After the Flood: ÖBB Rail Cargo Group Aims for Full Operations

(Vienna, 18 October 2024) – The ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) is making the final strides towards full operations. Since October 15, RCG, ÖBB's freight subsidiary, has been operating at least 85% of its regular volume from Tuesday to Friday. On Mondays, Saturdays, Sundays, and during night operations (from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM), it is already running at up to 100%.

Starting November 4, thanks to additional capacity on the "new" Western route from Meidling to Tullnerfeld, RCG will reach nearly 100% of its regular volume. From December 15, on the same route, full operations will resume without restrictions. This will ensure that RCG can once again offer its customers the usual level of flexibility and planning reliability.

"We would like to sincerely thank our customers for their patience and trust, as well as for the excellent cooperation, especially during this challenging time for all of us. The flood of the century brought entire supply chains to a halt overnight. Despite this, we managed to ensure supply security for the industry. This shows us once again that we can handle crises together and proves the systemic relevance of rail freight transport," said Clemens Först, spokesperson for the RCG management board.

A Century Flood with Century-Level Damage

The devastating flood in mid-September severely impacted rail freight transport in Austria and internationally. This extreme weather event caused massive damage to rail infrastructure and significant disruptions to international supply chains, not only in Eastern Austria but also in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Italy. Austrian companies’ import and export flows were also affected, forcing RCG to temporarily reduce its services.

Close Coordination with Customers

Over the past few weeks, RCG employees have done everything possible to maintain industrial freight transport. This was achieved by rerouting through Semmering and Pyhrn, as well as using alternative routes via neighboring countries.

Examples of Rerouting

• Household appliances from Turkey to Germany were routed via Slovenia and Croatia instead of Hungary.
• Raw materials from Poland were rerouted through Slovakia instead of the Czech Republic.
• Single wagon traffic from Vienna to Tyrol was rerouted via Villach.
• Sugar beet transports on the Western route were partially rerouted via Krems using two diesel locomotives.

The flood of the century caused century-level infrastructure damage. However, the ÖBB team has already made significant progress in addressing the immediate damage and assessing the full extent of the destruction. This gives the RCG management confidence that they are making great strides toward a return to normalcy.

Hard-Earned Network Resilience

For years, RCG has advocated that a train should be able to travel through Europe as easily as a truck. Cross-border planning, international crisis management, and highly flexible rerouting have already helped to achieve this. The ability to reroute goods through other countries when necessary strengthens RCG's efforts. However, to shift more freight onto rail in the long term, more is needed: a resilient, digital, and well-developed infrastructure, fair competition conditions, and a level playing field through policies that ensure equal opportunities for different modes of transport. Ultimately, railway companies must also step up to provide competitive services for their customers.

ÖBB Rail Cargo Group: the freight transport division of the ÖBB 
As a leading rail logistics provider in Europe, we are shaping the industry. 365 days a year – 24 hours a day. Across Europe and beyond into Asia. With our presence in 18 countries, we connect people, businesses and markets – from the first to the last mile. It’s thanks to our 5,912 logistics professionals that 419,000 trains a year, respectively 1,150 a day, reach their destinations safe and sound. With our efficient end-to-end logistics services, we transport over 78 million net tonnes of freight each year. Operational management of the Rail Cargo Group lies with Rail Cargo Austria AG. ÖBB Rail Cargo Group's TransNET: https://www.railcargo.com/de/transnet