Another German city orders Czech trams
Škoda Transportation continues to step up in Germany. The Czech manufacturer has won a procurement for supplying 26 ForCity Smart trams to the city of Bonn. They will be introduced by the local public transport operator Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB) from mid-2022 to August 2023.
The order includes an option for an additional 12 trams. According to the agreement, Škoda Transportation will also supply spare parts for the vehicles during the 25-year period. To this end, the company will set up a warehouse at the SWB’s depot. The entire deal is valued at 4 billion korunas (over 157 million euros). With the help of ForCity Smart trams, SWB will replace 24 old vehicles and improve its service. “The new contract with our partner, Škoda Transportation, will significantly reduce maintenance costs and increase the reliability of our urban tram lines,” said Hansjörg Spielhoff, managing director of Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB).
Features
Škoda Transportation will deliver to Bonn 24 bi-directional, three-section, low-floor vehicles with swivel bogies. They will be based on the Škoda ForCity tram family. Each vehicle will have a length of 30.6 metres, a width of 2.4 metres and a total capacity for carrying up to 180 passengers. The trams will be equipped with information systems, air-conditioning, Wi-Fi and multifunctional areas for transporting wheelchairs, prams and bicycles. They will use regenerative braking energy and, therefore, allow SWB to reduce its energy costs. These trams will be able to speed up 80 kilometres per hour.
Škoda trams in Germany
Bonn is the fourth German city ordered the trams of Škoda Transportation. “For Škoda Transportation Group, the Bonn contract is not the first such success in Germany. A total of 80 new modern trams will head towards the lines between Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg in the coming years,” noted Zdeněk Majer, Senior Vice President for Sales of Škoda Transportation Group. These vehicles will be operated by the public transport company RNV.
In September of this year, the German city of Chemnitz starter to use ForCity trams on its network. Totally, Škoda Transportation is obliged to deliver to Chemnitz 14 vehicles of this type. It was Schöneiche, the municipality in the vicinity of Berlin, that in October 2018 has become the pioneer in using the Škoda-made trams. Currently, two ForCity light rail vehicles run on the tram network in Schöneiche. They were manufactured by Škoda Transtech, a Finnish subsidiary of Škoda Transportation.
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