Schienen-Control Newsletter Schienen-Control
IRG-Rail publishes 13th Market Monitoring Report on the European railway market
Austria back among the European leaders in rail travel.
The annual report published by the Interregional Rail Group (IRG-Rail) for the previous year provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the railway sector. It contains detailed information on railway infrastructure, infrastructure usage charges, market participants, and freight and passenger transport markets. Due to varying reporting requirements in the member states, the report always covers the year before last. The figures paint a mixed picture: while demand for passenger transport rose sharply again, rail freight transport recorded significant losses.
Austria leads EU countries in passenger transport
In 2023, the number of passenger kilometers (pkm) increased by 12 percent across Europe compared to the previous year. This also meant that the pre-crisis level from 2019 was slightly exceeded for the first time. Both publicly commissioned passenger transport as part of public services and commercial, non-commissioned passenger transport contributed to this growth. Despite continued high inflation averaging 7 percent in the IRG Rail countries, demand for rail travel remained strong, while general economic activity in other sectors (such as industry) declined.
As in previous years, Switzerland has the highest number of passenger kilometers per capita. Austria ranks first within the EU with 1,597 kilometers traveled by rail per capita. France is close behind (1,542 km), followed at a respectable distance by Sweden (1,261 km). Austria thus significantly exceeded its own record from 2019 (1,507 km).
Weak economy weighs on rail freight transport
Unlike passenger transport, rail freight transport suffered significant losses in 2023. Transport performance (net ton-kilometers) fell by 8 percent compared to the previous year 2022. Cross-border transport was particularly affected: Europe-wide cross-border transport volume fell by 13 percent, causing the share of international freight transport in total freight transport to drop to a historic low of 48 percent.
Cost trends: Infrastructure and energy costs affect rail companies
The track access charges levied by infrastructure operators developed unevenly: while they rose in passenger transport, they fell in freight transport, which essentially reflects the development of traffic. Infrastructure operators' expenditure on maintenance and renewal rose by 19 percent per route kilometer in 2023, with the focus on the latter.
European rail transport companies recorded rising revenues in passenger transport in 2023, which were 9 percent above the previous year's level and, not least due to inflation, were even 13 percent higher than in 2019. Despite declining transport volumes, revenues in rail freight transport also rose, which can also be attributed primarily to price increases.
Energy costs saw a contrasting trend: on the one hand, driven by lower oil prices, the cost of diesel fell by 19 percent in 2023. In contrast, the cost per kilowatt hour of traction current rose by the same amount, which significantly increased the operating expenses of many rail operators.
About IRG-Rail
IRG-Rail was founded in June 2011 as an association of European railway regulatory authorities. The network's 31 members provided their statistical analyses for the report. The aim of IRG-Rail is to further strengthen cooperation between regulatory authorities and to promote the creation of a single, competitive, efficient, and sustainable railway market in Europe.
The full report is available on the IRG-Rail website at https://irg-rail.eu/irg/documents/market-monitoring.
Schienen-Control negotiations in accordance with Section 68a of the EisbG (German Railway Act)
Proceedings concerning charges for access to railway infrastructure, service facilities, and services provided by a railway infrastructure company that also operates service facilities have been pending before the Schienen-Control for several years. Negotiations between the opposing parties have now taken place.
The opposing parties in the proceedings are the access rights holders (mainly railway undertakings) and the railway infrastructure operator. The main subject matter of the proceedings is to examine whether the amount of the costs on which the charges are based comply with the statutory cost benchmark.
At the beginning of 2024, the railway infrastructure company informed the Schienen-Control that it intended to conduct negotiations with track capacity holders in accordance with Section 68a of the Railway Infrastructure Act (EisbG) on the level of fees in order to achieve a balance between the conflicting claims. Negotiations are generally only permissible if they are conducted under the supervision of the authority. Subsequently, negotiations were conducted under the supervision of the authority with the aim of achieving legal peace between the access holders and the railway infrastructure company.
As these negotiations did not pose any risk of violating the provisions governing the setting of charges, the authority discontinued the proceedings at the end of 2024. The railway infrastructure company subsequently submitted draft amendments to the rail network usage conditions to the Schienen-Control , setting out new charges, which are currently still being reviewed by the authority.
New developments in service facilities and connecting railways in 2024
As part of the annual Schienen-Control survey, comprehensive data on service facilities and connecting railways in Austria Schienen-Control again collected in 2024. The aim is to further increase transparency in the rail transport market and to present developments in the field of railway infrastructure in a comprehensible manner.
In 2024, there was a slight increase in the number of service facilities available. Particularly noteworthy is the expansion of the range of charging points: with a total of 437 locations (four more than in the previous year), the network has been further densified. At some loading stations, roll-off containers can now also be loaded from road to rail.
In the area of transport stations, significant infrastructure improvements were implemented with the opening of the new Seekirchen Stadt station, including park-and-ride facilities, and the modernization of several stations, including those in Deutschkreutz, Gramatneusiedl, and Vienna Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof. At the same time, individual stops, such as Patsch and Unterberg-Stefansbrücke, were taken out of service.
Another important step was the start of construction of a new workshop for the new double-decker local transport trainsets of ÖBB Passenger Transport in Vienna Floridsdorf.
The increasing electrification is also reflected in the energy balance: diesel consumption at ÖBB filling stations has been reduced by 9 percent and now stands at 28.6 million liters—a decrease of around 45 percent compared to 2008.
Connecting railways – stable usage, regional differences remain
The importance of connecting railways for shifting freight transport to rail will remain high in 2024. With a slight increase to 1.17 million wagons provided (+2.9 percent), modest growth was recorded.
A total of 494 connecting railways were actually served, 468 of which were directly connected to the ÖBB infrastructure network. At the same time, the number of unused connecting railways connected to the network increased slightly.
As in previous years, particularly high turnover figures were recorded by the connecting railways of voestalpine in Linz and Donawitz, Linz Service GmbH, EHG Ennshafen, and Sappi Austria.
There were also contractual changes: new connecting rail contracts were concluded in Vienna Meidling, Braunau am Inn, and Schwarzach-St. Veit, among other places. However, some contracts were terminated due to temporary route closures.
In the regulatory area, access to connecting railways—in particular to so-called branched connecting railways—was further specified. Operators still have the option of applying for relief under certain conditions in accordance with Section 75a of the EisbG.
Arbitration board receives record number of applications in the rail sector
In 2024, the apf recorded 1,412 arbitration requests in the rail sector (2023: 1,307). This represents an increase of eight percent compared to 2023 and is a new record since the agency was established!
In 2024, apf concluded 1,073 arbitration proceedings in the rail sector (2023: 978) – also a record figure. In only four percent of these proceedings was it not possible to mediate an agreement between the rail company and the passengers.
Passengers primarily contacted the apf regarding rail transport due to refunds for online tickets in PDF format, fines in local and regional transport (Vienna Airport), service restrictions on night trains, delays in complaint processing by rail companies, and missed connecting flights due to train delays.
The vast majority of cases—around 94 percent—in 2024 related to Austria's largest rail company, ÖBB-Personenverkehr. WESTbahn Management GmbH came in second with around two percent of the proceedings. One percent of the proceedings each were attributable to One Mobility GmbH (KlimaTicket), transport associations (e.g., VOR), and inner-city transport companies (e.g., Wiener Linien).
In 1,073 completed proceedings, apf achieved monetary compensation totaling €186,673 in 2024. This is the second-highest total amount achieved in the rail sector after the figure for 2023 (€203,705). apf thus achieved an average of €174 per completed case for passengers in compensation, refunds, and penalty reductions.
In 2024, a total of 7,333 arbitration requests were submitted to the apf across all modes of transport (+11% compared to 2023). In 2024, the apf achieved a total amount of monetary compensation, refunds, and penalty reductions of around €2.45 million for applicants (2023: €2.5 million).