Railway transport: Vida wants to stick to direct awards

The Vida trade union continues to speak out against the EU Commission's forced change in procurement law in the railway sector. In the future, all subsidized traffic will have to be put out to tender. In Austria, for example, the controversial direct award is still common.

The employee representatives are of the opinion that rail liberalization would have failed anyway, because passengers would not benefit either. The ticket prices would usually be significantly higher than flight tickets on comparable routes.

“In Austria and Europe, more than 80 percent of rail passenger kilometers are organized and financed through direct award. A change towards an obligation to tender as sought by the EU Commission would be a massive intervention in the stability of well-functioning public transport in Austria. This would also have further serious negative effects on railway employees and their working conditions," warns Tauchner.