The ÖBB Rail Cargo Group is expanding its offer and requesting rail support. 'Europe needs more railways and railways need more Europe', said on the press conference

Two weeks ago, ÖBB Holding held its first press conference exclusively focused on rail freight transport. The conference, together with Rail Cargo Group board spokesman Clemens Först, was tasked with finding a way to get more goods onto the tracks and relieve all roads, population, and the environment. The climate crisis can only be prevented by reducing CO2 emissions, especially in the transport sector, because around 30% of domestic CO2 emissions come from transport, and this trend is rising sharply – over the last 30 years, the increase in CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles has increased by 128%. For the necessary turnaround in transport, rail freight transport needs to improve fair competitive conditions. One of the most important points is cost. In Austria alone, external costs (including noise, traffic jams, and accidents) for lorries are three times higher than for rail transport. However, these costs are borne not by polluters, but by taxpayers. In addition, the truck does not pay tolls on the Austrian country road – the train, on the other hand, pays for every kilometer of the line.

“That's is why we at ÖBB are focused on expanding railway infrastructure, digitalization and modern vehicles to double railway performance by 2040! And at the European level, we need support in the transport sector and the single European railway area. Because the goal is clear: In the end, it must be as easy to travel around Europe by train as it is with a truck!" said the CEO of ÖBB Holding on social media. Clemens Först, a spokesman for the Board of Directors of the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group, then discussed the importance of RCG in more detail. "ÖBB Rail Cargo Group is the second-largest railway logistics company in Europe and a sustainable logistics backbone of the European economy. In this order, we manage digitalization and innovation in rail freight transport, constantly expanding our network and thus making a significant contribution to achieving the green deal goals," Clemens commented on the meeting.