Sofia to rebuild Tatra trams

Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, is unusual in operating trams on two gauges; the system developed on 1009-mm gauge tracks (nominal metre-gauge) from 1901, but from 1987 built two standard-gauge lines serving the eastern suburbs (now four lines). Although the undertaking's workshops built their own trams after WWII, under the COMECON agreement of countries allied with the Soviet Union, high-floor Tatra T6 and trailer B6 trams were delivered from the 1980s to both narrow and standard-gauge networks. Since independence three batches of low-floor PESA Swing trams have arrived from Poland. 

 

Earlier this year a tender was advertised to rebuild 40 Tatra T6A2 (35 built in 1990, narrow gauge) and Tatra T6B5 (36 built in 1989 standard gauge) trams to create longer cars with a low-floor centre section and new electronic controls. It is likely that new bodies will in fact be required. The contract has now been awarded to the Czech company Tram For Envi sro based in Ostrava. The company was founded in 2015 to repair passenger transport vehicles, but has not built any trams yet. It seems it is trying to get into the market hitherto occupied by the Pragoimex alliance.