The Škoda Group plant in Pilsen (Czech Republic) has started production of the six-section ForCity Smart 38T tram, which will be 58.7 meters long. The customer is the RNV public transport company in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region in Germany, whose tram network covers the cities of Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, and Heidelberg.
As the CFTS portal reports, citing the Czech website Zdopravy, the Škoda Group plans to deliver the first tram to the customer this summer. The company claims that it will be the longest tram in the world. It is designed to carry 368 passengers, including 144 seated. It will operate on a tram network with a track gauge of 1000 mm.
The contract with RNV represents one of the largest tram orders for the Škoda Group. A total of 80 trams will be delivered to Germany in three versions: 31 three-section 36T trams, 37 four-section 37T trams, and 12 six-section 38T trams.
Production is taking place in plants in Otanmäki (Finland) and Pilsen. So far, Škoda has delivered 16 trams to the German customer.
The first tram manufactured for RNV was a shorter version.
As the CFTS portal reported, last year, the Budapest public transport operator signed another contract with the Spanish manufacturer CAF Group for the delivery of 31 Urbos 3 trams, including five nine-section trams with a length of 56 meters, which are designed to carry 562 passengers.
