Viennese public transport operator Wiener Linien has announced that Bombardier will supply 156 low-floor LRVs (light-rails vehicle) in a deal worth up to 562 million euros.

The Flexity vehicles will be assembled at Bombardier’s plant in Donaustadt, Vienna, and the fleet is due to be delivered between 2018 and 2026, allowing time to withdraw the high-floor E1 and E2 trams, which date from the 1970s.

Each 34m-long five-section vehicle will accommodate up to 211 passengers, and the contract will include maintenance; this will be carried out by Wiener Linien staff on behalf of Bombardier.

Wiener Linien announced last year that it would launch a new tender for LRVs instead of exercising an option for additional ultra-low-floor (ULF) LRVs from Siemens — the city’s standard tram design over the last 15 years.

Siemens supplied an initial batch of 150 ULFs to Wiener Linien in 1997 and is currently delivering a second tranche of 150 vehicles, the last of which will roll off the assembly line at the company’s Simmering plant in Vienna in 2015.

In the final round of the procurement process, Bombardier and Siemens were the only remaining bidders, with Siemens offering an upgraded version of the ULF.