Škoda Transportation Group’s Finland-based subsidiary Škoda Transtech has delivered the first modern ForCity Smart Artic trams to the capital city of Tampere.
In October 2017, Škoda Transtech secured a €104m contract to supply 19 modern ForCity Smart Artic trams with full service to Tampere.
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Škoda Transportation Group sales senior VP and board of directors member Zdenek Majer said: “Tampere will receive a modern, technically proven solution suitable for harsh Northern conditions. The trams provide maximum comfort for passengers, for example, thanks to heated floors, double-glazing or air-conditioning for the summer months.
“The vehicles are based on proven solutions that we obtained during the manufacturing of vehicles for the capital Helsinki, for which we supplied a total of 72 trams.
“Our experienced employees across the entire Škoda Transportation Group worked on the development of trams for Tampere. We are also convinced that this new generation type of ForCity Smart Artic tram has great export potential.”
The 2017 contract also includes three additional options for the delivery of 46 vehicles to Tampere. It also includes a ten-year maintenance period.
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By GlobalDataŠkoda Transtech CEO Juha Vierros said: “Given that the Škoda Transtech production plant in Otanmäki does not have the test track required for tests, it is necessary to perform some of them directly in Tampere.
“Therefore, some parts of the interior such as upholstery will be installed only after the installation of electrical equipment so that they do not interfere with measurement, adjustment and other tests. In addition, some of the tests are performed in remote mode, where a group of software engineers from Plzeň connects to the delivered tram testing the tram systems.”
The bi-directional ForCity Smart Artic Tampere trams are 37.3m-long and can each accommodate 360 passengers.
The low-floored vehicles have a normal gauge of 1,435mm and offer barrier-free access for wheelchair users and prams.
In October 2018, ŠkodaTranstech finalised a deal to provide two ForCity Smart Artic pre-series trams to Germany’s Schöneicher-Rüdersdorfer Strassenbahn (SRS).
