Viking Adds First Electric Motor Coach for Vienna Excursions
The forty-nine-passenger coach will support Vienna shore excursions, though Viking has not named its manufacturer, range or charging arrangements.
Viking has introduced its first all-electric motor coach in Vienna, adding electric guest transport to the river line’s shore excursion operations in the Austrian capital. The 49-passenger vehicle is the first in a planned European rollout, and Viking said it is the first river cruise operator in Europe to put a 100 percent electric coach into guest service.
The company plans to add more electric coaches across Europe in the coming years, but did not disclose the coach manufacturer, purchase price, battery capacity, driving range or charging arrangements.
Torstein Hagen, Viking’s chairman and CEO, welcomed the program. “As we begin to introduce electric motor coaches to our land operations, we are proud to extend our environmental commitment even further,” Hagen said. “Electric motor coaches are quieter and offer a zero-emission solution.”
Vienna starts a broader land-transport rollout
The Vienna coach supports Viking’s shore excursion program there, though the company did not identify which local departures will use the vehicle first. Viking also did not say whether the coach will be owned directly, leased or operated through a local transportation partner.
Viking’s fleet includes more than 100 vessels, with about 90 river ships, 14 ocean ships and two expedition ships; its river fleet is expected to reach 114 ships by 2028.
Viking Libra nears hydrogen-powered debut
Viking’s vessel-side environmental work includes Viking Libra, the 54,300-gt, 998-guest ocean ship under construction at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard. The ship floated out in March and is scheduled for delivery this fall, when Viking expects it to become the world’s first hydrogen-powered cruise ship.
Fincantieri subsidiary Isotta Fraschini Motori helped develop Viking Libra’s fuel-cell and liquid-hydrogen propulsion component, which is designed to produce up to 6 MW of power. The ship will have 499 all-veranda staterooms, continuing Viking’s sub-1,000-guest ocean ship format while introducing the new propulsion system.
Viking has not set a public sequence for the next electric-coach locations. Hagen said the company expects to operate the vehicles in “many more Viking destinations” in the coming months and years.
