Austrian Court of Audit criticizes ÖBB service and real estate sales

The Austrian Court of Audit has released reports highlighting operational and financial deficiencies within the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). Regarding service planning between 2019 and 2024, auditors found that despite a 27 percent increase in passenger numbers over a decade, punctuality and reliability declined. In 2024, punctuality fell to 93.6 percent, missing the planned 95.8 percent target, with long-distance travel seeing particularly significant deviations. Key causes included delivery delays for new vehicles, maintenance backlogs, weather damage, and construction. The report also noted a decline in cleanliness and passenger information quality.

Additionally, the Court of Audit criticized the real estate management of ÖBB and the Austrian Post. Auditors stated that both entities missed significant revenue opportunities by bypassing open tenders for property sales. For ÖBB, sales involving public interest searches averaged 64 percent above appraised values, whereas direct sales averaged only 2.51 percent above value. The report also raised concerns regarding the lack of information on the economic owners of buyers, which is essential for anti-money laundering compliance.