ÖBB buys 17 Westbahn trains: A new advance in rail transport!

ÖBB buys 17 Westbahn trains: A new advance in rail transport!

The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) recently acquired 17 intercity trains from Deutsche Bahn (DB). These trains, known as Kiss double-decker trains from the Swiss manufacturer Stadler Rail, represent a significant expansion of ÖBB's fleet. The purchase is particularly notable as these trains were originally sold by Westbahn to Deutsche Bahn in 2019, while ÖBB was already showing interest in them at the time, as oe24 reports.

Deutsche Bahn had the Kiss trains overhauled between 2020 and 2022 and is now faced with the decision to sell them because it has enough intercity trains in its inventory. Insiders estimate ÖBB's selling price for these trains to be around 200 million euros, although the actual price has not yet been confirmed. The acquisition includes eight six-car trains and nine four-car trains.

Expansion of the vehicle fleet

In addition to the newly acquired Intercity trains, ÖBB took delivery of the 250th “Desiro ML” Cityjet train from Siemens Mobility on Thursday. This is part of a wider initiative that began back in 2010 with the first order for Cityjet trains. In total, ÖBB plans to put 294 trains of this type into operation to meet the ever-increasing demands of rail transport, as Krone adds.

ÖBB's investments in rail infrastructure have been particularly pronounced in Austria. In 2022, ÖBB trains were not only used frequently with 211 million passengers in local rail transport and 42 million in long-distance transport, but were also offered with a high level of punctuality of around 81 percent in long-distance transport and 96 percent in local transport. This high usage is part of a continuous increase in rail transport, especially since 2020, where the share of rail transport in total transport performance in Austria was 27 percent, as Statista notes.

With a total of almost 7,000 trains running on the ÖBB route network and a route length of around 5,600 kilometers, of which around 4,000 kilometers are electrified, Austria is positioning itself as a pioneer in the field of rail transport, not least through significant investments by the state. In a European comparison, Austria is investing around 319 euros per capita in rail infrastructure, which corresponds to a new high and shows the highest priority for the future development of the rail network.

The ÖBB is not only committed to renewing and expanding its vehicle fleet, but is also making a significant contribution to improving the rail infrastructure, which is to be further expanded in the coming years.