Schienen-Control Newsletter Schienen-Control
7th Symposium of Schienen-Control - Review
On October 4, the 7th Schienen-Control Symposium Schienen-Control current topics in competition regulation took place at the Urania in Vienna. Once again this year, we welcomed high-profile speakers on exciting topics.
Schienen-Control welcomed international rail experts and other interested parties to a symposium on current topics relating to competition regulation in the rail sector. The event featured discussions on European developments, such as current audits by the European Court of Auditors, initiatives by the ERA (European Union Agency for Railways) with regard to cross-border transport, and relevant recent rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
After a welcome address by Schienen-Control Maria-Theresia Röhsler, in which she addressed the challenges facing Schienen-Control regard to the authority's funding basis and the increasing complexity of railway regulation procedures, the participants turned their attention to the European railway sector. Manja Ernst from the European Court of Auditors and Dr. Josef Doppelbauer, Executive Director of ERA, gave presentations on strengthening competitiveness in the European rail sector and the challenges of cross-border rail transport. Prof. Dr. Urs Kramer from the University of Passau presented recent ECJ rulings relating to the regulation of the rail transport market and specifically addressed their significance for regulators and future legal interpretation.
The second part of the event focused more on consumer issues. These include, for example, the difficulties involved in booking international rail travel compared to air travel. Another issue is the lack of clarity regarding passenger rights in connection with through tickets or rail travel with one or more transfers was also discussed. In addition, the rail test by "VCÖ – Mobility with a Future, "a study on Austrians' satisfaction with rail travel was presented.
Thomas Preslmayr, an engineer from the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, presented a study on the bookability of international train tickets and pointed out that almost a third of people who want to book a trip abroad by train fail to do so through no fault of their own. Mag. Norman Schadler from the Agency for Passenger Rights discussed the legal aspects of through tickets in international passenger transport . The symposium was concluded by Dipl. Ing. Lina Mosshammer from "VCÖ – Mobility with a Future," who presented the latest rail test on Austrians' general satisfaction with rail travel and suggested improvements based on the results.
More than 100 experts from the fields of law, politics, and the railway sector took part in the exchange. We would like to thank all participants and hope for another lively exchange between the experts next year. The presentations and pictures from the event can be found here!
New Schienen-Control begins work
The new Schienen-Control has begun its work following its reappointment by the federal government.
On October 5, 2022, the members of the Schienen-Control (SCK) were appointed or reappointed by the federal government on the recommendation of the Federal Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology. The SCK is an independent administrative authority consisting of experts from the transport sector. The main tasks of the SCK include monitoring competition, ensuring non-discriminatory access to railway infrastructure and service facilities, conducting official proceedings, proceedings based on complaints from participants in the rail transport market, and responsibilities in the area of fare compensation.
The SCK also has responsibilities in the areas of network timetable planning, service facilities, services, setting track access charges, protecting passenger rights, accounting for integrated railway companies, reviewing economic equilibrium, complaints concerning connecting railways, and rail network usage conditions.
The SCK consists of a total of six members – for the current term of office until December 31, 2026, these are:
Chairman:
Judge Dr. Robert Streller
Deputy Chair:
Judge Dr. Andreas Huber
Other members:
Retired judge Dr. Karl-Johann Hartig
Mag. Sylvia Leodolter
Substitute members:
Norbert Fürst
Dr. Nicola Gatternig-Spitzy
Market observation: Record number of passengers in long-distance transport
In terms of market observation, ÖBB Personenverkehr AG set a new record last summer with 12.2 million passengers. The current timetable change brings extended night train connections to Genoa and Stuttgart, as well as additional daytime connections on the southern and western routes.
ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG reports positive summer results
ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG has reported extremely positive results for the summer of 2022: 12.2 million passengers on long-distance routes represent an increase of around 18 percent, even compared to the previous record year of 2019. Capacity expansion is also planned by 2030. capacity expansion of around 30 percent compared to this year. In addition, with the timetable change on December 11, there will be extended night train connections to Genoa and Stuttgart, additional daytime connections on the southern and western routes , and more frequent services on existing routes such as the suburban line in Vienna or between Bischofshofen and Schladming.
Market figures Q3/2022
ÖBB Infrastructure's performance data for the third quarter of 2022 shows a slight increase of two percent in freight transport performance (in gross ton-kilometers) compared to 2021. This means that the level prior to the coronavirus crisis has once again been significantly exceeded. Although there was a five percent decline compared to the second quarter of 2022, this is partly due to the seasonality of the data.
Passenger transport also saw growth: from the third quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022, passenger train kilometers traveled increased by three percent, which represents a decline of approximately one percent compared to the second quarter of 2022. Aggregated over the first three quarters, the number of passenger train journeys on the ÖBB network reached a historic high in 2022.
Rail Cargo Austria's transport performance declined by four percent compared to the second quarter of 2022 and by two percent compared to the third quarter of 2021. Its market share currently stands at just over 60 percent, which is more than two percentage points lower than in 2021 as a whole.
The share of "traditional" block train transport in total freight transport currently stands at 40 percent, which, together with combined freight transport (UKV + RoLa), accounts for more than 70 percent. The remaining 30 percent is accounted for by declining single wagon transport. The proportionate increase in block train transport compared to the previous year is striking.
Other market observations
Die Bau Beton GmbH , together with ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, put a new connecting railway line into operation at the Freudenau port in November. The facility will now be used to transport up to 80,000 tons of gravel and binding agents by rail each year.
The Bavarian Oberland Railway (BOB) has received a new safety certificate for Austria, valid until 2025.
ÖBB Infrastruktur AG has installed its first wind turbine for power generation in the railway sector . The electricity is fed directly into the overhead line, which means that trains can be supplied directly. According to ÖBB, the plant is still a prototype – further wind turbines are to follow.
With the annual timetable change, Czech rail operator RegioJet will once again be running three daily services on the temporarily suspended direct route between Vienna Airport and Brno.
The rail transport companies twentyone and Flixtrain are currently no longer authorized to order and operate train paths in Austria. Twentyone has provided occasional passenger and freight transport services to date.
IRG-Rail Plenary meets in Dubrovnik
New reports from IRG-Rail provide information on regulatory access to sidings, show how the concept of direct costs has been implemented in Europe, provide an overview of fees for traction current, and cover initiatives in the field of Mobility as a Service (MaaS). The reports were adopted by the second IRG-Rail Plenary of the year in Dubrovnik and are available on the IRG-Rail website .
On November 15 and 16, representatives of Europe's rail market regulators gathered in Dubrovnik for the second plenary meeting of the Independent Regulators' Group-Rail (IRG-Rail). Several working groups presented reports to the plenary for approval and subsequent publication. Schienen-Control represented by ManagingDirector Maria-Theresia Röhsler, among others.
The report on the various interpretations chosen in Europe for regulating access to sidings illustrates the scope for interpretation afforded by Directive 2012/34 (recast) and Implementing Regulation 2015/909, and how this scope is being used by Member States.
Another report provides a concise and practical introduction to the calculation of direct costs in accordance with Article 31(3) of Directive 2012/34, summarizing the findings of three previously published reports and bringing them up to date. It contains case studies from ten countries, including Austria. Of great relevance in light of current events relating to energy prices is the overview of fees for traction current compiled by the working group on fees for service facilities.
In addition, a report was adopted that provides an overview of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and presents initial initiatives and case studies from across Europe.
The reports mentioned are available for download on the IRG-Rail website.
apf arbitration board reports record year in the rail sector
In 2022, the apf arbitration board has so far received more than 5,300 arbitration requests in the areas of rail, bus, air, and ship transport, and has opened almost 3,900 proceedings. Of these, 839 proceedings (approx. 21 percent of the total) relate to the rail sector. This means that the number of arbitration proceedings in the rail sector has already exceeded the previous record year of 2012. With 1,053 arbitration requests, the apf has also exceeded the previous record set in 2019 (1,047).
As the national arbitration and enforcement body, apf handles numerous complaints from rail passengers. The requirements for initiating proceedings are deliberately kept simple in the area of arbitration. To initiate proceedings, all that is required is that the passenger (complainant) has unsuccessfully attempted to contact the company and that a contract of carriage exists.
As of December 13, more than 1,050 arbitration requests had been received by the apf railway arbitration board. Of these, a total of 839 arbitration proceedings were initiated. A common reason for rejecting a case is failure to make initial contact with the railway company. Frequent reasons for complaints in 2022 include fines on trains, ticket refunds, delays, and train cancellations, which occurred more frequently during the 2022 summer travel season. The issue of clearing overcrowded trains played a rather minor role. The effects of the rail strike on November 28 are hardly reflected in these statistics.
The aim of arbitration is to reach an agreement between the applicant and the railway company. The apf has succeeded in reaching such an agreement in 99% of the cases it has opened. Currently, proceedings in the apf arbitration board take an average of nine days from the date of application to completion.