(28/10/2019)
The contract, whose value exceeds 90 million euros, covers an option for a further 29 additional units, expects delivery of the first trams in late 2021 and includes technical support services and the supply of spares for a 30-year term.
CAF supplied Birmingham with its current fleet of 21 Urbos trams in 2012. In 2018, these units were subsequently fitted with the Greentech on-board energy storage solution, with lithium-ion batteries enabling catenary-free running (see piece of news).
The new Urbos units for Birmingham will be equipped with a similar on-board energy storage system which eliminates the need for catenary and helps protect architecturally sensitive areas around the city centre.
These new trams will join the existing fleet on the Midland Metro Line linking Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the extension to Centenary Square, the cultural and business hub in Birmingham. The Centenary Square extension is scheduled to open in early 2020 and will become the first commercial tram line in the UK designed for catenary-free running.
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