Schienen-Control Newsletter Schienen-Control

Save the date – Schienen-Control symposium – Register now!

On Monday, November 24, 2025, Schienen-Control will Schienen-Control host its annual symposium at the Urania Vienna. The event provides a central meeting place for the railway industry. Current legal, regulatory, and, last but not least, practical issues relating to passenger and freight transport will be discussed.

The event not only offers high-caliber presentations, but also the opportunity to network with decision-makers and practitioners in the industry.

An excerpt from the program:

Opening presentation: Added value of efficient regulation for the rail system (Maria-Theresia Röhsler, Managing Director, Schienen-Control )

Barriers to market entry in Austria (Patrick Kröll, Managing Director, Silverstar Railways GmbH)

Impact of new technologies on "smaller" companies (Andreas Mandl, Chairman, Professional Association of Railways)

Legal framework and examples of international regulation (Prof. Dr. Urs Kramer, University of Passau)

NEW Capacity Regulation – Regulation at European level (Elisabeth Hochhold, Head of Legal Department, Rail Net Europe)

Afterwards, we invite you to join us for informal refreshments and drinks—the perfect opportunity for personal exchange.

Secure your place now and register here: SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION

We look forward to welcoming you to the symposium!

Schienen-Control annual report Schienen-Control 2024 published

Schienen-Control 2024 published: More competition – but hardly any growth in rail freight transport – passenger transport at record high.

The 2024 annual report published by Schienen-Control in July Schienen-Control record figures for rail passenger transport, but an ambivalent picture for rail freight transport in Austria: while the freight transport market is developing increasingly dynamically and competition is fierce, growth in the sector is virtually stagnating. The reasons for this are the economic situation, but also international construction sites and problems in recruiting personnel and rolling stock.

Record figures in passenger transport

Passenger numbers were boosted significantly by service expansions, increased frequency, and new connections. Particularly noteworthy are the opening of the Carinthian section of the Koralmbahn railway and additional services in the Vienna area. There was also an expansion in interregional long-distance transport, for example with new connections between Linz and Graz, Vienna and Villach, as well as additional night train connections and extended WESTbahn routes. Overall, a record level of 138.5 million passenger train kilometers was achieved. Passenger numbers rose by six percent compared to the previous year to 348.7 million. The total number of passenger kilometers traveled amounted to 15 billion.

Private freight railways are catching up – Rail Cargo Austria loses ground slightly

Rail Cargo Austria remained the market leader in freight transport in 2024 with a share of 57.3 percent of net ton-kilometers—a decline of 0.3 percentage points. Private rail companies (including Ecco-Rail, Lokomotion, and CargoServ) followed in second place with a total share of 27.6 percent. Private railways already dominated rail freight transport on the main transit axes (western axis, Brenner) with market shares of around 60 percent.

More competition, but no improvement in performance

"More slices of cake – but the cake remains the same size," is how Maria-Theresia Röhsler, managing director of Schienen-Control, sums up the situation. "Despite the increasing number of providers, rail freight transport performance has been stagnating for years. Although there was a slight increase in net and gross ton-kilometers in 2024, the economic situation, the decline in demand for rail-friendly goods, and restrictions due to flooding and extensive construction-related diversions have set clear limits on the sector." In addition, the growth in passenger transport in a mixed network such as Austria's will eventually become a capacity issue for freight transport as well.

Flexible train paths urgently needed

Almost a third of total transport performance in 2024 was provided via short-term ad hoc train paths – and over 40 percent in the case of private railways. This shows that the demand for flexible but reliable train paths is increasing. "Rail freight transport needs adequate train paths and European coordination of construction sites," argues Röhsler.

Structural challenges threaten single-carriage transport

Economic pressure on the single wagonload transport market segment continues to increase, despite subsidies. This form of freight transport is crucial for regions located far from large terminals, but is hardly economically viable anymore. In addition, personnel and material shortages as well as the closure of various connecting railways are increasingly limiting the industry's responsiveness, especially in international transport.

The full annual report is available at: https://www.schienencontrol.gv.at/de/publikationen.html and contains further information on the passenger and freight transport market, price developments, and the procedures of Schienen-Control .

Qualitative market survey for 2024 reveals top trends in the industry

The Austrian rail transport market scores highly in terms of training facilities, personnel, and timetable quality—but bottlenecks in train paths due to construction sites and diversions pose challenges for the industry.

The latest report by Schienen-Control qualitative market assessment for 2024 paints a clear picture: while Austria continues to achieve top marks in many areas of rail transport in a European comparison, key challenges for competition are intensifying at the same time. The report is based on a systematic survey of railway companies operating in Austria using a school grading system, with a response rate of just under 80 percent.

Austria better than the EU average – especially in terms of infrastructure quality

 The Schienen-Control evaluation Schienen-Control that domestic conditions perform better than those in other European countries in almost all categories—this is particularly evident in the condition of the network, training facilities, and timetable quality. Training facilities, for example, achieve the top score of 2.0. The train driver's license (2.04) and the language skills of staff (2.06) are also cited as consistently positive factors.

Competition with road transport and increasing technical complexity across the industry are the biggest challenges

Companies once again cite competition from other modes of transport, especially road transport, as the biggest obstacle to new traffic. This factor was rated worse than ever before at 3.82 (out of 5) and, in the view of Schienen-Control , is Schienen-Control consequence of structurally distorted framework conditions such as lower personnel costs, lower taxes, and a lack of pricing for external costs in truck and air traffic.

Factors relating to technical specifications and new technologies also received poor ratings:

• Safety technology (ETCS) deteriorated significantly (to 3.14) – particularly due to a lack of compatibility and high costs for cross-border transport.
• Country-specific exceptions to EU technical specifications (TSI) are criticized with a score of 3.09—according to respondents, they prevent genuine interoperability and lead to unnecessary additional costs.

Rolling stock and energy: costs are rising – availability is falling

According to industry statements, the availability and costs of key operating resources continue to deteriorate. Traction vehicles (3.08) and energy (2.87) are examples of a tense market situation. At the same time, companies are criticizing track access charges—both their structure (2.52) and the specific amount for freight transport (2.84).

About the survey

"With this market assessment, we have been providing a sound, systematically comparable basis for the situation of rail transport in Austria for almost 20 years – thereby enabling targeted improvements and effective competition,"says Maria-Theresia Röhsler, Managing Director of Schienen-Control .

The assessment not only serves as an early warning system for policymakers, but also supports market participants in their investment decisions and shows where the course needs to be reset in order to maintain or expand competitiveness.

Since 2006, Schienen-Control has been conducting Schienen-Control survey of railway companies' subjective assessments of a total of 41 factors influencing market access and the development of new traffic. The survey provides a differentiated picture of the situation and offers deep insights into the framework conditions of the industry. The report is based on a systematic survey of railway companies operating in Austria – currently with a response rate of just under 80 percent.

Revision of Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2021/782

The European Commission is currently conducting a targeted revision of Regulation (EU) 2021/782 on rail passengers' rights and obligations. The ongoing consultation focuses on the rules governing through tickets (Article 12), which are of central importance for cross-border rail transport.

In the statement issued by the Agency for Passenger Rights, we emphasized that the lack of passenger rights in connection with through tickets is a major obstacle to the attractiveness of rail transport. While air and bus connections often allow for through bookings with uniform rights, rail passengers are often limited to fragmented offers without clearly defined rights. Numerous complaints from passengers to the conciliation body of the Agency for Passenger Rights confirm this problem.

Although Article 12 in its current version obliges railway undertakings to make reasonable efforts to provide through tickets, it allows considerable leeway. From the apf's point of view, selective amendments to the article are not sufficient to significantly improve the situation. The apf has therefore drawn up a completely revised proposal for Article 12, which is intended to regulate passenger rights more clearly and bindingly.

The key points of the apf proposal are:

Binding definition: Tickets for consecutive journeys for the purpose of continuous transportation are generally considered through tickets, regardless of where or how they were purchased.

Liability rules: In the case of a purchase transaction via a company, full liability shall apply in accordance with Articles 18-20; in the case of several railway companies, liability may be limited to 75%.

Combination by passengers: If tickets are combined by the persons making the booking themselves, they are only valid as through tickets under certain conditions (e.g., reasonable minimum transfer time, purchase before departure, proof of reservation or train connection).

Clarification regarding ownership structure: Railway undertakings attributable to the same owner shall be considered a single railway undertaking for the purposes of this Article.

The aim of the apf is to use this proposal to contribute to a practical and, at the same time, consumer-friendly revision of Article 12. This should significantly strengthen rail transport in cross-border passenger transport compared to other modes of transport.

The full proposal was published on the European Commission's platform as part of the public consultation process.