The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a loan agreement with Austria-based Swietelsky Baugesellschaft to provide a €50m loan for supporting the rehabilitation and maintenance of the country’s railway tracks.
The funds will be delivered from ‘InnovFin’ budget, which is a joint financing programme of the EIB and the European Commission to promote research and development activities (R&D) in Europe.
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The Austrian firm is currently planning to develop new methods to restore and maintain tracks on standard and high-speed railway sections more quickly at lower costs.
EIB vice-president Wilhelm Molterer said: "The railway sector is a core component of European infrastructure policy.
"This creates an even greater need for reliable and safe tracks, which are vital for smooth and environmentally friendly rail transport. Swietelsky is a company operating in this area, whose comprehensive expertise in rail track construction, rehabilitation and maintenance reaches far beyond Austria’s borders."
The research programme is in line to reduce downtime on railways due to maintenance and it also includes the construction of two prototypes for special rail maintenance equipment.
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By GlobalDataSwietelsky will be carrying out the work in its research centre in Fischamend near Vienna, the capital city of Austria.
This R&D project will be supported by ‘InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators’, ‘InnovFin Large Projects’, with financial backing from the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments.
EIB recently provided €950m in financial support for the modernisation of conventional railway lines, as well as regional and local routes in northern and southern Italy.
Image: The project concerns the RDI of new integrated multitask systems for rail track rehabilitation and maintenance. Photo: courtesy of Swietelsky Baugesellschaft.
