By ashleykaren
Stadler has received a firm order grant from Austrian Federal Railways to supply the first double-deck vehicles for its Railjet long-distance fleet, along with further electric multiple-units for Cityjet local services.
The €600m firm order for 35 Kiss EMUs signed on July 6 has been placed as the first choice under a 2022 framework agreement covering up to 186 trains, and takes the total ordered so far to 76. The first EMUs from the initial order are organized to enter service in eastern Austria in mid-2026.
The latest order comprises an additional 21 four-car Cityjet units with about 380 seats for local services in Wien, Niederösterreich, and Burgenland.
In addition, it contains 14 six-car 200 km/h sets planned for use on long-distance routes with frequent stops. These will originally be used on the Wien – Salzburg service, and once the Semmering base tunnel commences in 2030, they will also be operated on the route from Wien towards Graz, Klagenfurt, and Villach.
The Railjet EMUs are said to have 480 seats in two classes, two wheelchair spaces, eight cycle spaces, eight toilets, and two drink and snack vending machines.
As Stadler claimed, passengers can ‘expect a modern interior design’ with ‘comfortable’ seats with power outlets in every row. All coaches will have a low-floor entrance and a multi-purpose area for passengers with bicycles, pushchairs, or luggage, plus air-conditioning, wi-fi, a real-time passenger information system, and CCTV. The wheelchair spaces will have height-adjustable side wall tables.
When the latest order was signed, the operator’s CEO, Andreas Matthä, stated: “At ÖBB, the passenger boom continues”.
He added: “Long-distance transport recorded a total of 41·6 million passengers in 2022 — even surpassing our previous record year of 2019.”
“Not only are we very proud of this result, but we are also implementing other measures to further increase capacity on our trains. We are investing in the heart of our long-distance service, the Railjet, and will be adding modern Railjet double-decker trains to the existing fleet for the first time.”
Leonore Gewessler, Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation & Technology, expressed: “People in Austria want to travel in a climate-friendly manner, as shown by the KlimaTicket, which has already been sold 237 000 times. People are willing to switch to public transport if it is cheap, convenient, and attractive. With the new double-decker trains, ÖBB is meeting this demand.”
As reported, Stadler will develop its Wien site to support its increasing business in Austria, with an engineering hub to join the current sales center. This will generate almost 50 jobs for development, approval, and servicing engineers.
