percent compared to the previous record year of 2019. Foreign trips, for example to Germany, are particularly in demand. “The ÖBB is prepared for these developments and will invest more than six billion euros in new and modern trains by 2030. 330 new trains for local and long-distance traffic have been ordered and are being continuously added to the fleet,” said the domestic logistics group.
And the railway promises: “In time for the start of school in eastern Austria, the summer construction sites will be completed on time and the entire rail service will be running.” This means that the “thinning out” in the eastern region will be completely reversed and the ÖBB will be running regularly again.
Gastronomically everything goes as usual
In terms of gastronomy, everything is going as usual. Travelers on ÖBB long-distance trains will continue to be catered for by Wiener Donhauser GmbH (DoN’s). The caterer was the best bidder in a Europe-wide tender, and the collaboration with the Federal Railways has been going on since 2008. The focus is on products of Austrian origin from regional suppliers, and more than 30 percent of the products on offer are organically certified and 75 percent come from Austria, DoN’s recently said.
Last year, ÖBB posted a profit before tax (EBT) of 112 million euros and is currently one of the largest employers in the country with a good 45,000 employees. Around 5,000 new employees were hired in 2023.
