Alstom along with consortium partner Kiepe Electric have announced that they have signed a contract with The Cologne Public Transport Authority (Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG, KVB) for the supply of 64 Citadis low-floor trams.
The order is worth €363m with Alstom's share amounting to 60% of the total contract value.
The trams will have special adaptions for the german marked and the first of the pre-series trams is expected to be delivered from the end of 2023 with the series vehicles following at the end of 2024.
There will be 62 sixty-metre-long trams along with 2 thirty-metre-long trams produced at the Alstom plant in Barcelona.
Kiepe Electric's plant in Germany will supply the electrical components for installation in Barcelona and the bogies for the Citadis trams will be supplied by Alstom from their Le Creusot plant in France.
The entire urban area of Cologne will see the new trams in operation.
The Citadis trams have driver assistance features along with large windows, individual seats and travel information. With space for 195 passengers, the trams have 10 double doors on each side and will have pivoting bogies for maximum flexibility.
“Following the contract with VGF in Frankfurt, this order is a further proof of the worldwide success of our flagship tram Citadis,” says Dr. Jörg Nikutta, Managing Director for Alstom in Germany and Austria. “Our trams will provide the passengers of the Cologne Public Transport Authority with the highest level of passenger comfort and will support the Cologne Public Transport Authority in successfully meeting the challenges of urban transport.”
Dr. Jürgen Wilder, Member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG and responsible for the Rail Vehicle Systems division comments: “This is the largest single order in the history of Kiepe Electric. We are proud and at the same time forward-looking that a joint technical concept from companies of the Knorr-Bremse Group was convincing in the tender. We will justify the trust placed in us by our partner Alstom and the Cologne Public Transport Authority with future-proof technology and strong service.”
Earlier this year, Alstom announced they were building more Citadis trams for Strasbourg
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Maybe trams is the better option than buses in urban and suburban areas. North London, West London and East London could do with having a tram system and trams. As South London already has its own tram system called Tramlink that serves New Addington, Elmers End, Beckenham Junction, Central Croydon, Mitcham and Wimbledon.