ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, the infrastructure manager of the Austrian state railway ÖBB, has become the first company in Europe to be authorised to use drones to inspect the rail network. The drones can be controlled without direct visual contact with the pilots. The drone garages are distributed across ÖBB's entire rail network in order to be able to check the extent of damage more efficiently in the event of incidents such as rockfall and storm damage. The drones fly over the defined section and send real-time images of the condition of the track, which speeds up decision-making and increases time savings by eliminating manual inspections. The project is being implemented in collaboration with Frequentis, a provider of communication and information systems, and the aviation authority Austro Control.
