Westbahn wants to stop at a new station in Lower Austria after the finalisation of construction activity, it was disclosed yesterday (Weds).
Westbahn chief Stefan Wehinger said his firm’s trains may stop at Tullnerfeld in Lower Austria following the ongoing building process of railway lines around the station. Construction project managers hope to finish off the activities by December. Lower Austrian lawmakers already expressed their acclaim for Westbahn’s willingness to offer more commuters a chance to get to Vienna by train.
Wehinger’s announcement comes exactly one month after Westbahn started operating between the capital and Salzburg. The railroad company hopes to persuade as many Federal Railways (ÖBB) customers as possible to switch to its services on the busy connection. Westbahn and the state-funded enterprise engaged in a price war by offering cut-price tickets leading up to the private firm’s business kickoff. Its Vienna – Salzburg service currently features six stops. ÖBB’s Railjet only stops in St. Pölten and Linz.
Westbahn was founded by Hans Peter Haselsteiner. The head of construction company Strabag SE holds a 26 per cent stake in the rail business. France’s national railway enterprise, Societe nationale des chemins de fer francais (SNCF), acquired a stake of the same size last August. Haselsteiner said 130 million Euros were invested into his railroad firm before it went on the Vienna – Salzburg track on 11 December. Wehinger claimed that Westbahn had the chance to achieve an operating profit as early as this year.
Haselsteiner and Wehinger promised to offer first class service at second class prices while ÖBB CEO Christian Kern stressed that his firm’s trains were faster and better connected. Many ÖBB Railjet connections do not end in Salzburg and Vienna but in Munich, Germany, and Hungarian capital Budapest. Referring to the various court battles between the rivalling railroad companies, Wehinger said: “The passengers are not interested in the legal arguments between ÖBB and Westbahn. What matters to them is whether the coffee is hot and the toilet clean.”
News that Westbahn’s trains offer wireless internet connection to passengers accelerated ÖBB’s Railjet internet project. The partly state-owned company said all of its Railjet trains would be equipped with wireless internet services shortly. Westbahn officials claimed another reason why people should opt for their services was that restrooms were separated by sex in contrast to ÖBB’s standardised washrooms.
Public transport experts agree that the start of operations of the first main private competitor to ÖBB would lead to various benefits for customers ranging from lower prices and better service quality. Every Austrian covered an average 1,270 kilometres (km) on trains in 2010, according to the Austrian Traffic Club (VCÖ). The research organisation emphasised that Austria came second in this concern in the European Union (EU) behind France (1,370 km). Switzerland, which is not part of the EU, was identified as European leader in average per capita train traffic 2,390 km.
