ÖBB have got rid of the winner of the tender- Stadler. Rival Alstom is behind the attack on the outcome

photo: Dopravní noviny/ÖBB have got rid of the winner of the tender- Stadler. Rival Alstom is behind the attack on the outcome

The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) decided the fate of the bankruptcy to supply 186 double-storey units for Lower Austria and Vienna worth hundreds of millions of euros. Following the recent verdict of the Federal Administrative Court, tenders were canceled and promised a new one. The announcement of this came from the Swiss railway car manufacturer Stadler, which won the original competition. Austrian media have called the tender crash a disgrace to ÖBB, which will significantly delay the deployment of vehicles.

"Stadler deeply regrets the ÖBB's decision. The offer was rated legally, commercially, and technically the best by Austrian railways. Stadler will exhaust all available legal means," the Swiss company announced. The court cited the use of a Swiss electronic signature, which is not recognized by the European Union, as the reason for Stadler's removal. The case was taken to court by rival Alstom. "Stadler has already used this electronic signature, recognized by the relevant international authorities, hundreds of times when participating in EU tenders. Many of the tenders signed this way have been selected, including those for Austrian railways," said Stadler, who had previously called the verdict wrong.

The Austrian Public Procurement Act urges the use of a qualified electronic signature. Its details are said to be met by the signature used by Stadler. For this reason, Stadler is preparing an appeal against both the court's decision and ÖBB's decision to remove the originally announced winner. The tender was announced in 2019, with the winner announced two years later. Austrian media have called the tender crash an ÖBB bluff that will cause significant delays in-vehicle deployment.