Stadler Tramlink

Tramlink is a family of three-, five- and seven- section low-floor trams, mostly of multi-articulated type, produced by Stadler Rail Valencia. The Tramlink was originally developed by Vossloh but has been manufactured by Stadler since they took over Vossloh's factory in Valencia in 2016.

Operators

Prototypes and vehicles for León

Initially Vossloh built two prototype vehicles. These bi-directional vehicles had five sections and were 32 m long and 2.4 m wide. Testing took place from 2011 on the tram sections of Metrovalencia. Four identical vehicles were ordered for a tram project in León which was never built. The prototype vehicles are not known to have carried passengers, and their current location is unknown.

Rostock

Between 2011 and 2014 the Rostock tramway received 13 uni-directional vehicles from Vossloh Kiepe, which from December 2014 began to replace Tatra T6A2 trams and 4BNWE trailers. The Rostock Tramlinks have two special features. The bottoms of the side walls slope inwards from 2.65 m wide to only 2.3 m to allow them to use the existing platforms. The vehicles are fitted with supercapacitors on the roof. These store up to 0.9kWh of energy generated by regenerative braking, which can then be used for acceleration or heating and air conditioning, which is hoped to reduce the total energy consumption. The double doors in the suspended middle sections are each 1300mm wide and the single doors in the end sections are 800mm wide.

Stern & Hafferl

After tests with a Combino from Nordhausen and a long-term loan of a Cityrunner from Innsbruck, Stern und Hafferl Verkehr ordered eleven bi-directional ''Tramlink V3'' type trams from Vossloh Kiepe in 2014 for use on the Traunseebahn and the Attergaubahn. The vehicles were produced at Vossloh Kiepe's Spanish factory in Valencia. In order for the vehicles to be used on both the Traunseebahn and the Gmunden Tramway they are approved under railway and tramway regulations. Delivery was begun in 2015. The trams began operating on the Traunseebahn in March 2016. On 1 September 2018 the Traunseebahn and the Gmunden Tramway were connected and the Tramlink vehicles operate over both.

Baixada Santista

Tramlink vehicles have been in operation since 2015 on the Baixada Santista Light Rail in Brazil. The bi-directional vehicles were ordered at the end of 2012 and are fitted with batteries for use on the catenary-free section of track in the centre of Santos.

Lugano–Ponte Tresa

In summer 2018 the Ferrovie Luganesi ordered nine Tramlink vehicles for approximately 50 million Swiss francs. The contract included an option for a further three vehicles. The seven-section vehicles were built at Stadler's factory in Valencia and replaced the Be 4/8 and Be 4/12 ''Mandarinli'' trains from 1978/79 on the Lugano–Ponte Tresa Railway The first vehicle was delivered on 11 March 2021, the last a year later.

Erfurt

In 2018 Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe ordered 14 Tramlink vehicles for the Erfurt tramway system. The uni-directional vehicles are 42m long and can carry 248 passengers. They have been in service since 2021 and the total cost was around 56 million euros. As well as in Valencia some of the production also took place at Stadler's factory in Pankow, Berlin. In May 2023 an option in the original contract was used to order ten more trams.

Waldenburgerbahn und Limmattalbahn

In autumn 2018 Baselland Transport (BLT) and Aargau Verkehr (AVA) announced a joint order for 18 seven-section Tramlinks, worth 103 million Swiss francs. The trams with a maximum speed of 80km/h have been in service since the end of 2022 on the Waldenburgerbahn and the newly-built Limmattalbahn. The Waldenburgerbahn, formerly the only 750mm-gauge railway in Switzerland, was being rebuilt and re-gauged to metre gauge. The joint order allowed considerable savings on the cost of the vehicles and their maintenance. On the Waldenburgerbahn the approximately 45m long trains are intended to be used in coupled pairs at peak times. The Limmattalbahn vehicles are fitted with a ZSI-127 train protection system. Although this is not used on the Limmattalbahn itself, it is needed for the vehicles to use part of the Wohlen–Dietikon railway line in Dietikon and to access the AVA workshops in Bremgarten.

Milan

In July 2019 Stadler won a tender from Azienda Trasporti Milanesi to deliver up to 80 bi-directional vehicles for the Milan tram network. The first order comprised 30 vehicles, 20 for the city network and 10 for interurban lines. Unlike all other Tramlink vehicles these are not multi-articulated vehicles. The short centre module of the three-section trams runs on a fixed (non-rotating) trailer bogie and the two longer end modules each have a motor bogie at the outer end. The bogies were adopted from the Metelitsa tram built by Stadler Minsk. The trams are 25m long with three doors on each side. The first vehicle was delivered to Milan in December 2022 and entered service in February 2025. In June 2023 Stadler won a second tender for up to 50 further vehicles, of which 25 will be 35m long with four doors per side. Initially fourteen 35m long trams were ordered, with delivery expected from June 2026. A further 30 trams were also ordered from the first contract.

Bern

Bernmobil ordered an initial batch of 27 vehicles (twenty uni-directional and seven bi-directional) in September 2019, and a contract for up to 50 trams in December 2019 was signed in December 2019. The first tram was delivered on 1 February 2023. In February 2024 the delivery of new vehicles was interrupted due to faults in the nine trams already delivered.

Augsburg

In October 2019 Stadler and the Stadtwerke Augsburg announced an order for 11 trams for the Augsburg tram network. At the end of 2020 the order was increased to 15 trams. The seven-section uni-directional vehicles are 42m long, 100% low-floor and can carry up to 231 passengers, 86 of which seated.

Jena

In August 2020 Stadtwerke Jena-Pößneck announced an order for 24 trams, with an option for 19 more, for the Jena tram network. The operator named them as ''Lichtbahn''. Delivery of the 16 seven-section and 8 five-section vehicles began in May 2023 and the first tram entered service in December 2023. The entirely low-floor trams are 41.88m or 32.55m long with capacity for 241 or 180 passengers respectively, including 80 or 58 seats. Unlike the GT6M and Tramino already in use in Jena the Tramlink are wider, with an unusual width of 2.45m. The seating arrangements in the wheeled modules are varied, sometimes with two seats either side of the aisle and sometimes with two seats on one side and an unusually wide single seat the other side, or with single seats on both sides. Also noteworthy is that none of the double doors are opposite each other.

The manufacturer will also maintain the trams for 24 years, with an optional extension of 8 years.

Potsdam

In December 2021 Stadler and ViP, operator of the Potsdam tram network, announced an order of ten Tramlink vehicles. The contract includes an option for a further 15 trams, three of which had been ordered . The fully low-floor vehicles are 42m long, have eight doors and a capacity of 246 passengers, including 74 seats. The first tram was unveiled in Potsdam in March 2025

Geneva

In 2022 Transports publics genevois (TPG) ordered 38 Tramlink trams for the Geneva tram network. They will be delivered from the end of 2024 to replace the first generation of low-floor trams and for use on new routes. The bi-directional trams will be 44m long and 2.3m wide. TPG has an option to order up to 25 more Tramlinks.

Lausanne

In autumn 2022 Transports publics de la région lausannoise announced an order for 10 Tramlink trams. They will be used on the new tram line from Lausanne to Renens. The vehicles will be 2.65m wide and 45m long. They will be the only standard-gauge Tramlink in Switzerland.

Valencia und Alicante

On 2 March 2023 the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) and Stadler announced an order for 16 seven-section Tramlink vehicles, with two options each for six additional vehicles. The metre-gauge trams will be used on Metrovalencia and the Alicante Tram and be numbered as series 4500. They will be 45m long and 2.4m wide.

Gotha

The Gotha tramway and ordered four bi-directional Tramlinks in 2025, with options for another six vehicles. The vehicles will be 32m long and 2.45m wide and are planned to be delivered in 2027 and enter service in 2028.

Technical description

Tramlink vehicles can be produced as uni-directional or bi-directional vehicles with different body widths and for standard gauge, metre gauge or 900mm gauge.

Mechanical part

The five or seven-section multi-articulated vehicles consist of two powered end modules and one or two wheeled intermediate modules, connected by suspended modules with no wheels. The powered chassis of the end modules and the unpowered chassis in the wheeled intermediate modules all have conventional wheelsets connected by axles. On some of the seven-section variants one of the intermediate modules also has a powered chassis. The chassis have two-stage (rubber roll and coil spring) suspension, rubber-sprung wheel tyres and a relatively large wheel diameter, which all contribute to good running characteristics. Despite the conventional axles the vehicles are still 100% low-floor without steps. The two motors for each chassis unit are each fitted under a group of seats. This requires two seats each side of the aisle over the chassis, with a total of 16 seats over every chassis unit. The tram body shells are built from stainless steel and fulfil the EN 15227 crash-worthiness standard.

Drive and brakes

The power converter and auxiliary power converter are supplied from the overhead line, with chokes and capacitors to smooth the input voltage. Each motor bogie has its own power converter supplying two asynchronous motors with water-cooled stators. In regenerative braking the power converter can feed direct current back into the overhead line and during braking other electrical components in the vehicle can also be supplied from the braking energy. If the braking energy can not be fed back to the overhead line the electric brake can also operate as a rheostatic brake. The traction control reacts automatically to wheelslip and sliding of the powered wheels. The majority of the electrical equipment, including the externally-ventilated braking resistors and the air conditioning units, is located on the roof. In addition to the electrical braking the vehicles have a hydraulic spring-applied brake, which serves as the parking brake. For emergency use every bogie has a magnetic track brake.

Overview of variants

References

External links

Description on Stadler's official website

Tramlink for Erfurt
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Vossloh
Tram vehicles
Stadler Rail rolling stock