THE European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) a loan of up to €500m to finance the purchase of new Desiro ML EMUs from Siemens, and Talent 3s from Bombardier.

Railways are increasingly embracing new and smart methods to maintain their assets, which is placing new demands on suppliers. Members of Voestalpine’s management team explain to Kevin Smith how the company is responding by redefining its role in the market.

CZECH open-access operator RegioJet announced on November 23 that tickets have gone on sale for its new Prague - Vienna service, which will begin operating on December 10.

THE first of 119 Flexity low-floor LRVs for Vienna public transport operator Wiener Linien was revealed at Bombardier’s Donaustadt plant on October 11.

AUSTRIA’s Ministry of Transport and the government of the province of Styria announced on October 10 that they will sign a new 10-year Public Service Obligation contract with Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) for the operation of regional train services in Styria.

STYRIAN Local Railways (StLB) is planning to expand its Graz South intermodal terminal, which is located near Kalsdorf in southern Austria, to increase handling capacity.

BARCELONA Metropolitan Transport (TMB), which operates an eight-line metro network, has agreed to provide technical assistance to Wiener Linien in upgrading Line 2 of the Vienna U-Bahn and the construction of Line 5, both of which will be operated automatically without drivers.

A joint declaration of intent to electrify the 16km cross-border line from Reutte in Austria to Pfronten-Steinach in Germany was signed on September 29 by Mrs Ingrid Felipe, second deputy of the province of Tyrol, and Bavaria’s interior and transport minister Mr Joachim Hermann.

AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) has presented a second class 1063 prototype last mile locomotive, which has been fitted with batteries and a hydrogen power generator, at its workshop in Linz.

WIENER Linien has awarded Siemens a contract to supply 34 driverless metro trains for Vienna’s U-Bahn network.