AUSTRIA: Wien city transport operator Wiener Linien has selected Siemens as preferred bidder for a contract to supply and maintain trainsets for the future metro line U5, which would be the capital’s first fully automatic line. Bombardier had also tendered for the contract.
A firm order is expected to be signed later this year for 34 trainsets to be delivered from Siemens’ plant in the city for testing from 2020. Options for a further 11 trainsets would take the overall value to €550m, of which around 30% would be for maintenance which would be undertaken by Wiener Linien staff on behalf of, and at the risk of, the manufacturer.
The trainsets would have walk-through and step-free interiors with air-conditioning and CCTV. Although running in driverless mode on U5, they would also be suitable for control by a driver to enable them to replace older vehicles on lines U1, U2, U3 and U4.
‘We are getting a modern train that matches the existing infrastructure and offers a very good price/performance ratio’, said Wiener Linien CEO Günter Steinbauer on September 12.
