it’s called a tailor-made invitation to tender: The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) write to the purchase of used electric trains from driving, 17-piece, 4 -, and 6-piece speed up to 200 km/h. As luck would have it, has the only company of these trains: the private Westbahn railway, which departs today with 17 railcars of the type “Kiss” from Stadler Rail between Vienna and Salzburg. A similar offer made by Deutsche Bahn. Also the DB is apparently interested in the Stadler trains.

For the owners of the Western railway, to which the French state railway SNCF and the founder of the construction group Strabag, Hans Peter Haselsteiner, these packages are bad news. Apparently, ÖBB and DB expect that the successful, but highly indebted private railway is not long for this world, and want to trains the most valuable the Swiss.

doubts about the quality

“It will give us to continue to be” insured, however, the West rail spokeswoman Ines Volpert. She speaks of a restoration order to put the company on stable feet. Allegedly, the Western railway wants to order new trains for the Chinese construction giant CRRC. There is no confirmation but also no denial: The Western railway tarpaulin, with the “fastest-enabled quality suppliers on the world market, a further improved train concept for double-Decker trains with 200 km/h quickly to implement,” says Volpert. Quickly, the Chinese could provide. The quality of the trains in Europe there are strong doubts.

With the transition of the Western railway on Chinese trains the Bussnanger Stadler Rail would lose a customer in a neighbouring country. On the other hand, the sale of the Kiss sets would mean that Peter Spuhlers company gets the ÖBB a foot in the door.

In the case of the previous tenders of the Austrian state railway, only the top dogs, Siemens and Bombardier were always the train. Now Stadler trains are likely to be an Option. “If there is on the market the opportunity to get another roll of material, then we see us,” writes Bernhard Rieder, the media spokesman of the ÖBB, Tamedia: “So that we can replace the older sets may be used to.” Stadler Rail does not want to comment because it is “a operator and procurement issue”.

Also in the Czech Republic there are rumors that the private railway Leo Express will sell its seven Stadler trains of the type “Flirt”. The migration to China of the products has decided Leo-Express three years ago. According to the trade press, the trains have not arrived yet.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 26.03.2019, 15:26 PM