Vehicles
The contract to build a fleet of 27 trams, sufficient for both the Phase 1a and 1b lines was awarded to the Spanish rail equipment manufacturer CAF and is worth up to £40 million.
CAF was selected by competitive tender from a list of four rail vehicle manufacturers, the others being Alstom, Bombardier, and Siemens. CAF has supplied light rail vehicles for a number of other European tram networks, including EuskoTran in Bilbao and MetroCentro in Seville, Spain, and for the Antray system in Antalya, Turkey. The company also supplied new NIR Class 3000 trains for Northern Ireland Railways and (with Siemens) built rolling stock for the Heathrow Express service in London.
The Edinburgh trams, built to meet TIE's specifications, will be bi-directional, 42.8 metres (140 ft) long and built with low-floor access to meet UK Rail Vehicle Access Regulations for disabled people. Passenger capacity will be 332 with 80 seated and 250 standing and the trams will be fitted with CCTV.
A number of special requirements have been specified for the tram vehicles: they will have to cope with the steep slopes of Edinburgh streets, operate with low noise and offer a visual fit suitable for a World Heritage Site. The particular requirements were specified by TIE with the aim of designing an advanced tram system tailored for the needs of Edinburgh.
A full size mockup of the front of the proposed tram was constructed in 2009 and put on display on Princes Street for the public to view, later moving to Constitution Street at the foot of Leith Walk in April 2009. There is also a tram front mock up at the Gyle Shopping Centre next to the bus stop.
On 28 April 2010, the first real full-length tram was delivered to Edinburgh, and was put on display (on its rails) at the Princes Street stop at the bottom of The Mound until November 2010. It was subsequently moved to open storage in Broxburn.
Read more about this topic: Edinburgh Trams
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