The Austrian Federal Railways are resisting the Westbahn’s plan to run up to five times a day between Vienna and Innsbruck from December 2022. In the course of the train path allocation procedure, which is carried out by the rail control regulatory authority, this wants an examination of the “economic balance”.

The federal railways also accuse the private challenger of using the desired routes applied too late. ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG is the operator of most rail routes and train stations in Austria. Some routes are owned by federal states and/or private companies. However, this is not relevant for the Tyrol connection planned by Westbahn, since rails and stations on the desired route are operated continuously by ÖBB.

These must grant private providers access to their route network. However, not free of charge, because a kind of toll has to be paid for each kilometer driven. Station fees also have to be paid for using the stations. Electricity or diesel for the locomotives is also not included.

In relation to the planned Innsbruck journeys, a procedure is currently being carried out by the rail control, which is responsible for allocating the train paths. This has requested further documents from both the Westbahn and the ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG. After deposits, the authority has six weeks to make a decision. Irrespective of the decision: This can then be challenged before an administrative court.

The prospects that the Western Railway will be able to operate between Vienna and Innsbruck as early as December 2022 are not good at the moment. The rail control takes the view that the private railway company reported the project much too late. You have to submit around 18 months in advance, but Westbahn only registered the train paths in April 2022. The Austrian Federal Railways also believe that the route in Tyrol, which is already heavily used, will be overloaded and could affect the reliability of the train services ordered by the state of Tyrol. Therefore, an in-depth examination was requested from the rail control. Taking into account the fact that both parties have legal recourse after the decision by the regulatory authority, it could be extremely close for a final decision by December 2022.

Hydrogen trains for the Zillertal Railway

Completely independent of this, another innovation is in the offing in Tyrol. The Tiroler Tageszeitung reports that the Verkehrsverbund Tirol will set up a subsidiary called “Rail Vehicles Tirol GmbH”. These are to be used to buy modern hydrogen trains, which are then to be leased to local railway companies.

This is also due to the fact that ordered rail transport has to be re-tendered every ten years. In the event of a change of operator, the state of Tyrol wants to ensure that the sets remain the same. It is currently about the Zillertal Railway, where the transport service contract is being renegotiated.

This route is currently operated with diesel railcars. That should change, because in the future we want to have vehicles that run on hydrogen in the tank on the track. Any electrification is considered uneconomical. With the construction, the country wants to ensure that the traction units are rented to the operator, that the same trains will run even after a new tender, completely regardless of who gets the contract.