Austria, Germany: The contract with the VDV consortium from German and Austrian cities was concluded following the international tender results. The firm order includes the delivery of 246 three-section Citylink tram-trains for €1.7 bln. If the option is exercised, the supply could reach 504 units and €4 bln.
The framework agreement also includes the rolling stock maintenance for up to 32 years. The first four tram-trains will be delivered for testing to Saarbrücken, Germany, in 2024. Deliveries of the remaining untis must be completed within the next ten years.
Depending on the customer, tram-trains will differ from each other in body length, number of doors, floor level at the entrance, height of coupling devices and internal content. At the same time, all of them will have a separate air conditioning system for the driver and passengers, and will also be made in a three-section design.
The purchase is carried out by the VDV consortium of six urban operators in Germany and Austria, which was established in 2017. Initially, five German transportation companies teamed up to develop a single standard for a tram car, which would reduce its cost by about €1 mln. It would also be possible to reduce maintenance costs and the supply of spare parts through common orders. In January 2020, the Austrian operator Schiene OÖ also joined the consortium.
The Citylink low-floor tram-train series is produced by Stadler Rail in Valencia, Spain since 2003. Citylink trams are currently in operation in Spain, Germany, Hungary and the UK. With the order from VDV, the number of Citylink trams sold by Stadler Rail exceeded 650 units.
