Climate ticket and rail offer: Austrians rely on rail!

Climate ticket and rail offer: Austrians rely on rail!

More and more people in Austria are choosing to use the train instead of the car. According to information from EcoNews The current VCÖ rail test 2025, which surveyed over 9,000 passengers, shows that 58% of those surveyed are now covering rail routes that they previously traveled by car. For seniors, this proportion is an impressive 81%. The climate ticket plays a crucial role here: 71% of passengers and 85% of the older generation say that purchasing this ticket was the decisive factor in their switching.

In addition, the usable travel time on the train for 58% of those surveyed and an improved train service for 35% led to this decision. In 2024, a total of 15 billion passenger kilometers were traveled by train in Austria, which is a record high. It is noteworthy that CO₂ emissions per passenger kilometer by rail are 96% lower than when traveling in an internal combustion engine car.

The challenges and requirements for the railway offering

Despite the positive developments, there are also challenges. Around 20% of those surveyed have replaced train journeys with car journeys, often due to longer travel times or unpunctuality. Tyrol's State Mobility Councilor René Zumtobel emphasizes the need for a holistic mobility offer with frequent frequencies and good connections. This also applies to the other federal states, although VCÖ highlights the importance of shorter travel times and better off-peak offerings.

Another result of the change is that almost half of passengers would be willing to shift their car journeys even further to trains, provided that the overall travel time could be shortened. This could be achieved through more frequent connections and better train station connections. There are currently around 1.8 million climate ticket holders registered in Austria, supplemented by over 600,000 student and apprentice network cards.

Climate goals and impacts on transport policy

In the context of climate goals, rail-based mobility is becoming increasingly important. According to the Federal Environment Agency Transport is responsible for around 22% of German CO₂ emissions. The Federal Climate Protection Act aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65% by 2030 compared to 1990. In order to achieve these goals, it is essential to strengthen the railways, with the aim of doubling rail passenger transport performance by 2030.

Finally, representatives of the rail industry, such as Christian Hillbrand from Verkehrsverbund Vorarlberg, are calling for an efficient railway as the backbone of a modern mobility system. In addition, Reinhard Wöhrenschimmel from the Ministry of Mobility emphasizes the requirements for a good offer, attractive tariffs and modern infrastructure in order to make public transport functional and attractive in the long term.