Six transport companies from Germany and Austria awarded Stadler a contract worth 4 billion euros to deliver 504 cars as part of the VDV tram project. The firm order covers the supply of 246 City Link trams worth a total of 1.7 billion euros, to be produced over the next ten years. The agreement includes options for up to 258 additional vehicles and 32 years of maintenance.

All vehicles will be offered in a three-part design. The length of the vehicle, the number of doors, the boarding and connection heights and the configuration of the City Link version will vary depending on the delivery location and the customer. All trams will share certain features, including HVAC systems for the passenger and cabs, and a spacious multipurpose area with two flexibly configurable wheelchair spaces. Trams will be individually equipped to suit the location of use. For example, Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft's vehicles will be equipped with toilets as well as bicycle rack facilities, while Schiene Oberösterreich has opted for luggage racks as an extra feature.

CityLink can operate a city tram network and, if configured accordingly, can also be used as an intercity train. It is unusual to offer one type of vehicle for six operators. “In the project team, we spent hours developing a common set of specifications. We defined a standard with up to five further versions to meet operator-specific requirements such as boarding height, coating and location of use ,” says Thorsten Erlenkötter, Overall Project Manager from Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

Under the VDV-Tram-Train project, Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe is responsible for the overall project management and, after the tendering phase, now also coordinates the implementation of the project. “The procurement concept we have implemented here so far is unique globally. All six operators believe in the tram concept, which can connect large cities with their respective regions according to the Karlsruhe model, And it can bring people quickly and directly into the city centre without having to change trains," says Christian Höglmeier, Technical General Manager at VBK. The six companies issued a request for proposals in August 2020, following an announcement in 2019 on a common approach to vehicle procurement.Editor/XingWentao