AUSTRIA: Plans to order 10 additional Stadler Rail double-deck electric multiple-units were announced by Hans Peter Haselsteiner, the largest shareholder in open access operator Westbahn, on May 11. The €180m order would cover nine four-car Kiss EMUs and one six-car unit.
Westbahn also confirmed that it will operate an hourly service from Wien Hauptbahnhof to Salzburg from December 2017, in addition to its existing services from Westbahnhof.
Westbahn has also announced that a change to its ownership which took effect from April 1, with the injection of €36·5m of additional shareholder equity. This has reduced French national railway SNCF’s stake from 28% to 17·4%, with Haselsteiner Familien Privatstiftung having 49·9% and Augusta Holding 32·7%.
