The Austrian Federal Railways (German: Österreichische Bundesbahnen [ˈøːstɐraɪçɪʃə ˈbʊndəsˌbaːnən], formally Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft or ÖBB-Holding AG (lit. 'Austrian Federal Railways Holding Stock Company') and formerly the Bundesbahnen Österreich [ˈbʊndəsˌbaːnən ˈøːstɐraɪç] or BBÖ [beːbeːˈʔøː]), now commonly known as ÖBB ([øːbeːˈbeː]), is the national railway company of Austria, and the administrator of Liechtenstein's railways. The ÖBB group is owned entirely by the Republic of Austria, and is divided into several separate businesses that manage the infrastructure and operate passenger and freight services.
The Austrian Federal Railways has had two discrete periods of existence. It was first formed in 1923, using the Bundesbahn Österreich name, as a successor to the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways (kkStB), but was incorporated into the Deutsche Reichsbahn during the 1938–1945 Anschluss. It was reformed in 1947, under the slightly different name Österreichische Bundesbahnen, and remains in existence in this form.
Major changes currently being made to the Austrian railway network are the construction of the Koralm Railway, the Semmering Base Tunnel and the Brenner Base Tunnel connection with Italy.
Eurobarometer surveys conducted in 2018 showed that satisfaction levels of Austrian rail passengers are among the highest in the European Union when it comes to punctuality, reliability and frequency of trains. Furthermore, with their Nightjet brand, ÖBB operates Europe's largest night train fleet.
Unlike other major railway companies in Europe that offer more flexible cancellation policies, ÖBB only offers two types of tickets: full-price tickets, and cheaper but non-exchangeable and non-refundable tickets.
Contents
History
1882 – Gradual nationalisation of the railway network of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways (Kaiserlich-königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen, kkStB). By the outbreak of the World War I, the only major railway in Austria to remain in private hands was the Austrian Southern Railway (Südbahn).
1918 – After the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following the World War I, the Austrian rump of kkStB remained in state control under the name Deutschösterreichische Staatsbahnen (DÖStB), which was renamed the Österreichische Staatsbahnen (ÖStB) in 1919.
1923 – Foundation of the independent, commercial enterprise, the Bundesbahn Österreich (which used the abbreviation BBÖ, because ÖBB was already taken by the Swiss Oensingen-Balsthal-Bahn). This company took over the assets of the ÖStB and the Südbahn, together with other minor railways, like the Lower Austrian State Railways.
1938 – The Anschluss of Austria into the Third Reich. The BBÖ was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. During World War II about 41% of the Austrian railway network was destroyed.
1947 – The company was reformed using the slightly different name of Österreichische Bundesbahnen and the abbreviation ÖBB (by that time the Swiss private railway used the abbreviation SP for its goods wagons in international traffic, so its abbreviation ÖBB could now be appropriated) as a state-owned company. Their infrastructure was rebuilt and electrification was accelerated.
1969 – A new federal railway law was enacted. The ÖBB became a non-independent, economic entity, that was run as a branch of the government's industrial programme and remained entirely within the Federal budget.
1992 – The ÖBB were broken out of the federal budget and turned into company with its own legal status (a cross between a GmbH and an AG in Austrian commercial terms). The company is 100% owned by the Republic of Austria. This change had two primary aims: 1. It had to conform to EU rules on the admission of Austria into the European Union. 2. The financial demand on the public purse was to be reduced as a result of improvements in efficiency and the pressure of competition.
Current structure
By a law of August 2009, the organisational structure dating from 2005 was further modified; the railways are under the control of ÖBB-Holding AG, a holding company wholly owned by the Austrian state, under the Ministry of Transport.
The holding company has a number of subsidiaries:
ÖBB-Holding AG
ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG (Passenger transport)
ÖBB-Postbus GmbH
ÖBB-Produktion GmbH (50% shares)
ÖBB-Technische Services GmbH (75% shares) (railroad vehicle maintenance)
Rail Tours Touristik GmbH
iMobility GmbH (mobile app developer)
ÖV Ticketshop GmbH (online ticket distributor)
Rail Cargo Austria AG (RCA) (Freight transport)
Rail Cargo Hungaria Zrt.
ÖBB-Produktion GmbH (50% shares)
ÖBB-Technische Services GmbH (25% shares)
Rail Cargo Logistics – Austria GmbH
Rail Cargo Carrier Kft.
Rail Cargo Operator - CSKD s.r.o
ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG (Infrastructure planning, management, and construction)
ÖBB-Immobilienmanagement GmbH
Infrastructure
The infrastructure of the state-owned Austrian network is managed by ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, which was formed from former infrastructure-related units including Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH. It now manages 9,740 km of track, 788 signal boxes, 247 tunnels, 6,207 bridges and eight hydro-electric power (hep) stations for the 16.7 Hz electrification system, and two hep stations for 50 Hz power generation.
As of 2009 it employed 17,612 staff.
Statistics
According to the Annual Report 2013, the company employs 39,513, there of 13,599 employees, 24,251 tenured employees and 1,663 apprentices. In 2013, ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG carried 469 million passengers of which 235 million were bus passengers.
The ÖBB has
4,859 km (3,020 route miles); 72% electrified
1,128 train stations
1,093 locomotives
2,799 passenger vehicles
26,518 freight wagons
2,200 busses
ÖBB's bus services travel 52,500,000 km (32,621,988 mi) per year.
Principal lines
Western Railway from Wien Westbahnhof via St. Pölten Hauptbahnhof and Linz Hauptbahnhof to Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, including a parallel high-speed rail section ("New Western Railway") from Wien Meidling railway station to Linz
Southern Railway from Wien Hauptbahnhof/Wien Meidling to Graz Hauptbahnhof, including the Semmering railway section – a UNESCO World Heritage Site
continuation to Klagenfurt by the Koralm Railway (under construction)
Northern Railway from Wien Praterstern railway station to Břeclav, Czech Republic
Eastern Railway from Vienna Hauptbahnhof (under construction) to Hegyeshalom, Hungary and Budapest Keleti railway station
Emperor Franz Joseph Railway from Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof to Gmünd, Lower Austria and České Velenice, Czech Republic
Salzburg-Tyrol Railway from Salzburg Hauptbahnhof to Wörgl Hauptbahnhof
Enns Valley Railway from the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway at Bischofshofen to Selzthal
Pannonia Railway between Parndorf and Wulkaprodersdorf
Tauern Railway from the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway at Schwarzach/Sankt Veit to Spittal an der Drau via the Tauern Railway Tunnel
Lower Inn Valley Railway from the German border near Kufstein railway station via Wörgl Hauptbahnhof to Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof; to be relieved by the New Lower Inn Valley railway line (under construction), part of the Trans-European Berlin–Palermo railway axis
Rail links to adjacent countries
All neighbouring railways have the same gauge.
Czech Republic — voltage and frequency change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Germany — same voltage and frequency 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC
Hungary — voltage and frequency change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Italy — voltage and frequency change to 3 kV DC
Liechtenstein — same voltage and frequency 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC
Slovakia — voltage and frequency change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Slovenia — voltage and frequency change to 3 kV DC
Switzerland — same voltage and frequency 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC