The European Mobility Week took place from 16 to 22 September.
A special highlight was one of the Noah´s Train containers, the European Rail Freight Forward initiative, which was on display throughout the week at the main entrance of the Main Station in Vienna. Two hostesses informed the interested visitors about the coalition and the Noah's Train container and people were asked to take photos via the photo booth and post them on Instagram.
Together with WWF Austria, the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group set an example for climate protection and presented the Rail Freight Forward Initiative.
Andrea Johanides, managing director of WFF Austria and Clemens Först, CEO of RCG
Importance of mobility for people and the environment
The European Mobility Week is an initiative of the European Commission which started in 1998 with the "Car Free Day" in France. Since 2002, it has offered the opportunity to carry out actions over several days or to set a different thematic focus on transport every day for a week. More than 500 municipalities and cities from all over Austria take part in the European Mobility Week every year.
Efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transport systems at attractive costs are indispensable for many areas of human coexistence and the economy. Rail freight transport makes a significant contribution to this. Nowadays, it is assumed that goods can be transported from A to B easily, quickly and efficiently. As a founding member of the Rail Freight Forward Initiative, the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group is also committed to European freight transport.
The European rail freight companies:
- cause 12 times less external costs for society than road transport such as emissions, congestion or accident costs
- have 6 times lower specific energy consumption
- are on the European average 9 times better in terms of CO2 emissions - the freight transport by rail in Austria even causes 21 times less CO2 per tonne transported than the transport by truck due to electricity from renewable energy sources
- are 8 times better in terms of air pollution
- cause 85 times fewer road casualties
- are 5 times better in terms of noise exposure
Saving the climate – ÖBB and WWF make common cause
The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) is one of the largest nature and environmental organisations in the world. It is no coincidence that the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group and the WWF Austria are doing business together. This is because rail is already a safer and more environmentally friendly mode of transport than trucks. With its climate protection strategy, ÖBB is showing targeted commitment.
"Mobility is a basic human and economic need. ÖBB is the largest mobility provider in Austria and the top logistics provider in Europe. We must act now and move as many goods as possible from road to rail. This not only saves CO2 and protects the climate, but also reduces noise and reduces accidents," says RCG CEO Clemens Först.
WWF climate spokesman Karl Schellmann: "Shifting freight traffic to rail is long overdue. Currently, only one third of the transport is done by rail. However, 85 percent is possible in cross-border freight transport and 60 percent in intra-Austrian transport. The development of the rail infrastructure must be designed accordingly. In addition to a socio-ecological tax reform, a comprehensive turnaround in mobility is one of the most important levers in the fight against the climate crisis. Those who oversleep the railways will fall under the "fossil wheels".
This is exactly what European Mobility Week is all about: Anyone can be a climate ambassador!
