The project ‘Liability for Means of Transport’ prioritises the investigation of liability for railways, a topic as yet little researched. The current level of European harmonisation and research in this field is not yet entirely satisfactory, in spite of the topic’s clear practical relevance for current efforts to promote the less ecologically-damaging railways. The project aims to fill this gap.

The first part of the project investigates the current reform needs of the Railway and Road Traffic Liability Act. A particular focal point of the research lies in an account of the EU law provisions concerning the separation of railway transport and railway infrastructure undertakings. For the second part of the project, the current Europe-wide need for harmonisation in relation to the liability of railways is analysed, in particular in regards to the close interdependence of international transport activities and the particular concerns arising with transnational joint projects (such as the Brenner Base Tunnel). A third part of the project develops proposals for the further development of railway liability in European, and thus also in Austrian, law.

The project is being conducted in cooperation with the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law under the leadership of Helmut Koziol and Olaf Riss.