CAF has won contracts to supply light rail vehicles for Hannover in Germany, and Canberra in Australia. Combined, the contracts are worth more than €220 million and reinforce the Spanish company’s significant orders in hand, which reached a record figure of more than €10.7 billion at the close of the first half of the year.
ÜSTRA Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG, the public transport operator in Hannover, has awarded CAF the contract for 42 TW 4000 light rail vehicles (LRVs). The contract provides for an optional extension for up to 233 additional vehicles.
The first vehicles are scheduled for delivery to the city’s Stadtbahn network in the second half of 2025. Hannover, the capital of the state of Lower Saxony, with more than one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, is one of the most important industrial and service hubs in Germany.
The new Hannover CAF LRVs will replace the existing TW 6000 and TW 2000 fleets, which will be replaced by LRVs that curtail energy consumption by relying on state-of-the-art technology and vehicle weight reduction for greater energy savings. The new units will also improve passenger experience in terms of vehicle accessibility, passenger information systems and riding comfort.
In recent months, CAF has reached important milestones in the German market, the largest accessible rail market worldwide. These include the contract signed with the German transport operators VRR and NWL for the supply of 63 battery-powered trains, LRV orders for the cities of Essen and Bonn, as well as trams for Freiburg and electric multiple units for Schönbuchbahn. Also worth of note is the recent acquisition of the intellectual property of the Talent 3 train platform, aimed at the German and Central European markets, and the hiring of key engineering personnel associated with it, which will boost CAF’s capabilities in these markets.
In addition, the Australian Capital Territory has once again renewed its trust in CAF through the operator of the Canberra tramway line, Canberra Metro Operations, for the supply of 5 additional trams equipped with OESS (On Board Energy Storage Systems) to operate on catenary-free track sections. These 5 trams add to the 14 units previously supplied to the Australian capital. Furthermore, the agreement provides for the maintenance of the new units together with the upgrade of the previously delivered fleet fitted with the OESS accumulation system. The upgrade equipment will be similar to that on the new vehicles and will permit catenary-free operation for the entire fleet of vehicles on the city’s light rail line.
The new trams will run on the existing line linking the Gungahlin area to the centre of the Australian capital and on its future extension.
CAF has already supplied a tramway for Newcastle, which was commissioned in 2019 as the first catenary-free tramway in Australia, and the Parramatta tramway, scheduled to come into operation in 2023-2024, this new tramway project will be CAF’s third project with the OESS system in the country.
0113 2082620
info@railbusinessdaily.com
15 Mariner Court, Wakefield WF4 3FL
