New trams begin to arrive in Bucharest

The Romanian capital Bucharest has seen the arrival of the first of a 100 new trams, which will soon be operational in the city. The contract for the new trams was signed in May 2021, with the Bucharest local authorities paying €200 million to Romanian tram producer, Astra Vagone, for the purchase and deployment of 100 new trams.

The official announcement that the first new tram was now operational in the capital was made during a press conference held by the city Mayor, Nicușor Dan. The remaining new trams will be delivered on a regular basis over the next 15 months.

The tram purchase represents a huge investment for the city of Bucharest, which last modernised its tram fleet in 1989. Over the past 30 years the municipality has only bought 17 new trams. The new tram fleet was supported by the EU, which also required the city to take further action related to urban mobility planning, including that the city undertook a series of actions to modernise the tram tracks in the city. While this modernisation made the project more expensive, it allowed the city to approve a plan to redevelop around 80 kilometres of tram tracks. The total cost of the project is €800 million, of which €600 million is financed through the Romanian Recovery and Resilience Fund for the renovation of the whole tram network, while the Bucharest authorities financed the purchase of the 100 new trams.

The renovation of the tram network and the modernisation of the tram fleet will benefit the city and its people, accelerating the sustainable mobility transition in Bucharest. In addition, the 100 new trams that will be operating in Bucharest are 2 to 3 times more efficient than the older trams, says Adrian Criț, the General Manager of the transport authority of Bucharest (Societatea de Transport Bucuresti, STB SA). The new trams require around 0.6 kilowatt-hours per ton-kilometre compared to the older 1975 models, which currently require between 0.11-0.21 kilowatt-hours per ton-kilometre. The new trams also have a bigger capacity: they are able to move up to 20% more passengers than the old trams, therefore being more efficient and sustainable.

For more information on the new Astra Vagone’s trams see their website.

Original article published by TheMayor.EU on 15 July 2022.