© E308

Statue of Emperor Charles VI in the magnificent hall

The collection is based on the treasure trove of books owned by the Habsburgs since the 14th century. The year 1368 is considered to be the beginning of this collection, as this is when the ownership of a book was first documented.

© Wiener Linien

Picture of the new Flexity tram

Upon arrival, we received a warm welcome. Participants without their own safety equipment were provided with helmets, high-visibility vests and safety shoes. Following a brief safety briefing, the tour began, for which we were divided into two groups. One group followed the manufacturing process from the individual components to the tram ready for delivery, while the other group started with the end product and traced the manufacturing process step by step ‘backwards’.

During the tour, we not only received a detailed explanation of the production process, but also gained insights into the extensive investments and restructuring that have taken place in recent years. Particularly noteworthy are the complete digitalisation of the plant and the conversion of production to a system with fixed work stations for each step. In addition, differences between the tram designs for the various cities were presented. One interesting detail was the replacement of wooden panels with stained aluminium with a wood look in order to meet the stricter fire safety requirements in Brussels.

The visit concluded with a comprehensive presentation of the company's entire rail vehicle division. The visit was rounded off with an exciting technical discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of different rail vehicle designs, the challenges involved in their development in the past and present, and comparisons with competing products