Wien U-Bahn Type X trainset design unveiled

AUSTRIA: The design of the 34 six-car Type X metro trainsets which Siemens is to supply for the Wien U-Bahn was unveiled by operator Wiener Linien on March 8.

The Type X trainsets will be used in fully automatic service from 2024 on the future Line U5, which will be the first in Wien to have automated operation. They will also be suitable for semi-automated or manual operation on existing lines U1, U2, U3 and U4.

Siemens said the styling of the Type X cars was intended as a continuation of the design elements of Wiener Linien’s existing fleet while meeting the latest international safety standards. They will have an ‘open and bright’ walk-though interior, with a seating layout offering an improved sense of spaciousness and providing step-free access to wheelchair and multi-purpose spaces. A transparent partition behind the driver’s cab would offer passengers ‘a new perspective’ of the line.

The aluminium-bodied cars will have LED lighting, ‘highly efficient heating and air-conditioning’ and be equipped for regenerative braking. They will be the first metro trains to be equipped with the FGI Plus passenger information system, which will display direction-finding information and details of connections above each door to help optimise passenger flow.

The contract signed by Siemens and Wiener Linien at the end of 2017 covers the supply of 34 trainsets from the manufacturer’s Wien factory between mid-2020 and 2030, and maintenance for 24 years. There is an option for an additional 11 trainsets, which would take the overall value of the contract to €550m. Bombardier Transportation had also tendered.

‘We’ll be getting a state-of-the-art train that fits our existing infrastructure and offers very good value for the money’, said Wiener Linien director Günter Steinbauer when the designs were unveiled. ‘The proven partnership with Siemens together with the maintenance contract assure us the highest care with the conception and quality of the trains, which will benefit our passengers over a long period.’

CEO of Siemens’ Mobility Division Sabrina Soussan said the company’s Wien plant had ‘enjoyed a long and close partnership with Wiener Linien, which included the supply of Type U cars in 1972 and Type V cars in 2000. ‘It’s a great success for us to now be able to build the third metro generation for our home location, in Wien for Wien’, she said.