ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — RET, the public transport operator of Rotterdam in the Netherlands has selected Paris-based Alstom to supply 53 Citadis tramway train sets that will replace the current, 25-year-old fleet.
The order is worth over $138 million. The contract is slated to be signed in October 2007, and delivery is scheduled for mid-2009 and will proceed at a rate of four train sets per month.
The tramways will be manufactured at Alstom’s facility in La Rochelle, France.
In 2000, Rotterdam was one of the first Citadis customers, ordering 60 tramway train sets for its “Tram-plus” network. The last tramway train sets from this first order entered service in December 2004.
The new Citadis fleet, with 98-foot-long, low-floor cars, will run on the inner-city network and will replace Duewag ZGT trams which have been in service for 25 years.
When all the tramway train sets have been delivered, Rotterdam will have a fleet of 113 Citadis tramways – the largest in the world. By placing this new order, Rotterdam confirms its confidence in the design, manufacturing efficiency and reliability of Alstom’s modular tramway, Citadis.
Almost 1000 Citadis tramways train sets have now been ordered by 24 cities worldwide, such as Barcelona, Bordeaux, Dublin, Madrid, Paris or Melbourne. 30 other cities are planning to install a tramway in the next three years.
Ten years after the entry into service of the first Citadis in Montpellier, France, this type of modern tramway is becoming a must in urban transport policy, proponents say.
— Business Wire
