fUp until now, rankfurt’s trams have always been rectangular and angular in appearance. With the new “T-model”, the municipal transport company (VGF) is launching a train with a design that looks more streamlined and elegant on the streets for the first time when the timetable changes on Monday. Head of Traffic Stefan Majer (Die Grünen) thinks the new series is “absolutely sleek”. The VGF presented the first two of the 58 vehicles ordered to the public in its Gutleut depot near the main train station.
The station wagon from the French manufacturer Alstom, with its large panoramic windows, offers passengers more space. The number of seats is the same. There is more space for prams, wheelchairs or bicycles, for example. In addition, the new cars are 100 percent low-floor – including ramps that can be folded out manually. Entry and exit are barrier-free – just like the interior. This is made possible by a special construction of the axles.
Tram 40 meters long and with WiFi
At 31.5 meters, the standard variant of the station wagon is 1.5 meters longer than the current S model from VGF. There is also a fourth door per side. The long version of the new tram even reaches 40 meters with five doors. In addition to the video equipment and air conditioning that have long been standard on trams, the new T-model also has LED lighting inside; with “ambient” lighting, the light tone of which is regulated depending on the outside temperature. The vehicle also no longer has any exterior mirrors; the driver can control everything via cameras. There are 16 USB charging options in the vehicle. Facilities for WLAN are also prepared.
The standard version of the station wagon costs around 2.5 million euros. From the end of next year, the extended cars will initially be used on the heavily frequented line 11. Since the platforms at the stops are usually only designed for a tram length of around 30 meters, some platforms have to be extended. Alstom will deliver a total of 58 T wagons by 2025, 34 of them in the extended version.
Additional capacities for the traffic turnaround
As of Monday, one of the two new vehicles will advertise the 175th anniversary of the Paulskirchen Assembly, which is due next year. At the presentation on Friday, this tram was christened “Europe”. What was also obvious: the station wagon is ultimately a Spanish-French-German joint effort. Thanks to the order from VGF, the manufacturer Alstom has managed to find favor in Germany again after many years with a new tram model.
The new series will create additional capacity for the traffic turnaround in Frankfurt, said Mobility Director Majer at the presentation. The station wagon makes a “fantastic contribution” to this. The city had ordered the cars from Alstom in 2017 – at that time still under Majer’s predecessor Klaus Oesterling (SPD).
