UK: London Tramlink has awarded Stadler Pankow a firm order to supply a further four Variobahn trams for the light rail network centred on Croydon. The additional Variobahn cars trams are to be built at Stadler's plants in Berlin and are scheduled to enter service from 2015.
The £10·2m contract announced on August 21 is an option on an £16·3m order for six trams placed in August 2011. These entered service during 2012, operating alongside Tramlink's existing fleet of Bombardier CR4000 cars.
Tramlink's five-section bidirectional Variobahn cars are 32·37 m long and 2 650 mm wide, with 72 seats and standing room for 134 passengers. Maximum speed is 80 km/h.
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