The Austrian Federal Railways (OBB) are opting for fundamental and far-reaching modernization and structural modification, which are essential if the railway is to constitute an attractive and environment-friendly alternative among the transport modes in the market. To increase market share, OBB is proposing to introduce two classes at high-speed trains - namely, EuroCity (EC) trains for travel between major cities in Austria and abroad, and Intercity (IC) trains for travel between large Austrian cities. Maximum running speeds of 200 km/h are planned for EC and IC trains, which will give revenue speeds of up to 160 km/h and achieve considerable cuts in today's journey times. In addition, OBB are planning Interregio trains as feeder services for the EuroCity and Intercity trains: the rolling stock used in them will permit running speeds of up to 160 km/h, giving revenue speeds of up to 100 km/h.
