The FINANCIAL — Global mobility solution provider Bombardier Transportation received a call-off order from Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft mbH, the transport company of the Alb valley region in southwest Germany, for the delivery of 20 further dual-system BOMBARDIER FLEXITY trams. This third order is based on a framework agreement for a total of 75 vehicles from 2009.
The order is valued at approximately 87 million euro ($98 million US). The vehicles will be delivered between May 2020 and March 2021.
“Striving to provide attractive local transport services, we have decided to order 20 additional dual-system vehicles from Bombardier Transportation. This will allow us to purposefully enlarge our vehicle fleet offering high-quality standards to our passengers”, said Dr. Alexander Pischon, CEO of Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft.
Ascan Egerer, Technical Director of AVG, added: “Considering the urgent need to expand our capacity, ordering the 20 additional vehicles is of vital importance for us, as we are continuing to modernize our vehicle fleet. For our passengers, the FLEXITY trams also offer a modern, high level of passenger comfort”.
“We are very pleased about this renewed vote of confidence and look forward to continuing to work successfully with our customer AVG. We are proud that AVG will continue to rely on our dependable and easy-to-maintain FLEXITY trams in order to extend their transport service,” said Alexander Ketterl, Bombardier’s Head of Light Rail Vehicles.
The dual-system vehicles are in use in the tram network as well as the railway network. This means that passengers can travel into the city from the surrounding areas directly, in comfort and without needing to change trains. The vehicles are designed to fulfil the requirements of the city and region of Karlsruhe.
For optimal adaptation to the existing infrastructure, the floor height in all entrance areas allows a faster passenger change and barrier-free access for passengers with reduced mobility as well as passengers with pushchairs or heavy luggage. The conventional bogies with air springs offer increased suspension-comfort, particularly silent running and low wear on wheel and rail.
The vehicles feature comfort-orientated facilities and a modern passenger information system. Passengers can also look forward to Wi-Fi and generous multifunction areas with plenty of space for wheelchairs, pushchairs and bicycles.
Each of the vehicles is 37 metres long and offers space for 244 passengers, of which 93 are seated. Up to four FLEXITY trams can be coupled to accommodate an even higher number of passengers at peak times.
