Bulgaria’s Sofia municipality signs 44.7M leva contract for 13 new trams
The municipality in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia signed on January 29 a 44.7 million leva (about 22.8 million euro) contract with Polish firm PESA Bydgoszcz SA for the delivery of 13 new trams, to be put into operation on line 5 by the end of 2019, the municipality said.
The new trams are part of the massive modernisation of Sofia’s public transport, which Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandukova’s team is implementing as part of the air quality improvement measures, the statement said.
The new vehicles will be low-floor and air-conditioned, with a wheelchair and disability platform, with a stop button and audible alarm for the sight-impaired. CCTV will also be provided.
The trams have a length of 30 metres, with special places for people with disabilities and mothers with strollers. With the delivery of new 13 trams, the rolling stock of tram line № 5 will be completely renewed, the municipality said.
The trams are expected to arrive in Sofia in two batches by the end of October 2019 and be put into regular operation by the end of the year.
The contract amounts to 44 796 377.36 leva and is part of the Integrated Metropolitan Public Transport Phase II project, which is funded under the Operational Program Regions for Growth 2014-2020 co-financed by the European Union Union through the European Regional Development Fund.
Supplies of spare parts, diagnostic equipment and staff training are also planned.
In the past few years, Sofia municipality has bought 25 new trams that run on lines № 7 and № 1, as well as 58 modernised trams from the Czech Republic and Switzerland, the municipality said.
(Photo: Sofia municipality)
