Austrian Federal Railways

Mariazell Railway
Locale	Austria
Track gauge	760 mm (2 ft 5 7⁄8 in)
Electrification	6.5 kV, 25 Hz Overhead line
Length	84 km

Österreichische Bundesbahnen
Locale	Austria
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
Electrification	15 kV, 16.7 Hz Overhead line
Length	5,635 km (3,501.4 mi) (2009)
Headquarters	Vienna

Österreichische Bundesbahnen
Type	Government-owned corporation
Industry	Transport
Founded	1923
Headquarters	Vienna, Austria
Area served	Austria & Liechtenstein
Products	passenger transport and freight transport
Revenue	€ 5.75 billion (2009)
Operating income	€ 313 million (2009)
Employees	45,186 (2009)
Website	www.oebb.at

Railjet the high-speed-train of ÖBB

The various logos of the ÖBB over time, starting with the oldest, which is a classic "flying wheel" as used in different variants by many railway companies around the world...

...a more modern one introduced in the 1970s...

... to the latest one, where the shape of the initial Ö is suggestive of the power/on/off symbol now used on many electronic devices.

The Austrian Federal Railways (German: Österreichische Bundesbahnen, ÖBB) is the national railway system of Austria, and the administrator of Liechtenstein's railways. The ÖBB group is owned entirely by the Republic of Austria and is divided into several separate businesses that manage the infrastructure and operate passenger and freight services.

The ÖBB are the successor to the Bundesbahn Österreich (BBÖ, Federal Railway of Austria) and which itself was the successor of the kkStB (Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways). The railway system was incorporated into the Deutsche Reichsbahn during the 1938-1945 Anchluss.

Major changes currently being made to the Austrian railway network are the construction of the Wien Hauptbahnhof (Vienna main station), the Koralm Railway, the Semmering Base Tunnel and the Brenner Base Tunnel connection with Italy.

[edit] History

1882 – Gradual nationalisation of the railway network of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy into the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways (Kaiserlich-königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen).
1923 – Foundation of the independent, commercial enterprise, the Austrian Federal Railways (Österreichische Bundesbahnen) which used the abbreviation BBÖ, because ÖBB was already taken by the Swiss Oensingen-Balsthal-Bahn.
1938 – The Anschluss of Austria into the German Empire. The BBÖ was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. During the Second World War about 41 % of the Austrian railway network was destroyed.
1947 – The ÖBB (by that time the Swiss private railway used the abbreviation SP for its goods wagons in international traffic, so its abbreviation ÖBB could now be appropriated) were reformed as a state-owned company. Their infrastructure was rebuilt and electrification was accelerated.
1969 – A new federal railway law was enacted. The ÖBB became a non-independent, economic entity, that was run as a branch of the government's industrial programme and remained entirely within the Federal budget.
1992 – The ÖBB were broken out of the federal budget and turned into company with its own legal status (a cross between a GmbH and an AG in Austrian commercial terms). The company is 100 % owned by the Republic of Austria. This change had two primary aims: 1. It had to conform to EU rules on the admission of Austria into the European Union. 2. The financial demand on the public purse was to be reduced as a result of improvements in efficiency and the pressure of competition.
2004 – The ÖBB were reorganised into ÖBB Holding AG and a number of operating subsidiaries. The holding company was to oversee the operations of the companies assigned to it, coordinate a coherent strategic approach and allocate tasks for the whole enterprise.^[2]
1 January 2005 – The subsidiaries of ÖBB-Holding AG became autonomous and independent operationally. See below.

The Austrian rail system is largely electrified. Electrification of the system began in 1912 but did not reach an advanced state until the 1950s. The last steam locomotive in regular service on the standard gauge network was retired in 1978.

The post-war laws related to the Austrian railways were the:

Eisenbahngesetz (EisbG 1957),
Schieneninfrastrukturfinanzierungsgesetz (SCHIG 1999),
Eisenbahnhochleistungsstreckengesetz (HIG 1999) and
Bundesbahngesetz (1992).

[edit] Current structure

On 1 January 2005 a new organisation structure was put in place, which is consolidated by a single shareholder, namely the Republic of Austria.^[3]

ÖBB-Holding AG (a holding company which gives a strategic overview of the railway)

ÖBB-Dienstleistungs GmbH
ÖBB-Infrastruktur Bau AG (Infrastructure planning, management, and construction)
- Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH
- ÖBB-Immobilienmanagement GmbH
ÖBB-Infrastruktur Betrieb AG (Maintenance of railway lines, stations, and infrastructure)
ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG (Passenger transport)
Rail Cargo Austria AG (Freight transport)

Subsidiary companies of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG and Rail Cargo Austria AG are:

ÖBB-Produktion GmbH (provision of locomotives)
ÖBB-Technische Services GmbH (technical services)

The business units are based on the separation of sales and infrastructure.

Österreichische Bundesbahnen
Sales	Infrastructure
Passenger transport	Network
Freight transport	Tracks
Traction	Signal-/System technology
Technical services	Telekom
Power plants	Energy network
Facility management	Planning/Engineering
	Facility management

[edit] Statistics

According to the Annual Report 2007, the company employs 42,893, thereof 9,273 employees, 32,299 tenured employees and 1,321 apprentices. In 2007, ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG carried 447 million passengers of which 238 million were bus passengers.^[4]

The ÖBB has

5,700 km (3,500 route miles); 57% electrified
1,230 locomotives.
3,136 passenger vehicles
220 Electrical Multiple Unit
145 Diesel Multiple Unit

ÖBB's bus services travel 52,500,000 km (32,621,988 mi) per year.

[edit] Principal Lines

Western Railway
Southern Railway
- Semmering Railway - A World Heritage Site
Northern Railway
Eastern Railway
Northwestern Railway
Arlberg Railway
Brenner Railway
Franz Josef Railway
Koralm Railway (under construction)
Pyhrn Railway
Tauern Railway

[edit] Rail links to adjacent countries

Same gauge
- Czech Republic — voltage change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
- Germany — same voltage 15 kV AC
- Hungary — voltage change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
- Italy — voltage change to 3 kV DC
- Liechtenstein — same voltage 15 kV AC
- Slovakia — voltage change to 25 kV 50 Hz AC
- Slovenia — voltage change to 3 kV DC
- Switzerland — same voltage 15 kV AC