AUSTRIA: ‘I am convinced that there will be a renaissance of rail freight in the next few years’, asserted Andreas Matthä, Chairman of the Management Board of ÖBB Holding, at an event marking completion of the second phase of the Wien Süd Freight Terminal on May 20. ‘Through our planned investment we will be able to double the performance of rail freight by 2040’, he said.
The first phase of the terminal near the industrial zone at Inzersdorf was completed in December 2016 by ÖBB Infrastruktur at a cost of €246m. Since then ÖBB has spent a further €19m to achieve a 50% increase in handling capacity thanks to construction of two more 700 m loading tracks and the commissioning of two extra container stackers. Additional storage space can accommodate 940 TEUs and there is also room for more lorry trailers.
The terminal now has the ability to handle 310 000 containers and swap bodies a year. A planned third phase of expansion will increase throughput to 400 000 per year.
In his presentation Matthä pointed to the reliability of rail freight during the Covid-19 pandemic and highlighted rail’s ability to contribute significantly to Austria’s objective of reaching a climate neutral economy by 2040 and to the European Union’s EU2050 Green Deal challenge. ‘Every tonne that travels by rail rather than road immediately saves CO2. That is the surest way of decarbonising the transport sector as quickly as possible’, he continued.
Matthä also flagged up the economic importance of rail freight. According to a recent study by the Economica Institute, every euro that ÖBB invests generates two euros of added value for the domestic economy.
