From the beginning of the month, the Spanish manufacturer has announced orders in the USA, Germany, France and Australia for the supply of almost 400 trams of various modifications.
Thus, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) named CAF the winner of an $811 mln USD tender to supply 102 seven-section low-floor trams to Boston. The contract also includes the production of components and guarantee maintenance for 3 years. In addition, the order implies the possibility to implement an option for an additional order of rolling stock and equipment.
The delivery includes Type 10 trams, which should replace the vehicles of the previous Type 7 and 8 series on one of Boston’s public transport lines. The trams will be produced at the CAF site in Elmira, New York, in cooperation with the company’s factories in Spain. It is expected that Boston will receive the first 4 trams in 2026, and from the spring of 2027 regular deliveries of two vehicles every month will begin. This is the second order for CAF in Boston: the manufacturer has already supplied 24 trams of the Type 9 series under a contract with MBTA from 2014.
CAF was also declared the winner of another tender, in Germany, for the supply of up to 275 two-section trams of the TW 4000 model to the ÜSTRA public transport operator of Hannover. The first two-section high-floor vehicles equipped with three bogies should arrive in the city in September 2025, the entire batch will be delivered until 2026.The firm part of the contract includes an order for 42 cars for €145 mln, with more than 46% of the funding coming from the region’s budget. The remaining 233 trams will be included in the contract as an option that could be exercised until 2040 depending on the financial situation.
Render of a tram model TW 4000 for Hanover. Source: CAF
At the same time, CAF received an additional order for the supply of 5 more tramcars for the CMET operator of Canberra, Australia. This batch is an option to 14 trams delivered to the city earlier. The main feature of the new rolling stock will be the equipping of vehicles with on-board energy storage systems, which should allow them to pass through areas with no catenary. The contract provides for the maintenance of trams, as well as the installation of energy storage devices on previously produced vehicles.
In addition, CAF won another tender for the delivery of 15 seven-section Urbos trams worth €57 mln to the RTM public transport operator in Marseille, France. The length of the trams will be 42.5 m, the design will be similar to the vehicles of the same series already in operation in the city. The new rolling stock is planned to be put in operation on three existing lines of the Marseille tram network.
CAF accounted for 9% of global trams deliveries in 2020-2022, according to SCI Verkehr. The new contracts should significantly expand the company’s backlog, which at the end of the first half of 2022 amounted to €10.7 bln (+12% by the end of 2021).
