FUntil now, the Rangfurt trams have always been rectangular and angular in shape. With the new “T-model”, the municipal transport company (VGF) to change the schedule on Monday, a tram with a design that looks more streamlined and elegant takes to the streets for the first time. Traffic department chief Stefan Mager (Die Grünen) thinks the new series is “very elegant”. VGF presented the first two of the 58 publicly ordered vehicles at the Gutleut depot near the main train station.
For passengers, the T model from the French manufacturer offers Alstom With its large panoramic windows over all the space is larger. The number of seats is the same. There is more space for strollers, wheelchairs or bicycles, for example. In addition, the new cars have a 100% lowered floor – including ramps that can be folded manually. Entry and exit are barrier-free – just like the interior. This is made possible by a special construction of the hubs.
40m long tram with WiFi
At 31.5 metres, the standard station wagon version is 1.5 meters longer than the current Model S from VGF. There is also a fourth door on each side. The long version of the new tram reaches 40 meters in length with five doors. In addition to the video equipment and air conditioning that have always been standard on trams, the new T model also has LED lighting inside; With “ambient” lighting, the degree of illumination is regulated according to the outside temperature. The car no longer has any outside mirrors; The driver can control everything via cameras. There are 16 USB charging options in the car. WLAN facilities are also equipped.
The standard version of the station wagon costs about 2.5 million euros. From the end of next year, the expanded cars will initially be used on the frequency-dense Line 11. Since the platforms at the stations are only designed for a tram length of about 30 metres, 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 traffic shifting capabilities
From Monday, one of the two new cars will mark the Paulskirchen association’s 175th anniversary, which is scheduled for next year. At the presentation on Friday, this tram was named “Europe”. What was also clear: The station wagon is, after all, a joint Spanish-French-German effort. Thanks to the request of the VGF, the manufacturer Alstom was able to get support in Germany again many years later with a new tram model.
The new series will create additional traffic shift capacity in Frankfurt, said the head of mobility Mayer in the show. The station wagon makes an “impressive contribution” to this. The city had ordered the cars from Alstom in 2017 – at the time it was still under the leadership of Majer’s predecessor Klaus Osterling (SPD).
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