THE city of Vienna and Wiener Linien have exercised an option for 10 additional six-car X-car metro trains from Siemens Mobility adding to the 34 trains originally ordered.
The first X-car train entered service on the Vienna U-Bahn on June 16 and has since successfully covered more than 8000km on Line U3. The new trains will replace older “Silver Arrow” trains and will enable fully automated metro operation for the first time in Vienna on Line U5 line starting in 2026.
“Over the last few weeks, volumes of data and feedback from the X-car operation were collected and analysed, and optimisations undertaken where needed,” Siemens says. “The new train has proven to be highly reliable, and feedback from passengers has also been especially positive.”
A second X-car train will enter service on Line U3 between Simmering and Ottakring on September 25, and three more trains are expected to be operating later this year. Production of the X-car fleet will ramp up next year and the X-car will also be introduced on Line U2. Delivery is expected to be completed in 2030.
The X-car train has a new passenger information system and low-maintenance, airless brakes. Each train is 111m long and 2.85m wide and has capacity for 928 passengers. There are six spaces for wheelchairs.
The maintenance contract signed between Wiener Linien and Siemens Mobility covering all X-car trains took effect when passenger service began. Train maintenance will be carried out by specially trained Wiener Linien staff in cooperation with experts from Siemens Mobility.
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