GERMANY: Chemnitzer Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft signed a €35m contract with Škoda Transportation on June 14 for the supply of 14 low-floor trams. This marks Škoda’s first tram order for Germany.
Škoda is to supply the stainless steel bodied bidirectional ForCity Classic trams between mid-2018 and mid-2019. Each five-section tram with three driven bogies will be 33 m long and 2 650 mm wide, with capacity for 192 passengers including 64 seats and four wheelchair spaces. Air-conditioning and wi-fi are to be installed. The trams have an expected service life of 32 years, and CVAG foresees that each one will cover around 2 million km during this time.
A tender was called in 2015 for the supply of trams to replace CVAG’s 10 high-floor Tatra T3D-M models supplied in 1988 and modernised in the early 1990s. These make up around one-third of the fleet of 34 trams in service in Chemnitz, but require replacement as the spare parts are now hard to source. CVAG also wants to improve accessibility across its fleet.
Half of the order’s cost will be paid for from federal funds allocated to the Land of Sachsen. As well as replacing the 10 Tatra trams, four extra vehicles are needed for the opening of Route 3 to Reichenhainer Straße, which is currently under construction.
