Siemens Mobility Austria invests 12 million euros into Vienna-Simmering business location 

Siemens Mobility is investing twelve million euros into the further modernization of the tradition-steeped production site in Vienna-Simmering. Passenger coaches and metros are manufactured at the plant, for example the new night trains for ÖBB or metros for Vienna, Munich, Riyadh or Bangkok. The popular ÖBB railjets are also produced here. The focal points of the investment are on the erection of a new commissioning hall, the enhancement of digitalized production as well on the optimization of manufacturing processes. This will further increase the competitiveness of the business location as well as safeguard local workplaces and value creation. Siemens Mobility employs a staff of around 1,300 at the Vienna plant, manufactures around 450 railway vehicles per year and currently trains a total of 88 apprentices. 35 additional apprentices are being sought to begin their training in autumn 2021.  

Peter Hanke, Executive City Councilor of Business, City of Vienna:

“The enlargement of the Siemens manufacturing site in Vienna is an important signal and especially good news, which is absolutely important in these trying times. Investing into Vienna translates into value creation and jobs for the business location Vienna. It also stands for international renown. The trains manufactured here in Vienna operate around the world and are therefore an effective calling card for all the achievements we can be proud of in Vienna.”

Arnulf Wolfram, CEO Siemens Mobility Austria: “Our state of the art vehicles from Vienna can shift mobility to the environmentally-friendly railway and curb climate change. The current investments ensure that our traditional, 180-year-old business location in Vienna-Simmering will soon be able to provide even more competitive answers, at the highest levels of quality, to the challenges of the future.”

The erection of the hall is scheduled for completion in one year. The construction company Leyrer+Graf has been selected as prime contractor for the vehicle commissioning hall and the track system.

Siemens Mobility in Vienna already relies on numerous innovative production technologies today. The robotic surface engineering center – the most modern of its kind in Europe’s railway vehicle manufacturing sector – ensures, for example, that car bodies are finished in high quality and that environmental protection goals are also met. And investments into digital progress are being continued with the erection of a state of the art railway vehicle commissioning hall as well as the introduction of new continuous production lines at their core. Furthermore, two new robot units will be constructed and the IT production network expanded. The foundation stone ceremony for the new hall was held on March 1, 2021. The modification of the plant will be executed during standard operation.

Improved production for international metros

A functional vehicle commissioning hall with a connection to the railway network of ÖBB will be erected to improve the metro production options for international metropolises. This is where individual cars will in future be combined to trains and will undergo static testing, prior to being transported to other locations via the railway network for dynamic testing purposes. Transportation by track avoids a significant amount of deliveries by truck and thus helps to minimize the CO2 footprint.

Digitalization offensive ongoing

The machinery in operation will in future be digitally networked. This will be enabled by means of a strongly enlarged IT production network, which will cover the entire business location, thus simplifying the interplay between computer simulations and the actual production of vehicles. Furthermore, this measure will increase the production efficiency, as machine states will be permanently monitored on the central server and faults remedied by means of remote access on short notice. An additional welding robot for the front end welding process will be put into operation during the course of the year. A MIG welding process will be utilized, thus further increasing the grade of automation. The robots are programmed offline.

A friction stir welding facility has been in operation since last year. Thanks to its dimensions and technology, it is the first of its kind to be operated in the railway vehicle manufacturing sector. Friction stir welding allows for the execution of very specific vehicle designs. The already existing state of the art surface engineering center will be complemented by a sanding robot, which will take over sanding of the car bodies prior to finishing in a fully automated manner. Working together, the two systems will handle previously very physically demanding activities and will free up skilled labor, which will in future increasingly focus on managing and monitoring the machines.

Optimized maintenance of railway vehicles

Railway vehicle maintenance at the Vienna-Simmering business location will in future be further optimized by the erection of a second track harp. It will simplify plant-internal logistics by allowing for faster vehicle shunting from one work section to the next. Furthermore, the performance of the connection to the public railway system will be significantly enhanced. The maintenance hall will also be directly connected to the vehicle commissioning hall.

As a consequence, investments into a successful future continue at the business location that can already look back on a history of more than 180 years.