Euskotren and CAF sign the contract for new extra-long tram units to serve Zabalgana
- The new units will entail an investment of over €49 million and delivery will be staggered between the end of 2028 and the first half of 2029
- They will be 44 metres in length and have seven modules, and will feature greater accessibility and travel comfort
The Euskotren General Manager, Javier Seoane, and the CAF Vehicles General Manager, Javier Iriarte, today signed the contract to manufacture new extra-long trams; these are essential to run the service once the planned Zabalgana branch of the Vitoria-Gasteiz tramway comes into service. The new units, entailing an investment of €48,801,000, will be delivered progressively between 2028 and 2029.
Apart from the new units, CAF will provide stock parts (spare parts needed for maintenance) amounting to nearly €4 million, together with a driving simulator costing €1,190,000.
BETTER ACCESSIBILITY AND GREATER COMFORT
The length of the new trams – 7 modules, 44 metres long and capacity for 400 people – will be the same as the seven extra-long units currently in circulation and as the three being manufactured. Their technical characteristics include better travel comfort, with a new climate control system for the hottest days.
Furthermore, specific measures to progress towards universal accessibility, i.e. that all people have equal opportunities to use adapted and inclusive public transport, will be included in the three units being manufactured and in the new purchases. In 2024, after extensive consultation of the associations and collectives of differently abled people, the ‘Strategic Plan to Improve Accessibility 2024-2030’ was prepared and which provided an insight on the existing needs and put forward new solutions.
Thus, even though all the units in service are fully low floor and comply with current legislation, the signage in the 12 new trams will follow new universal accessibility parameters, they will not have foldable seats to create more open-plan spaces and a different colour scheme will be used for priority seats so they can be better identified. The eight seats of preferential use for passengers with reduced mobility (the elderly, pregnant women, people travelling with small children, etc.) will be orange.
Just like the current ones, the new units will have a preferential door reserved for people with visual, hearing or mobility disabilities to get on and off. They will also will also specific spaces for wheelchair users to travel safely and with ease. Those spaces have door unlocking devices, push buttons to ask for stops and an alarm intercom with the driver.
The new units will be fitted in the factory with the tactile flooring prototype to help the visually impaired to get their bearings inside the trams; Euskotren has specifically created the flooring for the tramway service of the Basque Country and will begin to install it throughout the fleet after the trial period involving different associations such as ONCE (Spanish Organisation of the Blind) and Itxaropena (Álava Association of the Visually Impaired).