Key takeaways
- Anschlussbahn is the Austrian technical term for a track installation that serves a business and is connected to the public network.
- In German usage, the same thing is usually called Anschlussgleis or Gleisanschluss – same thing, different word.
- The first and last mile decides whether goods reach the railway at all.
- Private sidings are private, or operational, land and completely off limits to observers.
- Letter abbreviations are no proof of identity: matching initials say nothing about shared companies.
Contents
Fact file
| Business area | Rail freight transport and transport services |
|---|---|
| Legal form | GmbH |
| Country of registration | Austria |
| Name components | "Rail" as the mode of transport, "Transport" as the activity, "Service" for the service orientation |
| Abbreviation | "RTS" as the initials of the three name words |
| Reliable identification | Country code and keeper marking in the data panel, not the name stem |
How to recognise this operator
Is this really Rail Transport Service GmbH (RTS)?
- The name states Transport and Service – a freight and service profile
- Austrian-registered vehicles carry A- before the keeper marking in the data panel
- Transfer runs are short, slow and made up of few wagons
- Private sidings branch off the public network via a set of points and end on operational premises
- Older or unusual vehicles often keep running on private sidings longer than on main lines
- The abbreviation RTS also appears at companies in other countries – the country code tells them apart
Updated: August 2026 – Between the last station and a works loading ramp, there’s sometimes only a kilometre of track. That one kilometre often decides whether a transport happens by rail at all. In Austria it has its own name: Anschlussbahn (private siding). Rail Transport Service GmbH (RTS) is a good occasion to keep this term and its German counterpart apart.
Seen a transfer run? Rare and gone fast.
Capture vehicle, location and time straight away – transfers run without a fixed schedule and rarely show twice.
What is Rail Transport Service GmbH (RTS)?
Rail Transport Service GmbH is a railway company registered in Austria, whose name describes an activity rather than a region: “Rail” names the mode of transport, “Transport” the conveyance, “Service” the service character. The abbreviation RTS is simply the string of the three initial letters – a naming pattern very common in the railway market.
This database also has an entry with the name stem RTS Rail Transport Service and a German connection. Whether the same corporate group stands behind them or two independent companies isn’t apparent from the name – this page therefore claims neither one nor the other. Other Austrian companies with activity-based names include CargoServ and SETG Salzburger Eisenbahn TransportLogistik.
Important distinction: railway operator and infrastructure manager
A railway operator runs trains, an infrastructure manager operates tracks and installations. With private sidings, this becomes especially clear: the track installation belongs to the connected business, while a third party often does the actual running on it. So seeing a locomotive on a works siding doesn't automatically show you the owner of the track.
Anschlussbahn: the Austrian term for the last mile
An Anschlussbahn (private siding) is, in Austrian usage, a track installation that serves the traffic of a particular business and is connected to the public network of ÖBB-Infrastruktur via a set of points. It isn’t part of the general network. Typical examples are works sites, warehouses and transhipment points, power plants, ports and terminals.
In German usage elsewhere, the same thing is usually called Anschlussgleis or Gleisanschluss. The difference is primarily linguistic, not technical – but it regularly trips people up across forums, databases and descriptions, because the same installation is called something different depending on the source. Anyone comparing Austrian and German sources side by side should keep both words in mind.
| Term | Language area | What’s meant |
|---|---|---|
| Anschlussbahn | Austria | private track installation of a business connected to the public network |
| Anschlussgleis | Germany | same principle, different word |
| Gleisanschluss | Germany, colloquial | often refers to the connection itself |
| Anschlussweiche | both | the point where the private installation branches off |
| Übergabe | both | the short run between the station and the private siding |
| Bedienung | both | the operational service of running to the siding |
The practical core of this: without a connection to the place where the load originates or is needed, rail transport ends at a ramp. That’s why the last mile is no side issue, but often the point at which a movement pays off, or doesn’t.
How to recognise a transfer run
Train length and speed
Few wagons, a leisurely pace, often pushed rather than pulled – a typical picture for a service run.
Look for the branch-off
A connecting set of points leads out of the running line and disappears towards operational premises.
Identify the vehicle
Transfers often use older or unusual machines that no longer appear in main-line service.
Read the data panel
Country code and keeper marking identify the vehicle's keeper – whoever's running it can be someone else.
How to get from an observation to a reliable identification is described in the guide Who’s actually running it? Identifying operators.
Rare runs deserve a note
Transfers and service runs are barely documented – your sighting fills a genuine gap.
Vehicles on the last mile
Which machine hauls a transfer depends on the contract, the weight and the installation – and changes with procurement. The stable pattern is: compact, agile vehicles with good visibility to both sides, often diesel locomotives, because many private sidings have no overhead line.
In the class database you’ll find the shunting locomotive ÖBB 2070, the more powerful ÖBB 2068, and with the ÖBB 1063 an electric vehicle equally at home in shunting and on short main-line runs. These examples serve as an identification aid for the Austrian vehicle world, not as a statement about the fleet of any particular company.
Observing without entering the site
Safety comes first
Private sidings are private or operational premises. This applies even where there's no fence, no sign, and no vehicle has been seen for a long time. Such installations are shunted without a fixed timetable, often with pushed wagons, sometimes remotely, and with very short sightlines between sheds and storage areas. Don't enter works, port or private-siding premises, don't follow any track installation, and use only publicly accessible locations.
How much distance is needed at the track, and why these rules also apply to seemingly disused installations, is explained in the guide to safe distance at the track.
Is your transfer sighting complete?
- Full vehicle number of the locomotive
- Country code and keeper marking from the data panel
- Number and type of wagons hauled
- Location as precise as possible, not just the municipality
- Direction of travel and whether pulled or pushed
- Date and time
How to turn this into a proper report is shown in the guide to reporting sightings.
A second point makes transfer runs especially valuable for documentation: they follow no published timetable. When a siding is served depends on volume – sometimes daily, sometimes on just a few days a week, sometimes only once enough wagons have accumulated. That’s exactly why so little reliable material exists on this part of operations. Every note with date, time and vehicle number fills a genuine gap here, while the same note on a main line only confirms what’s known anyway. Anyone who regularly observes the same spot recognises patterns after a few weeks that no source reveals. How to approach an operational area systematically and from a safe distance is described in the guide to spotting at a marshalling yard – the approach described there applies just as well to transfer points.
Common mix-ups
- Private siding assumed to mean a separate railway company – the installation belongs to a business; a third party often does the running on it.
- Anschlussgleis and Anschlussbahn treated as two different things – they’re two words for the same principle, from two language areas.
- Abbreviation assumed to mean identity – matching initials in two countries prove neither a shared nor a separate company.
- No fence assumed to mean open ground – operational premises stay operational premises, even without a barrier.
- Little traffic assumed to mean disused – sidings are often only served as needed, sometimes only every few weeks.
Conclusion
Rail Transport Service GmbH (RTS) stands for a part of the railway market that rarely appears in photos and matters all the more in everyday operations: the connection between the network and the business. Anyone who knows the term Anschlussbahn and can place its German counterpart alongside it will read Austrian sources far more confidently from then on.
In short
Anschlussbahn in Austria, Anschlussgleis in Germany – the same thing, two words. What both have in common: they sit on operational premises and are observed exclusively from outside.
Service runs belong in the logbook
Vehicle, wagons, location and time recorded in a structured way – and your archive covers the last mile too.
Summary
- An Austrian railway company whose name states mode of transport, activity and service in three English words.
- The core explainer concerns the last mile: Anschlussbahn in Austria, Anschlussgleis in Germany.
- Transfer runs are the visible link between the public network and operational premises.
- Land behind the connecting points is private – observation happens exclusively from public locations.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Rail Transport Service say?
It describes an activity, not a region: Rail names the mode of transport, Transport the conveyance, Service the service character. The abbreviation RTS is simply the three initial letters put together. Exactly which services are provided changes with contracts and so doesn't belong in a permanent description.
What is an Anschlussbahn?
In Austrian usage, this is a track installation that serves the traffic of a particular business and is connected to the public network via a set of points. It isn't part of the general network, but belongs to the respective company. Typical examples are works sites, warehouses, power plants, ports and terminals.
Is Anschlussbahn the same as Anschlussgleis?
In substance, both terms describe the same principle – a private track installation connected to the public network. In Austria, Anschlussbahn is the common word; in German-speaking usage elsewhere you'll more often hear Anschlussgleis or Gleisanschluss. Anyone reading sources from both countries should be able to place the terms side by side.
What is a transfer run (Übergabefahrt)?
The short run that moves wagons between a station on the public network and a private siding. It's usually slow, made up of few wagons, and hauled by a smaller locomotive. For observers it's interesting because vehicles turn up here that no longer appear in main-line service.
Why is the last mile so important?
Because it decides whether a transport takes place on rail at all. Without a connection to a works, warehouse or terminal, the load has to be additionally transferred to road. The private siding is therefore no side issue, but often the point at which rail traffic pays off, or doesn't.
Am I allowed to enter or follow a private siding?
No. Private sidings sit on private or operational premises. That applies even where there's no fence, no sign, and no vehicle has been seen for a long time. Such installations are shunted without fixed timetables, sometimes remotely, sometimes with pushed wagons. Observe exclusively from publicly accessible locations.
Are there companies with the abbreviation RTS in several countries?
This database also lists an entry with the name stem RTS Rail Transport Service and a German connection. Whether the same corporate group stands behind both, or two independent companies, can't be inferred from the name alone. This page therefore claims neither identity nor difference and points to each entry's own page.
How do I recognise which company is running a transfer?
Via the data panel on the vehicle: country code plus keeper marking, in Austria that's A- followed by the keeper. That names only the keeper of the vehicle, though. The company actually carrying out the run can be a different one — that's common, especially with hired shunting vehicles.
Log a sighting of Rail Transport Service GmbH (RTS)
Vehicle, location and date logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Vehicles in the rolling stock database
ÖBB Class 2070
The Class 2070 belongs to the modern generation of ÖBB diesel shunting locomotives. Here's how to recognise it and tell it apart from other shunting vehicles.
ClassÖBB Class 2068
The Class 2068 is a diesel shunting locomotive of the ÖBB. Here's how to recognise it, how shunting duty fits into railway operations – and how to stay safe while watching it.
ClassÖBB Class 1063
The Class 1063 is an electric shunting locomotive of the ÖBB. Why a shunter with a pantograph is the exception, and how to recognise it.
More operators
RTS Rail Transport Service
RTS Rail Transport Service names transport and service in its company name. This page also explains how dangerous goods markings on freight wagons are built up.
FreightCargoServ GmbH
CargoServ GmbH combines freight and service in its name. If you want to understand heavy trains, you should know how brake weight and speed are connected.
FreightSETG Salzburger Eisenbahn TransportLogistik GmbH
SETG Salzburger Eisenbahn TransportLogistik GmbH is an Austrian freight operator. This page shows how to recognise it – and what sets a siding apart from a private siding track.
FreightSteiermarkbahn Transport und Logistik GmbH
Steiermarkbahn Transport und Logistik GmbH operates in rail freight. This page explains what the name suffix suggests and why Austria uses "Verschub" instead of "rangieren".
FreightTX Logistik Austria GmbH
TX Logistik Austria GmbH operates in rail freight transport. This page explains what the Austria suffix in the name means – and why heavy trains in the mountains need a locomotive at the rear.
FreightWiener Lokalbahnen Cargo GmbH
Wiener Lokalbahnen Cargo GmbH carries its field of activity in its name. This page explains the train path – the reason freight trains never appear in a public timetable.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
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