Skip to main content

Vienna’s first electric bus goes into operation

The first electric bus (eBus) to be used in Austria’s capital city of Vienna has been put into service by the municipal transport authority, Wiener Linien, the first operator in Europe to implement and integrate eBuses into scheduled service. Designed and developed by Siemens Rail Systems and bus manufacturer Rampini, the vehicle is the first of twelve with which Wiener Linien intends to move two of the city's bus services to electric power by the summer of 2013. The vehicle’s total energy requirement is st
October 31, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The first electric bus (eBus) to be used in Austria’s capital city of Vienna has been put into service by the municipal transport authority, 4203 Wiener Linien, the first operator in Europe to implement and integrate eBuses into scheduled service.

Designed and developed by 189 Siemens Rail Systems and bus manufacturer Rampini, the vehicle is the first of twelve with which Wiener Linien intends to move two of the city's bus services to electric power by the summer of 2013.

The vehicle’s total energy requirement is stored in the onboard lithium ferrite battery system, which also supplies the heating and air-conditioning systems.  The battery charger is installed on the bus, which recharges at each bus stop via an elevating, roof-mounted pantograph. Battery capacity is 96 kilowatt hours, and the batteries can be recharged within fifteen minutes, and provide a range of between 120 to 150 km.  Energy regained from braking is regenerated through the three-phase motors, and fed back into the batteries.  The batteries are fully recharged over night when the bus is stationery in the depot.

The compact low-floor bus can carry up to 40 passengers, and its top speed is limited to 62 kilometers per hour. The bus itself does not emit any CO2, and is almost silent. Siemens claims eBuses require 25 percent less energy than petrol or diesel-powered buses, are less expensive to maintain and are completely emission-free in operation.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Next stop: UK's first tram battery charge station
    May 28, 2021
    Swiss firm Furrer+Frey's wireless station designed to develop Coventry very light rail system 
  • Gnewt to trial V2G tech to power EV fleet
    November 6, 2019
    A London-based parcel delivery service is to trial Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology to help power 70 electric vehicles (EVs). Gnewt by Menzies Distribution intends to use V2G to explore the ability of EVs releasing energy back to the grid when not in use. The trial is part of a Cisco-led project called E-Flex which aims to demonstrate how V2G can help reduce the demand EVs put on energy networks. Gnewt’s founder Sam Clarke says: “Through E-Flex, we’re able to sustainably carry on with our day-to-day op
  • Elimination of electric vehicle systems
    June 24, 2016
    According to IDTechEx Research reports, Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles 2016-2026, Mild Hybrid 48V Vehicles 2016-2031 and Structural Electronics 2015-2025: Applications, Technologies, Forecasts”, el4ctric vehicles (EVs)have a cost challenge: hybrids have complexity problems meaning reliability and space issues. Extra power electronic units arrive for tasks such as a vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-house and inductive charging. Many more will be added in future such as regeneration modules - thermoelect
  • French consortium to build Line 3 of Hanoi metro
    February 21, 2017
    International technology company Thales, as part of a French consortium including Alstom and Colas Rail, is to provide a complete telecommunications system for Line 3 of the Hanoi metro, the first of five lines planned for the Vietnamese capital. Hanoi’s metro project plays a crucial role in relieving congestion and improving road safety for the city’s 7.5 million inhabitants. Under the urban transport master plan adopted by the city several years ago, five metro lines are due to be built by 2030. Th