AUSTRIAN light rail operator Wiener Lokalbahnen (WLB) has restarted a tender for new LRVs for its 30km line from Vienna to Baden after receiving just one bid in the original competition.
OPEN-access passenger operator Leo Express has submitted track access applications to the Czech Office for Access to Transport Infrastructure (ÚDPI) for international services to destinations in Austria, Germany, and Poland.
PLANS to extend the 1520mm-gauge network from Kosice, Slovakia, to Vienna by building a €6.5bn 400km electrified freight-only line, have been revived. The line would improve access to Europe for traffic from Russia and the Far East.
THE first class 1293 Vectron multi-system electric locomotive for Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) made its main line debut on February 14 with a test run from Siemens’ plant at Munich-Allach to Reichertshausen on the Munich - Ingolstadt line.
Despite strong competition from incumbent Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), Westbahn has made steady progress since it began operating open-access services between Vienna and Salzburg in 2011. CEO Dr Erich Forster outlines the company’s plans to Kevin Smith.
GRAZ city council and tram operator Graz Linien have announced plans to expand the tram network in Austria’s second-largest city at a cost of €117m.
THE board of Austria’s Zillertal Railway has opted for hydrogen trains as an alternative to electrification of its 32km narrow-gauge line from Jenbach on the Innsbruck - Salzburg main line to the Tyrolean ski resort of Mayrhofen.
THE 100th Siemens Vectron electric locomotive for European Locomotive Leasing (ELL) was officially handed over to Austrian rail freight operator LTE in a ceremony at Vienna Freudenau intermodal terminal on January 19.
A few days before Christmas the first Flexity low-floor tram for Wiener Linien was delivered the short distance from Bombardier’s Vienna plant to the operator’s Simmering depot, where initial testing has been carried out.
A STUDY by the Alliance of New Rail Entrants (AllRail) puts Austria’s rail regulator Schienen-Control at the bottom of a list of 15 European rail regulators when it comes to approving new regulations. As a result, AllRail is calling for changes at Schienen-Control to make it more efficient.
