Skoda will Supply Konya Trams

Škoda Transportation has secured a €104.7m contract to deliver 60 low-floor trams to the Turkish city of Konya.

The rolling stock manufacturer beat off competition from Bombardier, Pesa, CAF, Astra Arad and CNR Tangshan Railway to win the contract.
Škoda Transportation CEO Josef Bernard said: “Škoda trams succeeded in Miskolc, Hungary; metro in St. Petersburg, Russia; double-deck EMU in Ukraine and locomotives are now running in the Slovak Republic.”
The new trams for Konya are based on Škoda’s new five-section vehicles that are also being delivered to Miskolc in Hungary.
The new Konya trams are bidirectional and will be compatible with the current European standards.
Konya is planning to expand its 21km tram network, which is currently served by trams acquired in the early 90s from Cologne, Germany.
Škoda Transportation senior vice president for sales Zal Shahbaz said that the contract will help the company expand its international presence.
“We are very pleased for this win in Turkey, as Turkey is a dynamic and fast-growing market, with major investments in urban transportation in many other big cities such as Bursa, Gaziantep, Izmir or Adana,” Shahbaz said.
The recent contract marks Škoda’s first order from a Turkish customer for complete light rail vehicles, although Škoda Electric had supplied electrical equipment for light rail vehicles to Istanbul in 2008 under an €80m contract.