Next-Gen Tram Hits Moscow Streets for First Time

By The Moscow Times

Aug. 20, 2014

TramRus is the only tram of its kind in Moscow. It has low floors, air conditioning, comfortable seats, an electronic information display, and a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour.

A new high-tech tram produced as part of a joint venture by French manufacturer Alstom and Russia's Transmashholding went to work for the first time in Moscow on Wednesday.

Called TramRus, it is the only tram of its kind in Moscow. It has low floors, air conditioning, comfortable seats, an electronic information display, and a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour.

It is servicing the Ostankino-Medvedkovo line in northern Moscow.

If the train proves to be a big hit with passengers, City Hall could order more of them through a tender, according to a spokesman from Moscow transportation authority Mosgortrans.

Moscow currently has 780 trams in operation, which on a weekday transport more than 800,000 passengers.

In 2012, the city government put out a tender to supply 120 new trams in 2014 and 2015. The winner was a joint venture by Russia's Uralvagonzavod and Polish train builder PESA. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at the time that the city will continue to replace its outdated tram fleet with new models.

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