Skoda shows first tram for Bonn, heads to Vienna for tests
Bonn's transport company operates trams on three lines, with Duewag trams from the 1990s running in the city.
Skoda Group has completed the first tram of a series for the city of Bonn. The German transport company ordered 26 ForCity Smart (T41) trams in Plzen at the end of 2019, with an option for another 12 vehicles. The first tram is now headed to Vienna for testing.
The trams for Bonn are bidirectional three-section, low-floor trams with rotating bogies. With a length of 30 meters, they can accommodate 180 passengers. Among other things, they will be equipped with a camera system. The contract, which could be worth up to EUR 162 million, also includes the supply of spare parts for 25 years.
The Bonn transport company operates trams on three lines, with Duewag trams from the first half of the 1990s now running in the city. The transport company expects the new trams to significantly reduce maintenance costs and increase reliability.
For the Skoda Transportation Group, the Bonn contract is not the only major tram success in Germany. In the coming years, eighty trams will be delivered to Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, and Heidelberg, where the rnv (Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr) operates trams.
Edited and translated by Lucie Trávníčková.