The freight transport and infrastructure sector posted higher profits than in 2022, according to annual figures released on Friday. Freight subsidiary Rail Cargo posted profits that almost doubled to €13m – but only as the financial result for the year turned significantly into the black. There was an operational loss of 10 million euros. Sales remained relatively stable, while throughput (ton kilometers/tkm) fell 8.4 percent to 26.1 billion tkm. This is less than 2020 was the year of Corona. In the infrastructure sector, the loss turned from 2022 to a profit of 7.7 million euros in 2023.
Last year, ÖBB made record investments of 4.5 billion euros in infrastructure and new trains. As a result, net debt increased by 3 billion euros to 32.6 billion euros. By 2030, 330 new trains are expected to enter service and capacity will increase by 93,000 seats. For now, however, the high number of passengers still causes problems: “The lack of time is naturally affected by the increasing number of passengers,” write ÖBB. Only 80.3 per cent trains were run on time in long distance transport, 95.7 per cent in local transport. This means that ÖBB is still one of the most punctual trains in Europe, write ÖBB.
At the end of 2023, ÖBB had 45,041 employees, of whom nearly 4,600 were based abroad. This year, 3,500 new employees will be hired last year, a good 5,000 new ÖBB employees were added. Many of the new hires will primarily be to compensate for retirements and departures — the number of employees increased by only 672 from 2022 to 2023.
