E1 vs. Flexity: Two Generations of Vienna in CTS 2026 – Which Tram Suits You Better?

Hardly two vehicles could better demonstrate the development of Vienna's tram system. The E1 comes from an era when high-floor vehicles, classic switches and much more direct vehicle technology were part of everyday life. The first cars entered service in Vienna in 1966. A total of 338 vehicles were built and used on a wide variety of lines for decades. It was not until 2022 that Wiener Linien retired the last E1s from regular passenger service.

The Flexity stands practically at the other end of this story. Since 2018 modern low-floor trams have been operating on Vienna's streets, gradually replacing older high-floor vehicles. At Wiener Linien, these include six double doors, 62 seats and 149 standing places. The car is 33.8 metres long and designed for accessibility and fast passenger boarding and alighting.

This exact difference is also interesting in City Transport Simulator. With the E1, it is less about modern comfort systems and more about the feeling of an older vehicle. The official CTS shop explicitly describes the direct driving experience as one of the reasons for its cult status. The vehicle has a distinctly more classic driver's workplace than the current low-floor cars and therefore feels like a different era as soon as you first look into the cockpit.

ViewApp continues to work on the details. With Update 26.2.0, for example, the E1's dead man's function was corrected: A corresponding warning must now actually be acknowledged using the designated dead man's button. The animation of the main switch was also revised. Previously, ViewApp had already further adjusted the cockpit and interior and brought the E1's appearance closer to the original. The soundscape is also one of the areas that has recently been revised once again.

With the Flexity Vienna the driver's everyday routine looks completely different. The vehicle uses a modern driver's cab and an AC asynchronous drive. In the game, this includes functioning windscreen wipers, heating and air conditioning that respond to weather and temperature. ViewApp accordingly describes acceleration and braking as significantly more modern and smoother than in its historic counterpart.

Improvements have also continued here recently. Since Update 26.2.0, the windscreen wiper can once again be switched off correctly using the same button, the left display has additional button sounds, and the pedals for the bell and rail brake work. In parallel, the motor, door, pantograph, brake and curve sounds of various vehicles, including the Flexity and E1, were improved or partially replaced.

This means the two trams differ in CTS not only visually. Anyone who drives the E1 deliberately gets older vehicle technology; anyone who takes the Flexity sits in a current Vienna low-floor tram. I find exactly these differences much more interesting for a simulator than two vehicles that differ only in their bodywork.

In reality, the change between generations is even more pronounced. The E1 was a classic high-floor vehicle. Anyone wanting to board it had to climb steps. The Flexity, by contrast, is part of Wiener Linien's strategy of replacing the last high-floor trams with modern accessible vehicles. Wiener Linien cites additional multipurpose areas, a second wheelchair space and wider seats for parents with children among the advantages.

Things have also changed considerably for drivers. In an official information brochure, Wiener Linien lists the following features of the Flexity, among others: air-conditioned driver's cab, swivelling driver's seat, touchscreen controls and cameras instead of classic exterior mirrors. Anyone driving the E1 and Flexity one after the other is therefore not simply comparing an old and a new skin, but two fundamentally different generations of driver's workplaces.

And that is exactly why this comparison fits so well right now. On October 13 the Vienna Expansion for City Transport Simulator 2026 will be released, featuring the real tram lines 37 and 38 as well as bus line 35A. By default, the expansion brings the newly created ULF A and ULF B for tram operations. E1 and Flexity, on the other hand, are standalone DLCs and are not part of the Vienna Expansion. Anyone who owns them can nevertheless expand their Vienna fleet with two completely different generations.

This gives the E1 an interesting second chance in particular. In reality, its regular career in Vienna ended in 2022. In the simulator, by contrast, we can use it again in a realistically recreated Viennese environment. With the Flexity, it is exactly the opposite: Here we drive a vehicle that is still genuinely part of Vienna's modern streetscape today. This means CTS can practically recreate the same city with vehicle technology from several decades.

Anyone primarily looking for modern technology, low-floor comfort and a current driver's workplace will therefore probably be better served by the Flexity . Those who instead find older tram technology exciting and deliberately want to drive a vehicle whose controls and atmosphere differ from today's trams will probably get the more characterful experience with the E1 .

There is hardly an objective winner here. The Flexity is technically more modern – but that does not automatically make it the more interesting simulation. With the E1 in particular, part of the appeal comes from the fact that certain things simply do not work as comfortably and automatically as they do in a modern low-floor tram. For simulation players, that can be an advantage.

There is currently also a fairly fitting time to buy them. In the official CTS shop, E1 Vienna and Flexity Vienna currently each cost €14.39 instead of the regular €17.99 – 20 percent less.

With our discount code SIMULATORENNEWS you get an additional 5% discounton the shop price. This currently brings the price to around €13.67 per vehicle.

E1 Vienna in the official CTS shop – an additional 5% with SIMULATORENNEWS

Flexity Vienna in the official CTS shop – an additional 5% with SIMULATORENNEWS

Anyone who does not yet own either vehicle and is waiting for Vienna anyway should simply bear in mind: The Vienna Expansion itself is still required separatelyto drive on the new real map from October 13. It costs €49.99 and includes lines 37, 38 and 35A, as well as ULF A, ULF B and the Vienna C2 variants. Our code SIMULATORENNEWS also gives you an additional 5% discount there.

Vienna Expansion – 5% discount with SIMULATORENNEWS

This makes Vienna quite interesting in CTS: ULF A and B are the vehicles of the new expansion, Flexity represents present-day modern Vienna, and the E1 brings a long-gone generation back onto the tracks. Anyone who owns them all can experience the same Viennese streets in distinctly different eras.

Which one would you drive through the new Vienna first: E1 or Flexity? In simulations, do you prefer old vehicles with classic technology or modern trams with a current driver's workplace? And would the historic E1 be a reason for you to deliberately drive the two new Vienna lines with a vehicle that is no longer in regular service there today?