Environmentally friendly block train between Bludenz and Vienna remains on track

Gebrüder Weiss and ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) have so far moved around 180,000 truck journeys on to rails with Orange Combi Cargo (OCC) / Noise-optimized railcars are coming / Connection to South-East Europe optimized

More than twelve years ago, on January 7, 2008, the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) and Gebrüder Weiss launched what has become a successful operation: the Orange Combi Cargo (OCC). The block train has since been operating on a daily basis between Bludenz and Vienna, earning a reputation in the Austrian business world as a punctual and environmentally friendly transport alternative. Both contracting partners have now officially extended the cooperation, meaning that the Orange Combi Cargo will be connecting the west of Austria to the nation’s capital for at least another three years. The OCC will also continue making a stopover in Hall in Tyrol, where additional goods are loaded.

Replacing around 60 truck journeys between Vienna and western Austria every day, the positive environmental impact of the OCC is plain to see, with the multimodal solution saving around 9,000 tons of CO2 annually. “Over the course of twelve years, we have been able to relocate some 180,000 truck journeys from road to rail,” says Walter Konzett, Director Product Management Land Transport at Gebrüder Weiss. The two companies have now agreed to implement a range of measures to optimize noise protection, with the existing wagons to be gradually replaced by noise-optimized container wagons.

The OCC’s connection to destinations further east of Austria was also further optimized: Rail journeys can now be directly continued to Romania or Turkey via ÖBB’s Vienna intermodal hub. Further transport integration measures are also planned with the aim of offering customers from western Austria, eastern Switzerland and southern Germany an even more convenient and environmentally friendly way to connect to destinations in South-East Europe. “By expanding the network along Austria’s east-west axis, we are making a significant contribution to environmental protection efforts as well as fostering better conditions to continue promoting the drive to use rail more in the future,” said Bernhard Ebner, Head of the Intermodal Division of ÖBB RCG.