PORTUGAL: Lisboa operator Carris has finalised a €43m contract for CAF to supply 15 Urbos articulated trams for its 900 mm gauge network and provide five years of maintenance.
Announcing the contract award on April 21, CAF said the 28·5 m long, five-section unidirectional low-floor vehicles would have a maximum speed of 70 km/h, and provision for the future retrofitting of on-board energy storage equipment to enable catenary-free operation in architecturally sensitive areas.
The trams are to be used on the busy Route 15, which runs parallel to River Tajo from Praça da Figueira to Algés. This connects the city centre with tourist destinations including Belém and the Jerónimos Monastery, and offers various rail, metro and ferry connections.
CAF had been selected as preferred bidder for the order in December 2019, at which time the operator hoped to have the first vehicles in service by 2021. The company had previously been responsible for assembling five of the 10 articulated trams supplied by Siemens for Route 15 in the 1990s; the others were assembled locally by Sorefame.
