Austria: A fleet of four six-car double-decker EMUs has entered passenger service on routes connecting Vienna with Salzburg and Linz.
The launch follows receiving certification from the European Union Agency for Railways, which sparked significant debate and renewed calls for measures to address CRRC’s growing market presence in the European Union.
The DDEMU2 trainsets operate at speeds up to 200 km/h with a passenger capacity of 1,280 people, 571 of them seated. The interior features areas for wheelchairs and a space for bicycles.
The body is made of aluminium with integrated composite materials, carbon fibre and fiberglass. It is reported that such body makes the train only 10% heavier than single-decker equivalents. The EMUs can travel curves with a radius of 100 m, and their axle load is 20 t.
The trains underwent tests since mid-2022. Private operator Westbahn has leased the rolling stock from CRRC under a 10-year agreement with an option for purchase at any time. Although the trains are manufactured at CRRC’s Zhuzhou facility, approximately half of the components – including automatic doors and braking systems from Knorr-Bremse – originate from European suppliers, according to Westbahn.
This deployment follows CRRC’s earlier European entry with three Sirius trainsets now operating in the Czech Republic under lease to another private operator, RegioJet, though their launch attracted considerably less attention.
