CEUTP concludes TAIEX-REGIO Series on Transport Infrastructure Financing, Analyzing Austria’s Railway Expertise

On May 5, 2025, CUPT and TAIEX-REGIO organized an online expert mission to discuss sustainable transport infrastructure financing models, with a primary focus on railway transport and infrastructure. This mission was the third and final event in a series dedicated to this topic. The mission aimed to support CEUTP in understanding alternative financing strategies, drawing on Austria’s experience with potentially limited access to EU cohesion funds. Austrian experts from SCHIG (Schieneninfrastrukturgesellschaft mbH), a competence center for railway management and engineering in Austria operating on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI), including Mr. Viktor Vogler (CEO), Mr. Paul Leitinger, Mr. Harald Buschbacher, and Mr. Christopher Lehner, led the sessions.

The event covered a range of topics, including:

• SCHIG’s organizational structure and tasks,
• PSO (Public Service Obligation) management, agreements, and stakeholder cooperation,
• Operational aspects of PSC (Public Service Contract) management, timetabling, performance measurement, and quality checks,
• The impact of the full implementation of the Fourth Railway Package on PSCs,
• PSO contract financing systems, including funding sources and compensation methodologies.

This event, the last in the series, aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange to support CEUTP in identifying key areas for transformation and building expertise to address future challenges in transport financing.