New Stadler Tramlink for Ausburg

The new Tramlink also arrives in Augsburg. On 3 August, the first of 11 trams ordered from Stadler was delivered. The vehicle, registered in the 900 series, arrived partly disassembled, the assembly will then be completed by the Stadwerke Ausburg ( SWA) workshops, operator of the service, before the start of tests and trials on the line, scheduled until the end of the year. Passenger service is expected to start in January 2024.        

The new trams, weighing 52 tonnes, over 40 metres long, can accommodate a maximum of around 230 passengers, are manufactured by the Stadler factory in Valencia.

For the delivery, transport by sea to the seaport of Bruges and then by road with two articulated trains was chosen; on the first one two sections were loaded, weighing 73 tonnes, on the second one five sections, weighing 105 tonnes.  The arrival of the second one is planned for the autumn.

The city of Augsburg, population 301,000, located in the state of Bavaria, is undoubtedly special. Founded in 15 B.C. during the reign of Emperor Augustus, it is one of the oldest cities in Germany and boasts the largest historic centre after Hamburg and Cologne.

An important tram network has been in operation in Augsburg since 1881. Today, there are five lines with a total length of 49.8 km, lines that practically cover a large part of the municipal area. Important is the operating schedule, which provides all lines with service from 4 a.m. to midnight, with passages every 5-7 minutes at peak hours and 10-15 at the beginning and end of the service. On Saturdays, all lines are scheduled to run every 10 minutes on average, and on Sundays and holidays every 15 minutes.

The lines pass through the central Konigsplatz, so as to guarantee the best possible interchange between the tram networks, supporting cars, and the nearby railway station, reached by tram in 3 minutes, the terminus of lines 3 and 4, and transit stop for line 6.  The shortest, but also one of the busiest, is line 4 from Konigplatz to the northern Oberbhausen car park, with 12 intermediate stops and an 18-minute journey. Other interchange car parks are to the west at the terminus of line 2 (Ausburg West) and to the east with line 6 (Friedberg).  The network crosses the city limits with lines 2 and 6 in Stadtbergen and in Friedberg again with line 6.

SWA also has two special lines in operation: Line 8, which connects the railway station with the football stadium ( Fussbal Arena), operating when the stadium is open, and Line 9, which also connects the station with the exhibition centre. As with line 8, line 9 is only active during events.

The fleet now consists of 82 trams: three MAN M8C vehicles, 11 GT6M vehicles built by Adtranz, 41 Siemens Combino and 27 Bombardier Flexity, type Cityflex CF8.  The new Stadler trams will replace MAN and Adtranz trams, which have reached the end of their operational life.

The interior spaces were particularly well thought out. “A multifunctional area is provided in the tramlinks, offering space for wheelchair users, walkers andpushchairs,” explains Klaus Röder, Head of Vehicles at SWA.  The vehicles are also equipped with an innovative CO2 air-conditioning system, which is even more sustainable and efficient, as it can detect the number of passengers in the car and adjust the climate of the passenger environment.

Like the SWA buses, the new trams will be silver in colour, but with a green and red band under the roof. The design was decided by the result of the survey launched in, September 2022.

 With the new Tramlinks SWA aims to have an even more competitive service quality, with a fleet of the latest generation of vehicles.