In 2026, the Austrian Association for Traffic and Transport Sciences (ÖVG) celebrates its 100th anniversary – and we warmly invite you to join us for this special occasion!
On May 7, 2026, we will host the 24th European Transport Congress in the beautiful Kuppelsaal of TU Vienna. The event will bring together leading voices from across Europe through inspiring keynotes, high-level panels, and scientific contributions from the mobility and transport research community all over Europe.
At the heart of the conference are four key topics that pose major challenges – and opportunities – for our sector, now and in the future:
- Labour & diversity
- Climate change & resilience
- Asset management & availability
- Geopolitical change & strategic dependencies
We will reveal the program continuously.
| 09:00 | Welcome |
| Peter Hanke // Minister of Infrastructure Austria | |
| Andreas Matthä // CEO ÖBB & President ÖVG | |
| Günter Emberger // TU Wien & Scientific Board Lead ÖVG | |
| Janos Toth // President EPTS |
Block 1: Labour & Diversity
Hosted by Breitenfeld HR
| 09:30 | Keynote Speech |
| 09:50 | Panel Discussion |
| Andreas Matthä // CEO ÖBB & President ÖVG | |
| Herbert Kasser // CFO ASFiNAG & Vice President ÖVG | |
| Jenny Zeller-Grothe // CHRO Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) | |
| Johannes Kopf // CEO Arbeitsmarktservice (AMS) | |
| Sabine Lehner // Diversity Expert SBB | |
| Host: Philipp Erik Breitenfeld // Breitenfeld HR | |
| 10:40 | Coffee & Networking Break |
Block 2: Climate Change & Resilience
| 11:10 | Keynote Speech: Securing the Future: How Wiener Linien Strengthen Resilience in Times of Climate Change and Multiple Crises |
| Gudrun Senk // CTO Wiener Linien | |
| 11:30 | Scientific Presentations selected from the Call for Papers |
| The future of inland waterway transport in Germany – the impact of climate change on infrastructure and the consequences of declining resilience | |
| Alexander Eisenkopf // Zeppelin University, Germany | |
| Disentangling the Drivers of Public Transportation Pass Support and Purchase Intention | |
| Angela Stefania Bergantino, Arjay Dineros, Stefanie Peer // University of Bari Aldo Moro |
|
| Railways as safety-critical infrastructure: possibility of reducing thermal load based on reflection | |
|
Katalin Főglein, István Márton Gorzó, Tibor Telekesi, Balint Farkas // KTI Hungarian Institute for Transport Sciences and Logistics
|
|
|
Increasing Intermodal Resilience by Implementing Physical Internet Approaches
|
|
|
Sandra Stein // Fraunhofer Austria Research & TU Wien, Florian Krietsch // PTV Planung Transport Verkehr, Ketki Kulkarni // Hanken School of Economics
|
|
| 12:45 | Lunch Break |
Block 3: Asset Management & Availability
| 13:45 | Keynote Speech: The Future of Track Maintenance |
| Johannes Max-Theurer // CEO Plasser & Theurer | |
| 14:05 | Scientific Presentations selected from the Call for Papers |
| Forgotten Connections: Discontinued Border Crossings of Hungary and the Prospects for Their Reopening | |
|
Zsombor Lenti, Márk Donát Horpácsy // Széchenyi István University, Hungary
|
|
| Selection of the Suitable Methodology for Recording and Assessing the Evenness of Cycling Infrastructure | |
| Torsten Merkens // FH Aachen, Germany | |
| A quantitative urban model for transport appraisal | |
| Daniel Hörcher, Daniel J. Graham // Corvinus University of Budapest | |
| Economic Evaluation of Removing Nautical Bottlenecks on Inland Waterways | |
| Bianca Salagean, Edwin van Hassel // University of Antwerp, Lisa-Maria Putz-Egger, Sophie Wiesinger, Arianne-Maria Savu // University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria | |
| 15:20 | Coffee & Networking Break |
| 15:50 | Friedrich List Award Ceremony |
| Opening Speech: Investing in Rail: The Recommendations of the Great German Economist F. List to the French King Louis-Philippe in 1837 Prospects for Future Investment in France | |
| Laurent Guihery // CY Cergy Paris University |
Block 4: Geopolitical Change & Strategic Dependencies
| 16:15 | Keynote Speech |
| Tanja Kienegger // CEO Siemens Mobility Austria | |
| 16:35 | Panel Discussion |
| Christian Diewald // President VBI (Austrian Railway Industry Association) | |
| Lilian Meyer // CEO Alstom | |
| Henriette Spyra // Head of Innovation at Ministry of Infrastructure | |
| Wojciech Paprocki // Director of the Institute of Infrastructure, Transport, and Mobility at the Warsaw School of Economics | |
| Christoph Barthel // Senior VP brose | |
| Stefan Bruhnke // Executive VP AVL List | |
| 17:25 | Final Words and Transfer to the Remise (Festivity Location) |
Celebration
After the conference, participants will be transferred to the Remise of Wiener Linien, where we will celebrate the ÖVG’s centenary in a festive setting alongside long-time companions, partner institutions, and all those shaping the future of mobility.
The festivities will start at 18:00 and we are looking forward to celebrating this milestone with you!
Excursions
We are delighted to present a wide array of excursions on 8 May spanning across all types of mobility:
- Citywalk “Supergrätzl” & Transformator:in
- Bicycle Tour with highlights of Vienna’s cycling infrastructure
- Vienna Harbour tour with MS Eisvogel
- Vienna Airport with focus on Critical Infrastructure
- ÖBB & ASFiNAG visit in Inzersdorf
- Wiener Linien Construction Site Visit U5 & Pedestrian Flow Simulation Lab
Excursions can be chosen on the day of the conference.
Tickets include access to the conference and conference materials as well as to the anniversary party in the evening and excursions on day 2. All food and drinks are included. Early Bird tickets are available until 31st January 2026.
Hotels
We recommend you to stay in a hotel close to Karlsplatz as a convenient location for both the conference as well as the excursions. We have blocked a certain amount of rooms with a discounted rate at the Radisson Blu das Triest between 6 and 9 May which you can access using the code OEVG0605 on their website. Cut-off date for these rooms is the 1st April 2026. You may find plenty of hotels nearby including the Motel One Wien Staatsoper.
In Zusammenarbeit mit // In Cooperation with
Partners
