Master plan for goods transport required
It is forecast that Austria's freight traffic will have increased by 45% by 2040. Even with a maximum expansion of their infrastructure and portfolio, the railways will not have the capacity to deal with this growth rate.
A study conducted by the Institute of Transport and Logistics Management of Vienna's University of Economics and Business says that, even if the railways and the government achieve their goal of a 40% share of the modal split (2019: 28%), road haulage traffic would still increase more than fivefold by 2040.
Austria therefore needs an integrated, comprehensive concept for freight mobility on roads and railways that is based on the climate objectives, the study's authors conclude, emphasising that this concept must include interlocking measures for rail and road infrastructures but also the promotion of investment and sustainability oriented adaptions of legislation for road freight and heavy traffic. (ben)