Skoda Trams Starts to Operate with Passenger in Milkolc

Miskolc the latest in modern trams from the Škoda Transportation factories were launched today. The first vehicle rolled out a few weeks earlier than was originally stated in the contract. Škoda Transportation will deliver a total of 31 low-floor trams to the northern Hungarian city.

“The first tram started to operate with passengers, the other one is in Miskolc, ready for operation. That means that we have successfully managed to meet all the European technical requirements and Hungarian rail authority standards for operation approval. Moreover, we accomplished to produce and get an approval of the new tram in 22 months since the contract signing. I am glad to state that we fulfill all the contractual conditions prior the deadlines.” says Zdeněk Majer, Vice President of sales at Škoda Transportation.

The vehicle is based on proven design solutions and modern technologies. The tram-car is a two-way five part with a three fix chassis, the outer two of them are powered and the middle one is standard. It holds more than 300 passengers, who can look forward for air-conditioned cars and a modern information system including LCD screens. Plenty of space is available for strollers and persons with reduced mobility.

The tram-car for Miskolc is the widest car made ​​by Škoda Transportation. It has both a very spacious exterior and interior. Moreover, it offers an interesting modern design with an organic green flowers motif on a white background, which was chosen by the inhabitants of Miskolc. They were very satisfied with the new tram at the ceremony.

“The whole team worked, figuratively, day and night to present the vehicle to our customers in time, and therefore I am also pleased that our tram-car was welcomed with such enthusiasm. We built the two tram prototypes last year, after that we successfully conducted all required tests and in December we received type-permission from the Hungarian railway authority and permission to operate these two tram-cars.” adds project manager Václav Trkovský.

The contract also includes an option for ten years full-service for almost 200 million. Škoda Transportation defeated other European tram-car manufacturers in the tender, namely the Italian manufacturer AnsaldoBreda, Spanish CAF, Romanian Astra Vagoane and Polish Solaris. „Hungary is one of our key markets. Since 2007, Škoda Transportation has been supplying equipment for the Budapest metro, trolleybuses for Debrecen, Szeged and Budapest, and now is starting to deliver the tram-cars for Miskolc. The total value of the contracts in this country reaches almost up to 3.5 billion crowns, ” says Zdeněk Majer.

Source & Photo : Skoda Railways