After around two years of a corona-related break in operation, the City Airport Train resumed operations between Wien-Mitte train station and Wien-Schwechat vv airport on Tuesday. The first train left at 5:37 a.m.

The private railway company is a joint venture between the Austrian Federal Railways and Flughafen Wien AG. This circumstance became useful for the City Airport Train during the last two years, because the rolling stock could be rented to the ÖBB. For example, the wagons were also in use in Vorarlberg. Now they are back in Vienna and operate on their regular route between Wien-Mitte train station and Wien-Schwechat airport.

According to ÖBB-Personenverkehr-AG board member Sabine Stock, the Austrian Federal Railways offer up to eight connections to Austria's largest airport every hour. These are Railjet trains from the main station as well as in the Schnellbahn and RegionalExpress. Co-CEO Heinz Freunschlag adds that the three bus routes of Vienna Airport Lines, which are operated by ÖBB subsidiary Österreichische Postbus AG, run again as scheduled and therefore there are even more ways to get from the airport to the city – or vice versa.

Rail and aviation should complement each other

The question why you actually need the City Airport Train in addition is in the air. After all, the Schnellbahn and RegionalExpress trains from Wien-Mitte station, which the CAT also uses, only take a little more time. The main difference is in the price and the services around it. The ÖBB board members see the City Airport Train as an ideal supplement and as a premium product in airport transport. The climate ticket is on the CAT not valid, but there are holders of the ÖBB Vorteilscard and the Wiener Linien annual ticket 50 percent discount.

"Ancillary services" means that, depending on the airline, check-in and baggage check-in are possible in the City Air Terminal, which is located in the Wien-Mitte train station. Passengers can then – with their boarding card and baggage tag in hand – go straight through the airport security checkpoint and to the gate. There is no need to visit the check-in counter at the airport. The use of the service in the city center is linked to a CAT ticket. This is - in direct comparison with the ÖBB trains and the Vienna Airport Lines of the Postbus - more expensive.

Freunschlag also emphasized that in his opinion there is no serious competition between the rail and airline modes of transport. You have to work together and not against each other, because "if you want to go to Malta or New York, you simply won't get there by train". The ÖBB manager describes the cooperation with Vienna-Schwechat Airport as “very good”. The aim of connecting rail and air travel must be that even more passengers travel to and from the airport by train or bus and do without their own car. It would not only be about Vienna, but about all of Austria, because many passengers would have to travel long distances to be able to fly from Vienna-Schwechat.

"The airport is forecasting more passengers again from Easter, and that also means more passengers for the City Airport Train - we expect around 600.000 passengers in 2022 as a whole," say CAT Managing Directors Christoph Korherr and Michael Forstner. “Air travelers, especially tourists and business travellers, are looking for and appreciate a fast and direct connection to the city center and the CAT offers exactly that – the fastest direct connection from the airport directly to the city center of Vienna. But we also want to convince the Viennese population of the advantages of the CAT and are therefore offering a 50 percent discount for holders of Wiener Linien annual tickets or ÖBB advantage cards.”

Airport Board: "Were ahead of our time"

Vienna City Councilor Peter Hanke is of the opinion that the City of Vienna absolutely needs the City Airport Train. This would be part of the promise of quality and would also make an active contribution to climate protection, since fewer trips by car would have to be made. Tourism boss Norbert Kettner is of the opinion that Vienna is not a low-cost destination, but a quality destination. In order to meet this requirement, you need this non-stop connection to the city center.

Airport board member Julian Jäger is sticking to the current forecast that around 17 million passengers will use the airport this year. At the moment you are at about half the traffic volume that you had in the same period of 2019. The airlines give feedback that Easter and summer are particularly busy. The North American routes are said to be in high demand at the moment. Jäger also emphasizes that the CAT train is also used actively by airport employees and that the City Airport Train management wants to address the local market more strongly with the new cooperation with the ÖBB Vorteilscard and Wiener Linien is correct .

Co-CEO Günther Ofner considers the City Airport Train to be a symbol that shows that flying and train travel can be combined in a meaningful way. The Executive Board acted with foresight and set the course in the right direction more than a decade ago. At that time, climate protection was not really an issue. In the coming year, Vienna International Airport intends to be carbon dioxide neutral for the first time.