Vienna tests energy saving tram

Vienna public transport operator Wiener Linien is testing an energy saving tram, the EcoTram, using it in daily operation until May 2014. The tram is part of a bigger project to make public transport vehicles more energy efficient. A Siemens ultra low floor tram has been equipped with intelligent control units that predict whether cooling or heating will be required. If the tram enters a tunnel where the ambient temperature is cooler, the air-conditioning will be turned down. The units control three air
August 21, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Vienna EcoTram
Vienna public transport operator 4203 Wiener Linien is testing an energy saving tram, the EcoTram, using it in daily operation until May 2014. The tram is part of a bigger project to make public transport vehicles more energy efficient.

A 189 Siemens ultra low floor tram has been equipped with intelligent control units that predict whether cooling or heating will be required. If the tram enters a tunnel where the ambient temperature is cooler, the air-conditioning will be turned down. The units control three air-conditioning units with heat pumps, a variable-frequency compressor and CO2 sensors. According to Siemens, the tram could offer annual savings of up to 3,000 MWh for tram operator Wiener Linien.

The EcoTram project has been running since 2009, supported by the Climate and Energy Fund of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency as part of its New Energies 2020 programme.

Other project partners include the Automation and Control Institute at Technische Universität Wien, which has developed the control software; Rail Tec Arsenal, which has manufactured the measuring technology; and Vossloh Kiepe, which has supplied the heating and air-conditioning units. Consulting firm SCHIG mbH is the project manager.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • EU citizens ‘pay twenty times too much for traffic noise reduction’
    November 8, 2013
    According to Paul de Vos, strategic advisor at engineering and consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV, European policy forces local authorities to make huge investments in traffic noise reduction. Until 2017, European governments will be spending US$168 billion for noise barriers, quieter roads and measures related to the negative effects of traffic noise, including damage to health. However, by simply making cars quieter, the total cost to the taxpayer could be reduced by a factor of twenty.
    Read More
  • International Road Safety Awards: the winners
    March 4, 2019
    Road accidents are a major blight on the world’s highways - but some companies are attempting to stem the tide. David Arminas reports on the annual Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards
    Read More
  • Affordable and versatile traffic data
    January 20, 2012
    Houston TranStar, which has been collecting travel time and segment speed data using vehicle probe data since 1995, has an extensive coverage area that envelops most local commuters' daily freeway routes. However, expanding the existing Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI) system would be cost-prohibitive except for high-volume freeways. The partners of the Houston TranStar consortium needed a new method to measure speeds and travel times on arterial roadway systems and rural freeways. Instead of using co
    Read More
  • Revealed: future of mobility in Hamburg
    October 7, 2021
    From 11-15 October, the ITS World Congress will present a myriad of innovations
    Read More

Highlighted Content