ITALY:·Milano municipal transport operator ATM took delivery of its first Stadler Tramlink tram for testing on December 1, with entry into service planned for next spring.
Stadler signed its first Italian tram contract in September 2020, a six-year framework agreement to supply ATM with up to 80 trams worth €172·6m, including a firm order for an initial 30.
The order covers two 1 445 mm gauge Tramlink variants, with up to 50 cars intended for operation on urban routes and up to 30 for use on interurban services. The initial firm order worth €75·5m covers 20 urban and 10 interurban vehicles.
The vehicles are being supplied from Stadler’s Valencia plant.
ATM said they will feature the city’s traditional yellow livery, but be ‘technologically advanced vehicles in terms of safety and comfort’, with full accessibility, CCTV and greater energy efficiency than previous vehicles.
The 25 m long 600 V DC trams have stainless steel bodies and three bogies designed to provide smooth running and low noise on Milano’s very tight curves.
There are three doors on each side, which the Politecnico di Milano has calculated will facilitate rapid passenger flow, with wide aisles so that passengers can easily move along the tram.
Unlike the majority of ATM’s existing trams, the new cars are bidirectional, avoiding the need for turning loops at termini.
