Prague prepares tender for 60 driverless metro trains
The new metro trains will be automatic and have open gangways.
The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) plans to launch a large-scale tender for the supply of new trains for Prague’s D and C metro lines in the first half of next year. The tender documentation is currently being prepared. The trains will be fully automated, i.e. driverless. The new trains are to be delivered by 2029, when line D is scheduled to open.
At least 60 trains are needed. DPP estimates that 16–18 trains will be required for the new metro line D and another 53–54 trains for metro line C. The existing trains will be moved from metro line C to line B, where the oldest cars are in service. These will then be decommissioned.
Line C was selected because its capacity is already at its limit and it has the greatest need for reduced intervals due to passenger load. This will only be possible with automation. The peak interval is expected to be reduced from 115 to 80 seconds with automated operation.
The new trains will have a higher passenger capacity than the current trains. Although they will be the same length, they will have open gangways. The installation of vertical platform screen doors (PSD) will also be part of the upgrade. DPP has not provided a cost estimate for the new trains.
DPP announced at the end of December last year that it would seek a company to upgrade the signaling equipment on line C through a competitive bidding process. The safety upgrade is a prerequisite for the future automation of traffic.
Edited and translated by Lucie Trávníčková