Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) has rolled out the first fully refurbished Railjet set as part of a €200 million mid-life overhaul covering all 60 flagship inter-city trainsets. Presented in Vienna on 21 November, the upgraded consist will enter public service on 12 December—the same day the long-awaited Koralm high-speed railway opens between Graz and Klagenfurt, slicing 45 minutes off journeys across southern Austria.
Travellers will notice redesigned business- and economy-class seats with USB-C power, expanded luggage racks and a faster on-board Wi-Fi portal. Behind the scenes, each train now carries predictive-maintenance sensors feeding real-time data to ÖBB’s Fleet Control Centre, a move expected to cut unscheduled downtime by 15 %. Accessibility has also been upgraded with tactile seat numbers, induction loops and wider wheelchair bays, aligning with EU PRM-TSI standards.
![ÖBB Unveils Refurbished Railjet Fleet Ahead of December High-Speed Link]()
For corporate mobility managers the timing is significant. The Koralm line will reduce Graz–Vienna rail times to 2 h 10 m, making same-day round-trip client meetings feasible and offering a lower-carbon alternative to domestic flights. ÖBB says advance-purchase Railjet Business tickets on the new corridor will start at €49, undercutting typical airfares by 40 %.
Logistics providers also benefit: faster passenger services free up timetable paths for night-freight, improving reliability on a route that handles 22 % of Austria’s east-west cargo. ÖBB Freight CEO Clemens Först expects “double-digit” growth in intermodal volumes within a year of opening, aided by the upgrade’s digital-capacity boosts.
Travellers will notice redesigned business- and economy-class seats with USB-C power, expanded luggage racks and a faster on-board Wi-Fi portal. Behind the scenes, each train now carries predictive-maintenance sensors feeding real-time data to ÖBB’s Fleet Control Centre, a move expected to cut unscheduled downtime by 15 %. Accessibility has also been upgraded with tactile seat numbers, induction loops and wider wheelchair bays, aligning with EU PRM-TSI standards.
For corporate mobility managers the timing is significant. The Koralm line will reduce Graz–Vienna rail times to 2 h 10 m, making same-day round-trip client meetings feasible and offering a lower-carbon alternative to domestic flights. ÖBB says advance-purchase Railjet Business tickets on the new corridor will start at €49, undercutting typical airfares by 40 %.
Logistics providers also benefit: faster passenger services free up timetable paths for night-freight, improving reliability on a route that handles 22 % of Austria’s east-west cargo. ÖBB Freight CEO Clemens Först expects “double-digit” growth in intermodal volumes within a year of opening, aided by the upgrade’s digital-capacity boosts.
