Alstom Launches 34m Flexity Tram on Graz Lines 4 7 17

GRAZ, AUSTRIA – Holding Graz and Mayor Elke Kahr inaugurated the first Alstom Flexity tram into revenue service, marking the entry of the city’s longest-ever tram at 34 metres. Eight vehicles have been delivered to Graz Linien, with the first units deployed on high-ridership lines 4, 7, and 17. A total of 15 trams will be on site by year-end from the initial batch, with a further 16 ordered for delivery starting March 2027.

What Are the Technical Specifications?

The Graz Flexity is a 34-metre, fully low-floor articulated tram developed specifically for the Graz Linien network’s operational profile. Each vehicle features wide doors enabling step-free boarding across the entire length, air conditioning throughout the passenger compartment, and a modern passenger information system. Multifunctional areas accommodate wheelchairs, strollers, and bicycles. The vehicles were manufactured at Alstom’s Vienna-Donaustadt plant and underwent approximately 1,800 km of testing, including 25 night runs, braking tests, electronic safety validation, air conditioning performance checks, and route-and-gauge clearance assessments. Type approval was issued on 7 July 2025, and the operating permit was granted following an application in April 2026.

Key Technical Data

Where Does This Technology Stand in the Market?

The Graz Flexity enters a European light-rail market where three manufacturers dominate the low-floor tram segment. Siemens Mobility’s Avenio platform offers modular configurations from approximately 31 metres to 72 metres, with the Munich Avenio M at 36.8 metres seating 220 passengers (Source: Siemens Mobility, 2023). CAF’s Urbos family—deployed in cities including Edinburgh, Utrecht, and Budapest—ranges from 18 metres to 43 metres, with the Urbos 3 at 33 metres accommodating roughly 200 passengers (Source: CAF, 2022). Alstom’s Flexity portfolio, inherited through the Bombardier Transportation acquisition in 2021, spans applications from Toronto’s 28-metre Flexity Outlook to Brussels’ 43-metre Flexity 2. The Graz variant at 34 metres is positioned in the mid-range segment typical of mid-sized European networks. The selection of domestic manufacturing at Vienna-Donaustadt mirrors a broader trend among EU member states to prioritise in-bloc production for publicly funded rolling stock procurements. Total fleet build-out to 55 units—31 confirmed plus 24 pending council approval—would represent one of the larger Flexity deployments in Central Europe outside of Berlin and Brussels.

Editor’s Analysis

Graz’s fleet renewal strategy illustrates a pattern observable across mid-sized European tram operators: incremental procurement in discrete batches rather than a single large-order replacement cycle. This approach allows network adjustments between tranches—here, the second batch of 16 enters delivery only in March 2027—while the operator integrates infrastructure upgrades such as the Line 1 double-tracking project in parallel. The contrast with North American greenfield projects is instructive: California’s high-speed rail programme has spent over a decade securing land and contracts for an initial 171-mile Central Valley segment (Source: Construction Dive, 2024), while Graz moves from type approval to revenue service in under a year. The European Investment Bank’s partial backing also signals the EU’s willingness to fund urban light-rail rolling stock under climate-aligned lending criteria, a financing channel largely absent for comparable US municipal transit procurements. What remains absent from Graz’s disclosures—the per-unit cost and total programme value—leaves analysts unable to benchmark this procurement against, for instance, Leipzig’s 2023 order of 25 Flexity trams at an estimated €110 million.

FAQ

Q: How many Flexity trams will operate in Graz by the end of 2026?
A: Fifteen Flexity trams from the first batch will be delivered to Graz by the end of this year, though the operator has not specified how many of these will be in simultaneous revenue service at that point.

Q: What is the total cost of the Graz Flexity tram programme?
A: The total contract value across all batches has not been disclosed by Holding Graz, the City of Graz, or Alstom. Partial financing is supported by the European Investment Bank, but the EIB’s specific contribution amount has also not been made public.

Q: Which tram lines will see Flexity service first?
A: Lines 4, 7, and 17 are the initial deployment corridors, selected for their high passenger volumes. Graz Linien has not yet published a timetable for expanding Flexity operations to other routes as additional vehicles arrive.