The federal government sets new accents for rails with record investments!

The federal government sets new accents for rails with record investments!

Österreich - On June 18, 2025, SPÖ transport spokesman Wolfgang Moitzi commented on the current developments in the field of public transport and climate policy in Austria. In his declaration, Moitzi emphasized the responsibility of the SPÖ in view of the budget hole and the measures of the new federal government to renovate the state budget. The focus is on a significant increase in the rail investment in reducing CO2 emissions. This direction is seen as a commitment to public and climate -friendly traffic. The Minister of Transport also announced that the truck toll will be increased in order to contain transit traffic and flow into the strengthening of rail freight transport.

A central component of this investment strategy is the increase in transport services by almost 500 million euros in the next two years. This is intended to significantly improve the offer for train travelers: the number of seats is intended to increase from 230,000 to 320,000, which means a significant increase in capacity in rail traffic. Moitzi emphasized the importance of rail transport not only for environmentally friendly mobility, but also for the economy and workplaces, which underlines the priority of the SPÖ for the coming years, as already ots) reported.

climate protection and decarbonization

in parallel to these developments, ÖBB identified specific measures for decarbonization. According to öbb.at, your climate protection strategy includes three main areas. This includes the replacement of diesel through alternative drives, which are to be implemented in the rail and bus traffic and in the internal fleet. This change includes the use of battery and hybrid vehicles as well as the introduction of electrical and hydrogen buses.

In addition, ÖBB plans to electrify non -electrified routes and to increase the level of self -supply in the area of railway current through renewable energies. Measures such as the expansion of photovoltaics and wind power as well as the repowering of hydropower plants are part of this comprehensive strategy for reducing CO2 emissions.

traffic sector and climate goals

In the further context, a report by the Federal Environment Agency shows that the transport sector is responsible for around 22 % of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany, which corresponds to around 146 million tons of CO2-equivalents. This increase makes it clear that a sustainable turnover of traffic is urgently necessary. In order to achieve the climate goals of the Federal Climate Protection Act, which provides for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65 % by 2030, ambitious measures are required.

One of the central challenges is the implementation of the eight building blocks for climate protection in traffic, which include promoting sustainable transport infrastructure and the electrification of rail transport. The focus should be on the shift of transports to rail and promotion of public transport.

The current plans of the SPÖ, together with the strategic goals of the ÖBB, illustrate urgency and the need for action to reduce emissions in the transport sector. Nationwide, this should not only promote environmental protection, but also to increase competitiveness and quality of rail transport.