RUSSIA: An order for 16 PKTS 71-921 Corsair trams for the metre-gauge network in Kaliningrad is to be financed by Sberbank’s leasing subsidiary under a 2·9bn rouble leasing deal running for 10 years from their delivery at the end of February 2022.
There had previously been some doubts about the long-term future of the city’s tramway, because municipal operators are not allowed to import vehicles and there was a lack of domestically produced metre-gauge vehicles until St Petersburg based PKTS developed the Corsair to target Russia’s small number of narrow gauge tramways. A prototype has been on test in Kaliningrad since January.
The four-axle articulated trams will be 21 m long and around 2 300 mm wide, with two bogies and four pairs of leaf doors. They will have a crush loading capacity of 177 passengers, with a minimum of 29 seated, and a seat for conductor.
They will be equipped with air-conditioning, CCTV, a passenger information system and USB ports for charging mobile devices.
They will have a design speed of 75 km/h, or 62 km/h with a full load, and will be capable of operating for up to 1 km without an external power supply.
A tender for a further 10 vehicles is planned for 2022, which would enable the resumption of services on Route 3 between the main railway station and Central Park over 3 km of route which is currently not in use.
