Wiener Linien of Vienna, Austria have ordered 15 metro trains from a consortium led by Siemens Transportation Systems (TS). The total order is worth more than €135 million. The lion's share of it – €94 million – will go to Siemens, while the remaining €41 million will be divided between consortium partners Bombardier (€26 million) and Elin EBG Traction (€15 million).

For this Wiener Linien order, Siemens will perform the engineering for the entire train and the construction of the car bodies and also supply the interior furnishings and part of the electrical equipment. The 15 metro trains will be built by Siemens in its Vienna plant. Shipment is scheduled for between May 2009 and May 2011. With its latest order the city of Vienna is taking up the second option of a general agreement signed back in 1998 for the purchase of 60 metro trains. Twenty-five of those 6-car metro trains were then ordered in 2002. The first trains – seventeen of them are currently in service – have been running successfully in scheduled service since summer 2006. All 25 metro trains from that first series will be handed over to Wiener Linien by the end of 2008.

The new metro trains designed for the Austrian capital are very energy efficient and environmentally friendly and will be used on all metro lines with the exception of Line U6. These trains are 112 meters long and can carry up to 900 passengers each. The intermediate cars serve as motor cars, while the end cars act as driving trailer cars.

Compared to the so-called “Silver Arrow” units operated in Vienna up till now, the new metro vehicles are slightly wider. As a result, the passenger compartment is bigger and the gap between vehicle and platform edge has been reduced to a few centimeters. As an extra feature, multi-purpose compartments with extendable ramps especially for passengers in wheelchairs and for baby carriages are provided in the vehicles directly behind the driver's cabs. An air conditioning system and passenger information system in the various compartments offer passengers improved service and convenience.