Austrian Railways (ÖBB) have been ranked fourth in a European comparison of rail operators, according to a report by the non-governmental organisation Transport Environment (TE).

The report, which assessed factors such as price and reliability, placed Italy’s Trenitalia at the top, followed by Switzerland’s SBB and the Czech Republic’s Regiojet, with the ÖBB securing fourth place.

However, ÖBB topped the rankings for night trains. The privately operated Westbahn, which runs on Austria’s western routes, was not included in the study.

Germany’s Deutsche Bahn (DB) ranked 16th out of 27 companies surveyed. Regiojet, which operates routes including the Prague-Vienna line, was praised for its competitive pricing.

Price Doesn’t Equal Quality

The report also highlighted that higher ticket prices do not necessarily correlate with better service.

“Our analysis shows that ticket prices do not correlate with higher service quality,” the authors stated. “While ÖBB and Trenitalia offer good value for money, operators like Eurostar charge nearly double the European average price per kilometre, yet do not provide superior services.” Eurostar, which operates high-speed trains through the Eurotunnel from London, ranked lowest in the study, primarily due to its high fares and poor reliability.