CAF was selected by the transport operators of the city of Bonn to supply of 22 bi-directional LRVs and also the spare parts for this fleet. The contract includes an option for 10 additional light rail vehicles.
The new LRVs will be delivered by the end of 2024 and following all necessary approvals, they are expected to enter passenger transport by the end of 2026.
The “double-digit million” contract was awarded by the Stadtwerke Bonn Verkehrs GmbH (SWBV) and Elektrische Bahnen der Stadt Bonn und des Rhein-Sieg-Kreises GmbH (SSB). 12 LRVs will become the property of SWB Bus and the remaining 10 units will be managed by SSB.
The high-floor units have a length of 28 metres and are similar in design and dimensions to the units called “Stadtbahnwagen B”, a vehicle type that has been in service for many years now on a number of networks in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In this case, beyond the design similarities, the CAF vehicles feature the latest innovations with regard to comfort and safety, for this type of urban transport unit.
“We are pleased that we were able to submit an offer to the supervisory board that corresponds to the costs that we had planned in the business plans. With the modernised trams of the second tier, our new low-floor trams and the conversion of the Friesdorf depot for the E-bus fleet we have now set the course for the turnaround in traffic,” Anja Wenmakers, the Managing Director of SWB Bus und Bahn said at contract signing.
The fleet of bi-directional LRVs of SWB Bus und Bahn and SSB operate on the entire network, while also running on part of the intercity lines connecting the nearby city of Cologne. The new CAF LRVs will boost the capacity of this fleet of vehicles in order to cover the customer’s planned increase in frequencies of service, as well as the rise in the number of passengers.
The city of Bonn intends to become carbon neutral by 2035 and the object’s achievement also involves the transformation of the transport sector focused on the development of an attractive public transport system. “With more vehicles, we can increase the frequency and ensure even more reliability. The framework agreement offers us the flexibility to procure vehicles beyond the 22 vehicles. In this way we can actively shape the traffic turnaround,” Katja Dörner, the Mayor of Bonn said.
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