Due to this partnership, Skoda will not only produce the traction devices, but also install them in the vehicles and test them. The traction equipment for the Genoa trolley buses will include traction batteries with a capacity of 81 kWh, which will allow extended operation of the vehicles off the catenary. The complete package also includes automatic current collectors or advanced diagnostics.

«At Skoda Group we are proud to be part of one of the largest trolleybus projects. It is a demonstration of the trust that our partners place in our Group’s technological expertise and manufacturing capabilities. Our traction drives, which have already been deployed in more than 50,000 vehicles worldwide, prove our commitment to excellence in every journey. We believe in innovations that cross borders and change the way people perceive urban transport» says Karel Majer, Chairman of the Board of Management of Skoda Electric in Skoda Group.

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The trams belong to the tried-and-tested Urbos tram platform; more than 1,000 of them can be found in 50 cities in 20 different countries, on all continents. CAF has already provided 71 trains for Roman mobility in service on the A and B metro lines and on the Roma-Lido line. 

Caf tram to Rome

The trams will be 33.5 m long and made up of five modules; they will have four doors for passengers to board and alight, they will be able to carry 215 passengers, 68 of whom will be seated and two disabled persons, and they will have all the features of the latest generation of trams: video surveillance, a low floor, access with platforms for the disabled, air conditioning, and low energy consumption systems.  The vehicles will also be prepared for the OESS (On Board Energy Storage Systems), which will be equipped with batteries, necessary to be able to run some routes without catenary, while improving energy efficiency. The front bogie will be floating to cope with tighter turning radii. The livery will be red, already adopted for the newly acquired vehicles from 2013. 

The trams are expected to be available for the new Termini-Venezia line, which is scheduled to open in 2026; however, their use is planned on all lines of the network, both the six currently in operation and future lines.

ATAC S.p.A., the public transport concessionaire for the Rome metropolitan area, wholly owned by the Municipality of Rome, is the largest urban transport company in Italy and one of the main operators in Europe. In addition to the tram network, it also controls Rome’s three metro lines, the suburban train and the urban bus and trolleybus lines that form the backbone of the city’s transport network.

Tram system in Rome

With the introduction of the new units, it will be possible to upgrade the current tramway rolling stock, which consists of around 150 cars, some of which still date back to the 1940s. The two-car 7000 series was infact delivered in 50 cars by Officine Stanga of Padua between 1947 and 1949; in 1980, the series was supplemented by the 8 cars of the 7100 series, which came from the unfortunately discontinued STEFER network and were completely similar to the 7000.  Today, around 50 cars are still in service, which will be replaced by the new trams to be delivered in the future. Six vehicles will be refurbished for the Archeotram service and one will be preserved for museum purposes.  The two restaurant trams 7021 and 7115 will probably be retained (the 7000 series had only odd numbers, reserved for trams, and so was the 1958 8000 series, now scrapped, while even numbers were reserved for trailers).

Today’s tram fleet is then made up of the 9000 series semi-tram cars, 33 of which were built by Socimi between 1990 and 1991, to which a further eight units were added in 2004. Completing the fleet are the 27 Cityway articulated trams of the 9100 series built by Fiat in 1998 and the 52 cars of the 9200 series, currently the most modern in circulation, equipped with a fully lowered floor, built between 1999 and 2000. 

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The second part of the contract, dedicated to electric flash charging buses for the Valbisagno route, has seen the victory of Hess, which is committed to deliver the vehicles by October next year, for an amount of EUR 31 million.

Solaris and Hess win the Genoa tender

The tender was withdrawn in November for the electric bus lot due to concerns expressed by competitors about the timing and budget, as reported in the local press. With an increase of EUR 7 million and a shorter deadline, the companies Hess and Karsan came forward again to compete for the contract. The Swiss won the lot. Infrastructure partner? Hitachi Energy. In fact, the duo that fielded the Tosa system in Geneva and the Metrobus technology in Brisbane, Australia, is back.

The vehicles to be supplied by Solaris are IMC trolleybuses model Trollino 18. Candidates for the lot were, in addition to Solaris, Skoda and Van Hool.

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The extension, which will take approximately 7 minutes, will connect the Lancy, Plan Les Ouates and Confignon neighbourhoods to the Léman Express network, thanks to its connection to the Lancy Pont Rouge station, and will provide a quality service to both the existing housing and industrial areas and the new residential complexes scheduled to be built by 2030. 

Passages on the new route will be every 4,30 minutes at peak times. The first departure from ZIPLO is at 4.27 a.m. every day of the week, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., every 5-6 minutes on all days of the week, in the evening hours the frequencies drop to an average of 6-8 minutes, and on Friday and Saturday evenings the service is scheduled for 24 hours, according to the new TPG policy.  Line 15 now runs in a total of 38 minutes.

The current Line 15 was opened for operation between Nations and Pont Rouge on 15 December 2004.  To date, Line 15 is the third busiest line in the Geneva network. In 2015 alone, it carried 12 million passengers. The line now employs the most modern rolling stock in the fleet, from Stadler Tango to Bombardier Cityrunner, both bi-directional.

Line 15 does not stop there. An extension to the French town of St Julien-En Genevois, just over the border, is planned. After the Perly Douane stop, there will be two intermediate stops, St. Julien Mossigen and St. Julien Centre, before terminating at the St. Julien railway station on the Bellegarde-Annemasse- Evian Les Bains line, thus providing fast access to both the centre of Geneva and the industrial area.

The neighbourhood communities have welcomed the introduction of this new public transport offer, which will support their economic and demographic development. For Plan-les-Ouates, the arrival of the tram had been awaited for many years and is considered necessary to improve the municipality’s public transport service, whether for the residential areas near the Route de Base, the industrial zone or the various schools. This extension of the tramway line is also the cornerstone of the development of the Rolliet district, with a stop located in the immediate vicinity.

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Passengers using public transport to or from Václav Havel Airport Prague will soon be travelling on a long-awaited double-articulated, almost 25-metre-long battery-powered trolleybus Škoda-Solaris 24m. The vehicle has been presented at the Czechbus 2023 trade fair in Prague’s Letňany.

DPP has ordered in early 2022 20 of these vehicles for the Nádraží Veleslavín – Prague Airport line, which will change from bus line 119 to trolleybus line 59 after the electrification is completed.

As mentioned above, the Škoda-Solaris 24m will be the longest trolleybuses ever used in public transport in the Czech Republic.

Prague Transport Company has 13 other urban bus lines in various stages of project preparation and, in cooperation with the Central Bohemian Region, the first suburban bus line, which will gradually be converted to trolleybuses by 2030. After more than 50 years since the closure, we are indeed bringing trolleybuses back to Prague – a locally emission-free type of transport that has always belonged to the city’s hilly profile.

Zdeněk Hřib, 1st Deputy Mayor of the Capital City of Prague. for Transport and Chairman of the Prague Transport Company Supervisory Board

Skoda-Solaris 24-meter trolleybuses for Prague

The Prague Transport Company has ordered a total of 20 double-articulated trolleybuses Škoda-Solaris 24m from the consortium at a total cost of CZK 620 million (roughly 25,286,604 euro). The vehicle can accommodate up to 179 passengers, of which 54 are seated.

Height of the trolleybus is 3,500 mm (with collectors pulled down), with total maximum weight of 38,000 kg. The vehicle features a 60 kWh battery.

The five-door design will speed up passenger changes and allow for comfortable movement of passengers with luggage. There will also be a full-fledged check-in and information system with cashless ticketing and automatic passenger counting, air conditioning or a comprehensive monitoring system with cameras in the interior and exterior, which, among other things, will provide the driver with a sufficient overview of the situation around the vehicle. The Line 119 electrification project is part of the international project EBRT2030 under the Horizon Europe research programme.

Prague is bringing trolleybuses back in town

“We are really excited about the longest trolleybus produced. It’s not just another vehicle type and an expanded portfolio, it’s also a symbol of the change in the comfort and capacity of travel. We are confident that passengers will appreciate the news. And there is no need to worry either for the trolleybus drivers themselves or for those passing by. Despite its length, the double-articulated trolleybus handles very well, with steering and manoeuvring comparable to conventional articulated trolleybuses. Last but not least, we have the opportunity to participate in the reintroduction of trolleybus transport to the streets of Prague, which we are really pleased about. Škoda has been part of many historic moments and we appreciate the fact that we can once again be part of something so significant,” said Radek Svoboda, Managing Director Components & Bus Mobility at Škoda Group.

“Replacing the existing buses with large capacity trolleybuses will increase the capacity of the line by at least 25 to 30%. This will increase comfort for passengers, who will also have more space for their luggage. Other positive effects, particularly for the environment, will be a saving of around 690,000 litres of diesel and a reduction in CO2 emissions of around 1,850 tonnes, both on an annual basis. The preferred forward-looking solution is, of course, to build a rail link to Prague Airport. Bus line 119 is only the second bus line after line 140 where we are preparing to introduce modern battery powered trolleybuses with a combination of operation partly under the trolley and partly on batteries. In addition to these, Prague Transport Company has 13 other urban bus lines in various stages of project preparation and, in cooperation with the Central Bohemian Region, the first suburban bus line, which will gradually be converted to trolleybuses by 2030. After more than 50 years since the closure, we are indeed bringing trolleybuses back to Prague – a locally emission-free type of transport that has always belonged to the city’s hilly profile. Currently, Prague has the smallest trolleybus network of any city in the Czech Republic that operates trolleybuses. If we manage to implement all the projects in progress, the trolleybus network in Prague will be almost 100 kilometres long and will probably be the longest in the Czech Republic,” says Zdeněk Hřib, 1st Deputy Mayor of the Capital City of Prague. for Transport and Chairman of the Prague Transport Company Supervisory Board.

“We are extremely pleased that everything is progressing on schedule with this electrification project. The construction of the infrastructure at the Řepy garage and the trolleybus line to Václav Havel Airport Prague is entering its final phase with completion scheduled for the end of February next year. Today we are presenting the first large-capacity trolleybus to the public, even a little ahead of schedule. I firmly believe that both the manufacturer and we will manage to obtain all the necessary permits so that we can launch it for the first time at the end of November and the beginning of December, on the already completed trolleybus line from Palmovka to Čakovice and Miškovice, and thus begin the first stage of the vehicle’s homologation. First without passengers, in which it is necessary to drive 5 thousand kilometres. After reaching this milestone, the first passengers will be able to ride the vehicle. The second stage of homologation, i.e., operation of the vehicle with passengers, in which up to 15,000 kilometres must be driven, will begin. To achieve this, we expect to deploy a second vehicle in January. If everything goes according to plan, we should take delivery of all 20 trolleybuses in mid-February and then start operating them on line 59 to the airport in March 2024,” adds Petr Witowski, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Prague Transport Company.

Jiří Pos, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prague Airport, is very supportive of the trolleybus connection between the airport terminals and the city centre: “It will increase comfort for passengers and all employees. At the same time, I must appreciate that the concept fits in with our ESG strategy. Reducing emissions and noise at the airport and its surroundings is our long-term goal and we are trying to involve our airport partners, which Prague Transport Company undoubtedly is. However, the ideal transport connection from the airport to the city centre and back will be a rail link.”

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The Metropolitan Council approved on 19 October 2023 the signing of the contract for the renewal of trams with Alstom for a total amount of EUR 124.8 million. This will improve the service offer with more modern and comfortable trains and a higher passenger capacity. Mel’s goal is to renew the fleet and increase the transport capacity of the tram network. The ‘Mongy’ (named in honour of the first designer Alfred Mongy) ) the metre-gauge tramway linking the French city of Lille (233,000 inhabitants) with the neighbouring towns of Roubaix and Tourcoing, will have a completely new fleet. The 24 low-floor Breda trams currently in service are now in need of a radical overhaul and, above all, can no longer meet a constantly growing demand for transport, as the cars now run almost to their capacity limit, especially on the Gare Lille Flandres – Romarin route. Mel expects the number of passengers on the two lines, especially on the Tourcoing branch, to increase to 60,000 daily users by 2034. 

The new trams will be developed on the Citadis platform, realised in metre gauge for the first time, and will be longer, 5-module than the current rolling stock, 4-module articulated, with an interior layout with 30% more seats, a faster internal flow thanks to a different door distribution, USB ports, and fully air-conditioned in both the passenger and driver’s cab areas, and six passenger information videos.The new trams will be assembled in the Alstom factory in La Rochelle Some components will come from the Alstom factory in Valenciennes.

Lille’s tram network is one of the few that has survived in France after numerous cancellations, particularly in the 1950’s. Today, after a reversal that has revalued the tram, there are more than 20 tram networks in France.  From its inauguration in 1909 to 1954, the line’s terminus was located at Place de la Liberté. It was later moved to Grand-Place de Roubaix, until the line was rebuilt in the 1990s and moved to its final location at the Eurotéléport.

The Lille – Roubaix section, originally known as Line 1, connects Lille Flandres station with the Eurotéléport in Roubaix. It shares the route with the Lille – Tourcoing tramway for 10 stops, The Lille – Tourcoing tramway line, originally named 1 bis, was inaugurated in December 1909. Originally, the line terminated at the Grand-Place in Tourcoing. In 1982, the terminus was moved to rue Carnot, before being placed at Tourcoing Centre, near the metro station.The Lille – Tourcoing tramway departs from the Gare Lille Flandre and passes through the towns of La Madeleine and Marcq-en-Baroeul, on the same route as the Lille – Roubaix line, then continues through Wasquehal and Mouvaux to terminate in Tourcoing.

“MEL is actively working to improve its public transport network. The renewal of the tram trains will contribute to this goal, offering users comfort, modernity and performance. The new tram will increase transport capacity by 20 per cent, meeting the needs of a constantly increasing passenger flow. We will invest almost €125 million in this project,’ commented Damien Castelain, President of the European Metropolitan City of Lille.

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The new vehicles from Stadler Rail, which were ordered in 2019 and purchased by Bernmobil as operator of the public transport network in the Swiss capital, will replace by 2025 the 12 trams (731 – 742 series) built by Vevey in 1990 and the 9 RBS 81-89 series trams from the 1980s in service on the suburban Line 6 from Bern’s Fischermetteli district to Worb Dorf, which have been modernised and extended several times, with the addition of a low-floor box, and are reaching the end of their operational life; the new trams will ensure the increased need for vehicles for the extension of Line 9 to Kleinwabern. The contract provides options for up to 50 new vehicles. For the Vevey trams of the 1990s, at that time the first generation of low-floor trams in the Swiss capital, the sale to Lemberg/Lviv in Ukraine could materialise.

The Berne tram network currently consists of five lines: line 3 from the railway station to the Weissembuhl district, lines 6, 7, 8 from Brunnen Westside Bahnhof to Saali, and line 9 from Wabern to Wankdorf station.

The tram fleet now consists of 57 cars: 21 Siemens Combino XL, numbered 651 to 671, delivered between 2009 and 2010, 41, 4 metres long; 7 Siemens Combino Advanced 5-carriages numbered 753 to 759 built between 2002 and 2004; 31.4 metres long, they can accommodate 175 people of whom 59 are seated; 8 Siemens Combino Advanced, numbered 751,752, 760-765, built between 2002 and 2004; originally 5-carriages, in 2009 two more cars were added thus being able to accommodate up to 233 passengers. Completing the fleet are 12 Vevey cars from 1990, 31 metres long, the first to be fitted with a lowered floor, 70 % of the surface area, and capable of transporting up to 242 people, and 9 Schindler trams from 1987-88 of the 81-89 series, which, thanks to their low-floor bodies (red while the other bodies are blue), can transport 305 people, without having the comfort of the Tramlink.
By the end of 2023, eight Tramlink trams will be in regular service. In the first period of operation, they will run mainly on Line 7 from Bumpliz to Ostring.

The introduction of bi-directional vehicles on Line 6 – and the consequent retirement of the Schindler trams – will take place from mid-2024. The new tram is 42.5 metres long and has 56 seats in the bi-directional vehicles and 71 seats in the one-way vehicles, for a total of 254 people. The entire interior is completely lowered to ensure optimal passenger flow and optimised for standing passengers. The generous multifunctional areas provide ample space for wheelchair users, prams and luggage. The interior is bright and spacious. The passenger compartments are also barrier-free, with wide, obstacle-free aisles and several multifunctional areas for wheelchairs, prams and luggage. The unique interior design favours the comfort of passengers and tram drivers.

Each door, 7 on each side for single-direction trams and 6 on each side for double-direction trams, is equipped with a sliding step to fill space at stops and allow barrier-free boarding and alighting.
The Tramlink is one of the most energy-efficient and safest trams currently in production. Thanks to its innovative continuous-axle bogies, it operates very smoothly and offers excellent ride comfort. In addition to low energy consumption and an environmentally friendly air conditioning system, the vehicle is also equipped with an anti-collision brake assist system.

Staff training takes place on a special driving simulator. With the commissioning of a driving simulator from Lander Simulation & Training Solutions, tram training at Bernmobil has reached a new level. The driving simulator is equipped with a control panel for tram connection and offers tram drivers the opportunity to train 1:1 in unusual situations on Bernmobil’s digitally visualised route network.
Among other things, the Bern Tramlink won the international Red Dot Design Award 2023.
Deliveries of the new trams will continue until 2025. The Berne network, which has various network extension projects in store, will be able to rely on the latest generation of modern trams for decades to come.

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The new section will svluppose 17.5 km, run parallel to the new A4 highway, and will be flanked by a bicycle path. The section will include 13 new stops, and will be inaugurated in four stages, between 2028 and 2035. from 2028 the streetcar will run between the Cloche d’Or and Leudelange, in 2030 it will reach Foetz, in 2032 Metzeschmelz and Esch-sur-Alzette, and in 2035 Belval. The new project is valued at 3 mld €.

The new line is a natural extension of the tramway line opened in 2017, with subsequent extensions in 2018 and 2020 currently 10 km long and in operation from Lunxepo to Lyceè Bouneweg. The line in service today includes 17 stations of 6 interchanges: Lunexpo ( with buses and a Park & Ride), Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg, (interchange with buses and a new station), Stäreplaz / Étoile , (interchange with buses), Hamilius,( interchange with buses), Central Station ( interchange with buses and the CFL rail network) and Lycée Bouneweg (interchange with buses).

Luxembourg new tramline

Today’s operating schedule calls for passing every 3.5 minutes during peak hours, 4-5 minutes between 5.30 and 6.49, by 4 minutes from 8.30 to 7.30 p.m., then in the evening passes are every 10 minutes until 11 p.m., then every 15 minutes-Departure is from Lunxepo at 4.22 a.m., last is from Lycee Bouneweg at 0.39 a.m.  The estimated travel time is about 27 minutes. A competitive service, which will surely be improved with the new route.

Very interesting, the project  of the new line provides a very high commercial speed of about 50 km/h, thanks to sections authorized to the maximum speed of 70 km.h for more than 10 km of line. The commercial speed of the line currently in operation is about 20 km./h, the new line to Findel Airport, scheduled to open in 2024, will have a commercial speed of 30 km/h.
In addition to the 13 new stations, the project includes the construction of 5 new interchanges, and at least 20 projects designed to improve road axes, the A4 highway, and new bike lanes.

For the new service, it is planned to purchase 24 motorcars, 56 meters long, with nine bodies, 11 meters longer than the streetcars in the current fleet, which consists of 33 CAF Urbos 3. This will result in the lengthening of stops by about 5 meters. There will be 150 seats in the new vehicles, instead of the current 76, with dedicated areas for bicycles and luggage. With the new tram network, users are projected to increase by 42 percent between now and 2035, and reduce mobility by private cars by up to 75 percent.

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Rome is renewing its tram fleet. Atac has awarded the tender for a framework agreement for the supply of 121 two-way trams worth over EUR 457 million, to be built by CAF, which has already helped renew Rome’s underground train fleet.  As pointed out by the councillor for Mobility of Roma Capitale, Eugenio Patanè. The contract already includes an initial application contract within the framework agreement, with the delivery of the first 40 trams out of the 121 planned.

The new trams will be 33.5 metres long, and will be able to carry up to 215 passengers, 68 of whom will be seated, and two seats will be available for disabled passengers. Equipment will include air conditioning, video surveillance systems, public address systems for announcements and passenger counters, as well as a pedestrian frontal collision warning system. A housing for traction batteries will be provided, thus giving the vehicles the possibility of running autonomously, without an overhead network.

It will be possible to renew the fleet of around 200 trams, which today still has several double-decker cars dating back to 1947/49, a jewel of technology at the time, designed by engineer Mario Urbinati, to whom we owe the innovative joint between the two bodies, called the ‘Urbinati merry-go-round’, and modernised in the 1980s.  In addition to the 50 cars, 8 cars of the 500 Stefer series, completely similar to the previous ones, were purchased in the 1980s and registered in the 7100 series (like the 7000 series, only odd numbers).

The 9000 series bicassette cars were built by Socimi in 1990/91, and today there are around 40 in operation. The 9100 series cars, the Cityways, were built by Fiat in 1997/98; the 9200 series, consisting of 52 vehicles, is derived from the previous ones, and was delivered between 1999 and 2000. The 9100 and 9200 series are fully low-floor. The CAF trams, in addition to their use on the six lines in operation today and on the new routes currently planned, will presumably replace the bicasses of the 1950s, which still have a high floor and no air conditioning. Already two of them, however, have been earmarked for other uses: the 7021 has become Tram Ristorante, and the 7115 ” Tram jazz). 

“This is a historic moment because after almost 20 years,” said Patanè, “the administration, thanks to one of the biggest tenders ever launched in Europe, is investing in buying new trams to serve the new and existing lines and to replace the Stanga trams, which, despite being a flagship of Roman public transport, are now almost 70 years old. I would like to emphasise that some of these will be completely recovered to serve the Archeotram line that we want to build as part of the new central archaeological area project. The new trams, on the other hand, will be the result of the most innovative technology, aesthetically qualifying for Rome, with more capacity and better performance, as well as being able to run without the power line on some routes, with less noise and able to cope with smaller radii of curvature’.

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The purchase of the new trolleybuses required an investment of EUR 5.2 million, entirely financed by the Ministry of the Environment’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Mobility.

Today Parma is the 5th largest Italian city in terms of trolleybus fleet, behind the large cities of Milan, Naples, Bologna and Rome. The network, inaugurated on 25 October 1953, will be 70 years old in 2023 and continues to play a fundamental role in the city mobility.

TEP has completed renewal of trolleybus fleet

The presentation of the new trolleybuses was held today, 21 September. From tomorrow they will be in service on lines 3 and 4, on the city’s east-west axis. The municipal operator TEP thus completes the renewal of the trolleybus fleet begun in 2014.

The new trolleybuses presented in Parma are manufactured by Solaris, model Trollino, equipped by Kiepe Electric, 12 metres long and with full-electric power supply. The electricity supplied by the trolleybus network, in fact, also powers the on-board battery (based on LTO formula), which gives the trolleybus enough zero-emission range to run along the parts of routes not covered by overhead lines (about 45 per cent of the journey).

The capacity of the new trolleybuses is 85 passengers, 21 of whom are seated. There is a seat for mobility-impaired passengers and a separate seat for children in prams. The floor is entirely lowered, with no internal steps.

After the new trolleybuses, the first pure electric buses will arrive in Parma in 2024, initially for line 8 and then lines 2 and 9. Within a few years, therefore, the lines with routes entirely within the urban area will be equipped with electric vehicles or trolleybuses, with the exception of line 15, which already uses an ultra-low emission ‘eco-smart’ bus.

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