The parliament dismissed the federal government in June and replaced it with an caretaker administration of technocrats, which will remain in place until the formation of a new government following parliamentary elections on September 29.
The mandate of the interim government is restricted to the day-to-day administration and this means that bigger policy decisions cannot be made until after the election.
This created a problem for ÖBB as its current PSO contracts are due to expire in December. Given the urgency of the situation, parliament has authorised the interim government to sign the contracts before the new federal government is formed.
The decision has been criticised by ÖBB’s competitor Westbahn, which claims that while the direct award is still in line with European legislation, the government made no attempt to establish whether the incumbent’s offer represents reasonable value-for-money.
Westbahn claims it could have offered these services at much lower cost, saving the Austrian taxpayer up to €3bn.
One of the 15-year contracts covers services in the Vienna region and Westbahn has filed a complaint in court concerning the length of the notice period given from when the direct award was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
If the court rules favour of Westbahn, the Ministry of transport will need to award an interim PSO contract pending a new tendering process. The Ministry of Transport is already taking steps to prepare for this outcome in case the court rules against the PSO award.
