ÖBB – shaping mobility of the future
Posted: 1 August 2013 | | No comments yet
In early-2013, the Supervisory Board of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG and ÖBB-Holding AG concluded an order worth approximately €581 million for 100 new Siemens Desiro ML mass transit and regional trains. The new trainsets will contribute significantly to improving passenger comfort and prove that ÖBB is committed to enhancing its offering.
The focus of the design concept of these trains is centred on adding extra comfort and providing additional passenger capacity in order to cope with the continuously rising demand of travel in Austria. The order was placed as a framework agreement with Siemens – 30 trains will serve in the local traffic network in and around Vienna and 70 are earmarked to serve the regional traffic networks in Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Styria. Completing the finishing-construction process of the trains will be carried out in ÖBB workshops and it is expected that the trainsets will be taken into service by the end of 2015.
In early-2013, the Supervisory Board of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG and ÖBB-Holding AG concluded an order worth approximately €581 million for 100 new Siemens Desiro ML mass transit and regional trains. The new trainsets will contribute significantly to improving passenger comfort and prove that ÖBB is committed to enhancing its offering. The focus of the design concept of these trains is centred on adding extra comfort and providing additional passenger capacity in order to cope with the continuously rising demand of travel in Austria. The order was placed as a framework agreement with Siemens – 30 trains will serve in the local traffic network in and around Vienna and 70 are earmarked to serve the regional traffic networks in Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Styria. Completing the finishing-construction process of the trains will be carried out in ÖBB workshops and it is expected that the trainsets will be taken into service by the end of 2015.
In early-2013, the Supervisory Board of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG and ÖBB-Holding AG concluded an order worth approximately €581 million for 100 new Siemens Desiro ML mass transit and regional trains. The new trainsets will contribute significantly to improving passenger comfort and prove that ÖBB is committed to enhancing its offering.
The focus of the design concept of these trains is centred on adding extra comfort and providing additional passenger capacity in order to cope with the continuously rising demand of travel in Austria. The order was placed as a framework agreement with Siemens – 30 trains will serve in the local traffic network in and around Vienna and 70 are earmarked to serve the regional traffic networks in Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Styria. Completing the finishing-construction process of the trains will be carried out in ÖBB workshops and it is expected that the trainsets will be taken into service by the end of 2015.
A new age of local and regional train service
Eighteen trains in this order will operate as regional trains in Styria. They are strongly needed in this location because the number of train commuters and passengers has risen by 33% in the last five years. In Upper Austria, 17 of the new trains will go into service while 35 will operate in Lower Austria, and a further 30 trains in and around Vienna on the local S-Bahn network. They will introduce a new age in riding comfort in the local and regional service in Austria and will add to a modern lifestyle in Austria.
More comfort for passengers
Desiro ML is an electric train consisting of three single units. The trains built for local services will have 244 seats, whilst the trains built for regional operations will have 259 seats. All trains will have air-conditioning and will be easily accessible for people with reduced mobility – local trains will have six doors per side, and regional trains will have four doors per side. Optionally, the train can be extended with an additional car. Desiro ML is designed for a high-speed of 160km/h. The new trains will be 75m-long, have two water closets, plenty of room in the multi-use-area and a bigger seat pitch than the current local and regional trains operating in Austria.
Finishing work at ÖBB workshops
As previously mentioned, the order was placed within a framework agreement which was made in 2010. The finishing-work in the construction process of the trains will be carried out in ÖBB workshops which will secure 140 jobs.
Consequent rolling stock modernisation programme
Within the last 10 years, ÖBB have invested some €2 billion in renewing its rolling stock fleet. As a result, ÖBB currently has one of the most modern train fleets in Europe. For local and regional service trains, new double-deck cars, Desiro and also Talent trains have been ordered. For long-distance traffic, ÖBB brought a new experience for passengers by introducing the ÖBB railjet high-speed service, and there are currently 51 railjets operating today. The order of new Desiro ML trains is the next step in this chain of measures to ensure that ÖBB will be in a position to shape the mobility of the future. The modern trains ideally fit with the demand of the Austrian railway ecosystem and are tailored for service in the Austrian regions.
ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG
ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG was founded in 2004 and first started passenger transport operations by train and by bus in January 2005, as set out in the Federal Railways Act 2003. The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ÖBB-Holding AG. ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG is Austria’s largest mobility service provider. With over 4,000 trains and 30,000 bus routes available, every day, more than one million passengers choose to travel on our rail and road transport services. Our team is made up of around 2,900 employees, and whether it is on-board staff, a call centre agent or one of our travel consultants, they all contribute to providing you with the highest level of service, safety and reliability – every day – in all weathers, around the clock. Customer orientation is at the heart of our mission statement. Our goal is to meet the mobility needs of our customers. By creating products that are matched to customer requirements and demands, we have the right offer for everyone. Our products and services speak for themselves. Source: www.oebb.at
Biography
Klaus Garstenauer has been Head of Local and Regional Train Services at ÖBB-Personen – verkehr AG since 2009. Prior to this Klaus worked in the Market – ing & Sales and Controlling departments of the ÖBBInfrastruktur AG Business Division for Technical Access to the Rail Network. Klaus also previously held a Marketing & Sales position at Thales Austria GmbH and between 1995 and 1997 was a Research Follow in the Institute of Transport Industry at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
