Schienen-Control 2022: Record passenger traffic – freight transport under pressure
Schienen-Control 2022: Record passenger traffic – freight transport under pressure
The regulatory authority's annual report shows a new record in passenger transport services. Freight transport, on the other hand, is growing only slowly. In its annual report, Schienen-Control stock of the market data for passenger and freight transport in Austria and the competition proceedings before the Schienen-Control .
The report is available at: http://www.schienencontrol.gv.at/de/presse1.html available
Record passenger traffic, freight traffic with room for improvement
In passenger transport, all performance indicators rose sharply in 2022. This continued the growth trend seen in the years prior to 2020. In rail freight transport, however, freight volumes and transport performance remained largely constant. Due to an increase in passenger numbers, passenger kilometers traveled rose by more than 50 percent. The main reason for this was the phasing out of measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting return to workplaces and schools. At the same time, rail services were expanded to record levels through additions to long-distance services, general increases in the frequency of timetables, and extensions to operating hours in local transport. The average distance traveled per passenger was 43.9 km in 2022 – a record figure.
In rail freight transport, market data showed slight growth rates of 1.4 and 2.4 percent for both net and gross ton-kilometers*. In contrast, there was a slight decline of 0.8 percent in net tons transported in 2022. Rail Cargo Austria's market share declined once again (60.8 percent), while that of privately owned railways reached a new high of 24.7 percent.
It is also worth noting that the number of companies with a market share of at least three percent has almost doubled to eight (previous year: five companies).
Viewed by route category, competitors' market shares increased across the board in 2022. Particularly noteworthy in this context are the high market shares of more than 50 percent on the Brenner and western axes. This means that more than half of all gross tonne-kilometers on two of Austria's three main transit axes are now handled by railway companies outside the ÖBB Group.
The general economic situation for freight transport was mixed in 2022. The main indicators for rail freight transport still show growth rates for the first half of the year, but stagnation sets in during the second half. For 2022 as a whole, this means that transport performance (net ton-kilometers, gross ton-kilometers) increased in the low single-digit range, while volume (net tons transported) declined to a similar extent.
In 2022, freight transport in Austria will face particular challenges in the form of a shortage of skilled workers, bottlenecks in the availability of rolling stock (locomotives and freight cars), high energy prices (traction current), and numerous construction sites and diversions at home and abroad. These factors have a significant impact on the competitiveness of the sector. The drop in oil prices is also leading to greater pressure to shift freight transport to road.
With 65 companies, more than ever before were authorized to operate trains on the ÖBB network. A total of 86 railway companies (infrastructure, integrated, transport companies) were registered in 2022.
A survey of railway companies conducted by Schienen-Control an overall very positive assessment of the Austrian market. The highest ratings were given to train path allocation, the language skills of railway staff, and the quality of training facilities. The industry saw room for improvement in terms of competition from other modes of transport, inconsistent EU-wide regulations on the issuance of safety certificates, and regulatory requirements in the area of human resources. Overall, the domestic railway market received better ratings than the foreign market.
Regulatory work for railway companies (procedure)
In the reporting year 2022, the Schienen-Control (SCK) initiated proceedings in the areas of service facilities and services, track access charges, and access to railway infrastructure, thereby contributing to the further liberalization of the rail transport market.
An important task of Schienen-Control to mediate in track conflicts between the infrastructure operator and transport companies. In 2022, two proceedings were conducted in this regard—on the one hand, the RailJet stop in Vöcklabruck was secured, and on the other hand, diversions were agreed upon in a discussion between the licensing authority, the regulatory authority, and the railway transport company, so that traffic could continue despite construction work.
The Schienen-Control conducted proceedings concerning shunting services in Tyrol. A railway undertaking (RU) claimed that the service operator had refused to provide services it had requested. Schienen-Control mediate between the RU and the service operator and find a satisfactory solution for both parties.
In the 2022 reporting year, the Schienen-Control conducted proceedings concerning the station charges of Austria's largest station operator. In the course of the proceedings, the station operator developed a demarcation model that regulates the demarcation of service facility assets from those of the minimum access package.
A procedure concerning wagon inspector services revealed that railway companies were being treated unequally with regard to clearing fees. Following an investigation by the Schienen-Control , a decision was issued declaring the fees for wagon inspector services to be invalid.
The Schienen-Control conducted proceedings concerning the obligation for railway undertakings to transmit their train and wagon data ( minimum operational data) to the railway infrastructure operator. This transmission was possible for a railway undertaking in rail freight transport via an interface, but not for other market participants. In the course of the proceedings, the infrastructure company ensured that it would take over the competitor's data interface and make it available to all railway undertakings on a non-discriminatory basis until a successor system was put into operation.