Stadler Austria takes over AGRANA site: New jobs for Leopoldsdorf!

Stadler Austria takes over AGRANA site: New jobs for Leopoldsdorf!

The closure of sugar production in Leopoldsdorf im Marchfeld brings a new perspective for the location. How noe.gv.at reported, Stadler Austria GmbH and AGRANA AG have signed a declaration of intent to lease parts of the factory premises. The agreement was sealed in the presence of State Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, who expressed cautious optimism about the economic stimulus and the creation of new jobs.

As part of this development, Stadler Austria plans to relocate the type testing center for ÖBB double-decker trains and other projects from Zwentendorf to Leopoldsdorf. In addition, a rolling stock maintenance base will be established in a later phase to meet the need for test and development centers in Europe, such as railway.blog highlights.

Long-term plans and new jobs

The lease agreement, which is being negotiated for a period of over three decades, could lead to the creation of numerous jobs, emphasizes Christian Diewald, Managing Director of Stadler Austria. He announced that soil surveys for the first phase of the project will begin in the coming days. At the same time, AGRANA plans to continue to use the location as a logistics hub and to promote cooperation with Stadler, as Stephan Büttner, CEO of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG, explained.

Peter Spuhler, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Stadler Rail AG, sees the project as a clear commitment to the Austrian rail market. Jochen Danninger, chairman of the supervisory board of ecoplus, emphasizes the importance of the project for the region and underlines the positive effects on the local economy.

Market development in rail transport

To understand the context of current developments, it is important to address market conditions in rail transport. Rail Control is responsible for market observation of the rail transport market in Austria. How railencontrol.gv.at reports, the rail passenger transport market in Austria was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, as of 2021 there has been a significant recovery with a claimed all-time high in 2023 reaching over 132 million passenger train kilometers.

Real estate development in Leopoldsdorf could be encouraging, especially given the increasing demand for rail travel, which counted over 328.3 million rail passengers - an increase of over 11% compared to last year. This could benefit Stadler Austria's new location, which is being set in motion at a time when rail transport is showing growth.

The infrastructural benefits of the former AGRANA site, as well as Stadler's efforts to expand testing and development capabilities in Europe, could be crucial to the future of rail transport in the region. The collaboration between Stadler and AGRANA could not only secure existing jobs, but also create new perspectives in a rapidly developing industry.