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ÖBB RCG Organizes New Transport Services for Fuel Supply

ÖBB RCG Organizes New Transport Services for Fuel Supply
photo: David Payr / ÖBB/ÖBB RCG Organizes New Transport Services for Fuel Supply
24 / 11 / 2022

Rail freight transport is not only the only chance for sustainable land transport, but it is also relevant to supply and, thus, to the system. The freight railways have been able to prove this time and again, especially in the last few crisis-ridden years. It was also the case during the breakdown of the OMV refinery from June to October 2022. ÖBB Rail Cargo Group organized replacement transports within a very short time and thus maintained the fuel supply.

Clemens Först, Spokesman of the Management Board of ÖBB Rail Cargo Group: "Due to the outage of the OMV Schwechat refinery, the security of fuel supply in Austria was at risk. Our team promptly set up 330 additional fuel means of transport. Thus, bottlenecks and standstills could ultimately be avoided. It is another successful example of the supply and system relevance of rail freight transport. In this context, I would like to thank the RCG team for this outstanding performance and our long-standing partner, OMV, for the excellent cooperation, not only in this difficult situation."

Martijn van Koten, OMV Executive Officer Refining: "OMV set up an alternative supply system immediately after the incident at the Schwechat refinery. The transport of fuel products to Austria presented us with major challenges. Rail Cargo Group proved to be a competent and very reliable partner in this context."

Efficient joint planning of new transport concepts

Due to the over four-month outage of the OMV Schwechat refinery, additional fuel transports, mainly from Germany to Austria, had to be organized within a very short time. The international presence of RCG with its own locomotives and personnel and the close cooperation with partner railway companies were critical to success. Every week, the company reacted to the supply situation together with OMV and planned train programs for the tank farms. Daily joint coordination meetings of all the operational units concerned enabled the efficient organization of the new transport concepts.

Damage at the OMV Schwechat refinery

During the legally required water pressure test as part of the final work of the OMV Schwechat refinery general overhaul, significant damage occurred to the crude oil distillation plant at the beginning of June 2022 following a mechanical incident. This plant processes most of the crude oil into its components and thus prepares it for further processing in the refinery. After the incident in June 2022, the OMV Schwechat refinery has been running at full capacity again since mid-October 2022. 

Rail Cargo Group: ÖBB freight transport 

As the leading rail logistics provider in Europe, we are shaping the industry. 365 days a year - 24 hours a day. In Europe all the way to Asia. We connect people, companies, and markets - from the first to the last mile. We are present in 18 countries - 15 of them with our own employees. Our 5,755 logistics professionals from 34 nations enable us to bring 463,000 trains safely to their destination every year, or around 1,270 every day. With our efficient end-to-end logistics solutions, we transport 94 million net tonnes every year. A rail share of 28% (provisional value) of the total volume of goods in Austria makes us the front-runner in Europe. The operational lead company of the Rail Cargo Group is Rail Cargo Austria AG.  

Source: ÖBB Rail Cargo Group Press Releases

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