Refurbishment programme commissioned for mass transit cars in Vienna

The refurbishment measures are designed to get the low-floor cars, which entered service between 1993 and 1999, into shape for the next 20 years. The cars currently operate on metro line 6 in the Austrian capital, running from Floridsdorf to Siebenhirten. | © Manfred Helmer

The refurbishment covers the replacement of drive units of the low-floor, articulated motor cars, which involves installing a modern air-cooled converter and the Kiepe Electric on-board power converter from the new 600 generation. This is lighter, more compact, and comes equipped with advanced control technology. The vehicle control system and tachograph are also up for replacement.

Refurbishment of the first four cars in Vienna has just been completed and the remaining 74 cars are to follow by the end of 2019.

“We are particularly pleased about this interesting project because it allows two expert members of the Knorr-Bremse Group to apply their know-how to the benefit of the customer,” said Dr. Peter Radina, Member of the Management Board of Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems. “The Knorr-Bremse Group sees itself as a global full-line supplier of innovative and reliable solutions themed around rail applications and covering the entire product life cycle – which is precisely where, in this case, we see the added value for our customer.”

At the same time, sister company IFE has also been commissioned to equip the 468 doors with new electric door drives. IFE service staff are handling the door conversion measures and recommissioning on site at the customer’s depot. It takes four employees around two and a half days to bring each car to turnkey readiness for customer handover, complete with approval
by technical inspectorate TÜV.

Currently, almost half the doors have already been refurbished and the entire door upgrade is due for completion by the end of 2017.