SIEMENS Mobility Austria CEO Mr Arnulf Wolfram officially handed over the first of 101 Cityjet EMUs for Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) to the company's head of local and regional transport Mr Klaus Garstenauer and project manager Mr Thomas Grasl in a ceremony at Vienna Main Station on December 4.

AUSTRIA's Zillertal Railway has unveiled plans to electrify its 32km narrow-gauge line from Jenbach on the Innsbruck - Salzburg main line to the Tyrolean ski resort of Mayrhofen as it seeks to accommodate surging traffic.

AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) has signed a contract with the European Investment Bank (EIB) worth €1.8bn to finance projects included in its plans to modernise the Southern Route between Vienna and Graz by 2026.

VIENNESE public transport operator Wiener Linien has awarded SPL Powerlines Austria a contract to install 750V dc third rail electrification on the southern extension of U-Bahn Line U1 from Reumannplatz to Oberlaa.

AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) has launched an international tender for a contract to supply up to 200 electric freight locomotives.

GERMAN Rail (DB) announced on September 21 that it was suspending all passenger trains between Germany and Austria on the busy Munich to Salzburg route due to the imposition of frontier controls by the German government.

AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) railfreight subsidiary Rail Cargo Austria (RCA) announced on September 23 that it has acquired German railfreight operator EBM Cargo as part of its strategy to expand its activities in Germany and the Benelux countries.

AUSTRIAN open-access operator Westbahn has announced it will introduce additional Friday, Saturday and Sunday peak services between Vienna and Linz from October 2 to accommodate rising demand.

VIENNA City Council has unveiled plans for further additions to the tram network in the Austrian capital, which will serve new urban developments on former railway land in Leopoldstadt and Brigittenau north of the city centre.

FREIGHT traffic on Austria's rail network reached record levels last year while passenger numbers also saw a slight increase, according to figures released as part of rail regulator Schienen-Control's annual report.