The Austrian government has launched a short public consultation for a major revision of the Bundesbahngesetz that will change the ÖBB corporate structure and explicitly targets clearer responsibilities for market companies such as Rail Cargo Austria. For Germany and Austria this matters because it affects the organisation that runs large parts of finished‑vehicle rail traffic and multimodal links from Adriatic ports into Central Europe — operations that carmakers, dealers and transport contractors rely on for on‑time deliveries and lower emissions than road hauliers.
What the draft actually does
The ministerial draft sent into Begutachtung on 28 October 2026 (consultation 28.10.–06.11.2026) proposes converting the market companies ÖBB‑Personenverkehr and Rail Cargo Austria into limited liability companies (GmbH), ending the so‑called “Doppelmütterstruktur”, and concentrating control in an empowered ÖBB‑Holding. The dossier also foresees transferring traction vehicles now owned by ÖBB‑Produktion to a newly to‑be‑formed ÖBB‑Lok‑Asset GmbH and elevating ÖBB‑Produktion and ÖBB‑Technische Services into market‑oriented profit centres under the holding. These legal changes are set out in the consultation documents published by the government.
The Ministry frames the reform as a move to faster decisions, fewer overlaps and improved market focus; the ministry’s communication and the ÖBB pressroom point to an expected operational saving of roughly €80 million per year and an implementation window starting in 2027. ÖBB’s own statement (22 October 2026) confirms the plan to strengthen the holding, create a COO role and bring the production reform “PR26” into operation — PR26’s operational start is planned for 1 July 2027.
Immediate links to vehicle logistics
The reform is not abstract for car logistics: Rail Cargo Austria appears by name in the draft as one of the market companies to be sharpened, and the scheduled transfer of traction assets and a production reorganisation (PR26) explicitly targets how locomotives, wagons and shunting are provided — the nuts and bolts of finished‑vehicle trains and terminal handling. ÖBB and Rail Cargo have already been expanding rail automotive capacity this year, announcing new double‑deck car‑carrier wagons and new services routing vehicles from northern Adriatic ports such as Rijeka and Koper into Central and South‑Eastern Europe.
