AUSTRIAN open-access operator Westbahn has reported total turnover of around €120m in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 35%.
Passenger numbers totalled 7.7 million, up 34% on 2022. Westbahn says it expects profit for 2023 to be around €10m, up from €4m in 2022, though the exact figure will not be confirmed until its full year-end results are announced.
“You could say that Westbahn has grown up and has finally arrived financially at the point where we would have liked to have been a few years ago,” says joint CCO, Mr Florian Kazalek. “Our earning power and liquidity provide a solid basis for future growth.”
Since starting operations in 2011 between Vienna and Salzburg, Westbahn has progressively extended its reach westwards, reaching Munich in 2021, Innsbruck in 2022 and Bregenz in western Austria at the end of last year.
Further expansion is planned this December, when two trains per day in each direction are expected to start running between Vienna and Stuttgart, via Munich, Augsburg and Ulm. The company also has ambitions to operate east of Vienna and is considering running to Budapest, Hungary.
Westbahn says it expects to increase its workforce this year by 20% to 350 people. It currently operates a fleet of 15 Stadler six-car Kiss 3 double-deck EMUs. It is also awaiting type acceptance for six-car double-deck EMUs built by Chinese manufacturer CRRC. Westbahn has agreed to lease four of these trains.
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