ÖBB and Siemens Mobility sign framework agreement for new passenger coaches

Current Nightjet service in Austria

Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Siemens Mobility have signed a framework agreement for the delivery of eight day trains and 13 night trains, with a total of up to 700 passenger coaches over the next five years.

The day service will comprise of nine-car trains and the night service seven-car trains. The Viaggio coaches will be operated with ÖBB’s current fleet of Siemens Taurus locomotives.

The agreement has a total of more than €1.5 billion and commissioning of the first vehicles is planned for 2022. The passenger coaches will be manufactured at the Siemens factory in Vienna, Austria.

“With the new trainsets for day and night service, ÖBB is systematically continuing its campaign to further enhance passenger comfort. With the additional coaches for the Nightjet, we’ll be underpinning our leading role in overnight travel in Europe,” said Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB-Holding AG.

The contract covers the delivery of all types of passenger coaches, including cab cars, multipurpose cars, first-and second-class cars, sleeping cars and couchette cars. The trains will be operated in Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. If required, there is an option to equip the coaches for use in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

“Being awarded one of Europe’s largest passenger coach tenders shows that our Viaggios are the benchmark for modern long-distance transport. They are based on over 160 years of passenger coach experience. Viaggio passenger trains offer great flexibility across borders as well as state-of-the-art passenger comfort – combined with low maintenance costs and high operational availability,” said Sabrina Soussan, CEO of Siemens Mobility.

The basic variant for daytime transport is designed as a low-floor coach with extra-wide doors to facilitate quick and comfortable boarding and alighting. The daytime trains have a seating capacity of 520, while the night trains offer 100 seats and 160 couchettes.

The Viaggio coaches offer improved energy efficiency, with LED interior lighting, air conditioning with a heat pump function and a fresh air supply regulated by the CO₂ content in the interior air.

The framework agreement includes the option of an extension beyond 2023.