Rail Control: Around half of long-distance delays caused abroad

Passenger Transport: ÖBB Remains Dominant

In passenger numbers, the previous year saw a slight decline of 0.3 percent to 347.5 million passengers. The authority attributes this primarily to the closure of the Vienna S-Bahn trunk line. Total passenger-kilometers nevertheless rose by 0.7 percent to 15.1 billion, while long-distance passenger-kilometers increased by one percent.

With 138.9 million passenger train-kilometers, a record figure was achieved in the previous year, as Rail Control's statistics show. In total, 98 railway companies were registered, covering infrastructure, transport, or integrated areas. In 2025, 74 companies were authorized to operate on the ÖBB network – more than ever before.

Freight Transport: Gradual Loss of ÖBB Shares

In freight transport, there has been a continuous decline in ÖBB's market share since the beginning of the survey in 2016. Measured in net ton-kilometers, the share of the ÖBB freight subsidiary Rail Cargo Austria (RCA) was only 52.3 percent in the previous year. A year earlier it was still 57.3 percent, in 2021 a respectable 63.4 percent, and in 2016 as much as 73.9 percent.

On the main freight corridors – the Brenner and the Western axis – the market share of third-party providers is around 60 percent, according to Schienencontrol. The increase in net and gross ton-kilometers was around five percent each, pointing to a generally growing significance of rail freight transport.

Röhsler also expressed confidence that a new EU regulation on improved Union-wide coordination would have positive effects. Domestic rail infrastructure continues to benefit from the longer-term planning over six-year framework plans in European comparison, even though the current framework plan has pushed some projects back due to the austerity package.

Hope for EU Regulation

On the importance of network quality, Röhsler stated in a comment: „Das ist wichtig, um die Betriebsqualität und gleichzeitig das Netz aufrecht zu erhalten." In doing so, she underscored the significance of reliable infrastructure as the foundation for competition on the rails.

Construction work on international corridors causes not only delays but also additional costs, according to the report. The interconnection with neighboring countries means that operational disruptions can quickly spill over into Austrian operations across borders.

Growing Market with More Competition

Overall, the report paints the picture of a growing but increasingly contested market: the number of licensed companies is rising, competitors are gaining shares, while ÖBB clearly dominates passenger transport and is gradually losing market shares in freight transport.