Stadler delivers first tram-train to Karlsruhe

With the delivery of Stadler 37.2m TT-2S tram-train 401 on 9 December (shipped from Valencia, rail transport from Antwerpen docks) a press event was arranged for 12 December in Tullastrasse depot when the new low-floor vehicle was revealed. This is the first of 75 cars on order for regional operator AVG, equipped for 750V dc and 15kV ac. 229 passengers can be carried (93 seated) and there is a toilet on board. There is an option for a further 73 vehicles. The first passengers should be boarding this summer. City operator VBK has 73 single-voltage vehicles on order with an option for 52 more, but delivery is not expected to start until 2028. 

 

AVG Managing Director Prof Dr Alexander Pischon said, ‘With the arrival of the first vehicle, the transition to a new generation begins for us. The joint procurement with other undertakings brings significant economic advantages and enables a stable long-term operation of urban and regional transport’. 

 

Karlsruhe tram-train operation started on the line to Bretten in September 1992 and is now provided on 12 lines that carry nearly 200 000 passengers/day. The original Siemens-built dual voltage high-floor LRVs have already been withdrawn, but 85 high-floor dual-voltage LRVs remain.