50th type V-car for Vienna’s metro

The 112-meter long trains with universal accessibility have capacity for just about 900 passengers

The 50th type V-car for Vienna’s metro fleet was presented by Günter Steinbauer, General Manager of Wiener Linien, and Wolfgang Hesoun, General Director of Siemens Austria, on the occasion of a trial run. This means that every third metro train in the transit network is now a type V-car. Another eleven trains have been ordered for delivery by 2017. The V-cars are assembled in the Siemens’ plant in Vienna, Austria, and the bogies and wheelsets are produced in the Siemens’ Graz location.

The 112-meter long trains with universal accessibility have capacity for just about 900 passengers

“The type V-car is very popular with our passengers. As we have been doing for our buses and LRVs, we will also gradually be modernizing our metro fleet over the next few years,” Günter Steinbauer says.

“The type V-car is based on developments that incorporate the very latest technology, customer requests, and knowledge gained from trial operation, making technical progress a palpable experience for people,” Wolfgang Hesoun stresses.

The 50th type V train has been in scheduled service since a few days and will mainly be used on line U3. In total, Wiener Linien are investing around 140 million euros in the procurement of new metro trains, LRVs, and buses in 2014. The first of the walkthrough type V-cars has been in service since 2006.

To enhance the comfort of Wiener Linien passengers, all new type V-cars are equipped with air-conditioning. The 112-meter long trains with universal accessibility have capacity for just about 900 passengers. This is around 40 passengers more per metro trainset than in the predecessor model, the historic Silver Arrow.

The new type V-cars provide more space for wheelchair users and passengers with baby carriages, and extendible ramps bridge the gap between the platform and the train on the first and last door. The bright and friendly interior design is popular with passengers.

The type V-car is also especially environmentally friendly and energy-efficient. Power generated when the metro train brakes is fed back into the supply line, thus reducing overall energy consumption. Moreover, 90 percent of each type V-car can be recycled at the end of its service life. For added passenger safety, the new metro trains are kept under video surveillance. The type V-car will be manufactured in the Siemens plant at Wien Simmering as a consortium project of Siemens, Bombardier Transportation, and Vossloh Kiepe.