GERMANY: The Fahma rolling stock subsidiary of Rhein-Main transport authority RMV has awarded Stadler a contract to supply 27 Citylink tram-trains for use on the Regionaltangente West orbital line which is being developed to run north-south around the western side of the city.
The vehicles able to operate on both main line and light rail routes will be 50 m long with a capacity of 360 passengers. They will be customised for the line’s requirements, offering easy access from Deutsche Bahn’s 760 and 960 mm high platforms as well as the 800 mm high Regionaltangente West platforms.
Delivery schedule
Delivery of the first three vehicles for testing and approval is scheduled for autumn 2028, and the entire fleet is expected to be ready by autumn 2030, ready for full operation from the December 2030 timetable change.
The order announced on December 5 includes maintenance, servicing and spare parts supply for 30 years.
Iñigo Parra, CEO of Stadler Spain, said ‘this is a special project that requires new developments, for example in terms of barrier-free access at different platform heights. We look forward to realising further dual-system vehicles that will enable passengers to transfer without changing trains, thereby increasing the attractiveness of public transport. The Stadler team is very experienced, highly motivated and will implement the project on schedule.’
Orbital services
Regionaltangente West is intended to significantly reduce travel times by avoiding the need for people to travel via Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof to reach destinations such as Frankfurt Airport.
It will make use of existing lines, as well as 22 km of new infrastructure, and will total 52 km with 28 stops, 12 of which are already existing S-Bahn stations.
It will be operated as separate northern and southern services, overlapping in the middle. Ridership is predicted at more than 30 000 passengers/day.
‘With the award of the vehicle delivery and maintenance contract, another decisive step has been taken towards the completion of the Regionaltangente West. Not only are the three core sections of the Regionaltangente West now under construction, but the decision on the vehicles has also been made. This means that the most important foundations have been laid for the full launch of operations at the end of 2030’, said RMV Managing Director Prof Knut Ringat.
