It's official! ÖBB tickets are also set to become more expensive

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ÖBB tickets will become more expensive from December: price adjustment due to inflation, austerity program, slowed network expansion, and new train sets planned.

Austrian Federal Railways needs to make savings – and big ones at that. In passenger transport, more and more competitors are making life difficult. In freight transport, there is even an “acute situation,” says ÖBB boss Andreas Matthä in the Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper.

As a result, the planned network expansion will be significantly slowed down, saving 300 million euros per year. At the same time, an internal efficiency program called “Compete” will be implemented. This is also intended to save costs and increase the efficiency of work processes, bringing in 200 to 300 million euros.

However, there will be no savings in the renewal of rolling stock. This year and in 2026, around 100 new trainsets will be put into service, both in long-distance and local transport. Speaking of long-distance transport, the winter timetable will see an expansion of a whopping 30 percent.

According to “TT,” however, all this cannot be achieved without price increases. As is well known, the government has made the climate ticket almost 30 percent more expensive, costing 1,400 euros instead of 1,095 euros from January. Most recently, Wiener Linien had to follow suit and increase the price of its annual ticket by a similar amount.

In December, ÖBB will also announce a slight price shock. The exact extent is not yet clear, but it is likely to be in line with inflation, i.e. around three percent. A ticket from Vienna to Salzburg would then cost €65.60 instead of €63.70 (it is significantly cheaper to travel with the Vorteilscard or by booking in advance with Sparschiene).

What Matthä would like to see from politicians is equal treatment of railways and other modes of transport. Truck transport is subsidized by €800 million annually through the diesel privilege, while the tax exemption on kerosene supports air transport with €500 million. Meanwhile, railways have to pay significantly more for their electricity.