The Austrian Federal Railway ÖBB is taking over the subsidiary of the British railway company Go Ahead, which operates in the Allgäu and around Augsburg. The two companies assured in a statement on Thursday that there would be no changes to Go Ahead Germany’s current offers and timetables. The company will remain independent, but should benefit from “ÖBB’s know-how”. Since taking over the network around Augsburg in particular, Go Ahead has been criticized by politicians and passengers because of unpunctual trains. The company also operates in Baden-Württemberg, and the transport minister there, Winfried Hermann, welcomed the takeover: “ÖBB has a good reputation for high-quality rail transport.”
Both parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The sale is expected to be completed this year following competition law approvals. ÖBB wants to continue its internationalization course with the takeover of Go Ahead Deutschland. “We see good potential in southern Germany to grow even more in passenger transport,” says ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä. The company emphasizes that it currently runs 4,400 local trains per day in Austria, with a punctuality rate of 95.5 percent in 2022.
In Bavaria, Go Ahead has been running around ten million train kilometers per year since 2021. Initially in the Allgäu electrical network between Munich and Lindau. Since December 2022, the provider has also been serving the Augsburg network with lines to Munich, Ulm and even Würzburg and Aalen. After a difficult start on the Augsburg network with many train cancellations and too few staff, Go Ahead is still trying to stabilize its offering.
Also on Thursday, the company sharply criticized the network operator DB-Netz because construction sites that were only announced at short notice repeatedly led to delays and train cancellations – for months, for example, on the route between Augsburg and Donauwörth. “This short-term approach, this passenger-unfriendly planning and execution of the work – it can’t continue like this,” complained Go-Ahead managing director Fabian Amini.