CAF bags €200m Rolling Stock contract to supply 51 LRVs to Ruhrbahn GmbH

Essen, Germany (Urban Transport News): The CAF Group has secured two Rolling Stock contracts from the German market on June 18, 2021. Firstly, it has entered into a  contract with the operator Ruhrbahn GmbH to supply 51 LRVs, which will serve the cities of Essen and Mülheim an der Ruhr. Secondly, the company has won an extension of eight additional trams for the city of Freiburg. Both contracts amount to a figure of almost €200 million.  

These contracts further attest to CAF's commitment in Germany, where, besides the aforementioned projects, it is also currently supplying electric units to the operator  Schönbuchbahn. The German market also represents an important opportunity for Solaris, a  subsidiary of the CAF Group, which supplied a total of 329 buses to German public transport operators in 2020, 40% of which were electric vehicles.  

Supply of 51 LRV for the German Operator Ruhrbahn GmbH  

CAF has reached an agreement with the German operator Ruhrbahn GmbH to execute a supply contract for the supply of 51 LRV units as well as all relevant spare parts. These units are planned to be delivered between 2024 and 2026. 

Ruhrbahn is the largest transport operator in the Ruhr region and manages transport in the cities of Essen and Mülheim an der Ruhr, providing services for more than 150 million passengers per year. The company operates three underground lines, eleven tram lines and 74 bus lines providing daytime and night-time services. The company is renowned for its customer-oriented,  high-quality and environmentally friendly local transport.  

The new units will be bidirectional, 28 meter long vehicles.  Passenger capacity will be at least 173 passengers including two multipurpose places for wheelchairs or prams. In addition and for enhanced safety, the units will be fitted with a driver assistance system and rearview cameras instead of the usual mirrors. The vehicles will run on the tram network which services the cities of Essen and Mülheim and connects them to each other. This network currently spans a total of 155 kilometres, serving as the transport backbone for the entire metropolitan area.  

Essen is a German city in North Rhine-Westphalia, located in the heart of the industrial region of the Ruhr river basin, one of the largest urban areas in Europe. For decades, it was known as the largest mining city in Europe until the ‘60s, when the city went through a major development and gradually shifted towards a new economic model, breaking away from its dependence on the mining sector to become a modern city with important cultural offerings and a service-based economy. In fact, the city received the European Green Capital City award in 2017,  acknowledging its policies with regards to protecting and improving the environment and biodiversity.