Less than two years after signing a framework agreement, Alstom has delivered the first of the new Citadis trams to France’s Strasbourg transport company Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS).
The first part of the contract is for the delivery of 12 trams worth 41 million euros. The first tram will begin dynamic on-track testing with the following 11 Citadis due to be delivered by May 2017.
The trams will be part of the existing fleet for Strasbourg and will run on lines A and D. On line D they will run all the way to Kehl in Germany. This will be the first commercial service tram in France to cross a border. The Citadis trams in Strasbourg will be the first trams approved by German federal BOStrab regulations covering the construction and operation of trams in Germany. Service is scheduled for next April.
“Alstom is proud to help link up Kehl to Strasbourg, creating a unique bond of friendship between the two cities,” said Jean-Baptiste Eymeoud, president of Alstom in France. “The trams of the Citadis range, which have been adopted by 54 cities worldwide, combine the use of proven technology and modularity in terms of layout to combine reliability, comfort and customisation.”
The Citadis trams are 45 meters long and have the capacity for 288 passengers. They feature LED lighting and full glass doors. In line with Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) regulations, the trains are equipped with easily accessible door knobs, wider seating and specially reserved areas for wheelchair users and passengers with strollers.
The trams are mostly manufactured in France at at La Rochelle for the design and assembly of the trams, Ornans for the design and manufacturing of the engines, Le Creusot for bogies for the intermediate modules, Tarbes for traction chains, Villeurbanne for electronic equipment, and St-Ouen for the design. The Salzgitter site in Germany will supply the bogies located underneath the driver cabins.