From the beginning of 2023, transports of waste with a total weight of more than ten tonnes over 300 km must be transported by rail. From 1 January 2024, the corresponding transports are to be carried by rail from 200 km and from 1 January 2026 from 100 km. In total, this results in a potential of around 15 million tonnes of waste for transport by rail.
ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) is getting ready for the amendment of the AWG and is initially investing EUR 75 million in new MOBILER container bodies and carrying wagons to be able to handle the increased waste transports. This will gradually double the current stock of MOBILER container bodies to a total of 2,500 units by 2026.
The MOBILER logistics system, consisting of the container, freight wagon (intermodal carrier wagon), and road vehicle, can be used flexibly for the transport of a wide variety of goods and has already been successfully established for several years, especially in the waste disposal and construction material transports. The hydraulic lifting device on the MOBILER semi-trailer makes it possible to transfer the MOBILER containers between the truck and the carrier wagon - without a crane and a dedicated connection track.
RCG already transports around 8 million tonnes of waste and secondary materials (such as scrap metal, municipal waste, and waste from the construction industry) annually by rail in Austria. Compared to transport by truck, this saves more than 146,000 tonnes of CO2 or avoids around 300,000 truck journeys per year.
