http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/rolling-stock/tram-train-operators-plan-joint-rolling-stock-procurement.htmlThree operators of tram train systems in Karlsruhe, Kassel and Saarbrücken and three further planners of future systems in Tübingen, Frankfurt and Linz have joined together to place a common order of 300 tram train vehicles.
Aside from pushing down the price per unit, the main goal is to undergo a single certification process. This is after the previous generation of Karlsruhe's tram trains by Bombardier took multiple years after delivery to be certified, which even delayed the opening of a new line. For this reason, the schedule for these vehicles is very generous, with the orders being placed next year, first prototypes 2021 and series delivery starting from 2024 on.
What will be interesting is that these networks require a huge variety of different setups.
Kassel and Saarbrücken require lowfloor, Karlsruhe midfloor (55 cm), Frankfurt highfloor entry.
Frankfurt plans to have 50 m long versions, all others will be 37.5 m.
Kassel requires a diesel or other non-overhead wire-version, rumours have it the order could also include urban trams for Karlsruhe, which would be another DC-only and unidirection version.
Saarbrücken will require certification for a short stretch of French tracks, while Linz is in Austria. While train certification is done by federal authorities, trams are covered by the states, four different states are covered by these systems.
I wonder if any manufacturer will manage to cover all of this as one vehicle concept, that can also be certified as one vehicle class.
