
At Christmas time this year, there were not only presents under the Christmas tree, but also on the rails: New trams were delivered to the three German cities of Brandenburg an der Havel, Halle an der Saale and Würzburg just in time for the festive season. Three different types and manufacturers were involved: Brandenburg received new ForCity Plus 48T trams from the Škoda Group, Halle/Saale new TINAs from Stadler and Würzburg the new GT-F from Heiterblick.
These modern vehicles are a real cause for celebration – not only for the transport operators, but also for the passengers who will benefit from the improvements – in all three cities, the new vehicles will replace older vehicles, some of which still have high-floor sections.
When comparing the technical vehicle data, it is noticeable that the three vehicles are metre-gauge vehicles. The GT-F for Würzburg stands out with a delivery time of exactly five years. This is due to the fact that this vehicle has merely been a fully new development, whereas the Forcity Plus for Brandenburg, Cottbus and Frankfurt as well as the TINA for Halle/Saale (and other cities) are platform vehicles with a relatively high degree of standardisation. Accordingly, the vehicle costs are also lower for these two trams.

Four more ForCity Plus 48T for Brandenburg
18 December was an exciting morning for Verkehrsbetriebe Brandenburg an der Havel GmbH (VBBr) and the citizens of the city. At around 04:00, the low-loader rolled onto the access road to Magdeburger Straße and brought the first new Škoda ForCity Plus – 48T tram to Brandenburg. After brief disagreements with the authorisation of the transport route, the vehicle and trailer finally reached the unloading point in Magdeburger Straße on time at 06:20. The event attracted numerous onlookers who watched the arrival of the modern vehicle. Unloading began at around 07:30, accompanied by Lord Mayor Steffen Scheller and VBBr Managing Director Jörg Vogler.

At 8.20 a.m. the time had finally come: the new tram made full contact with the Brandenburg tracks for the first time. During a ceremonial welcome, Lord Mayor Scheller announced some good news: the city will be ordering a further 4 trams, bringing the total to 8.
Following the welcome, the tram was transferred to the tram depot in Upstallstraße by our operations manager Christian Schiller and workshop foreman Patrick Brauer. This is where the important approval and testing phase begins. At the same time, our drivers are undergoing intensive training on the new vehicle type in our in-house tram driving school.

VBBr expects the new tram to be integrated into the regular service during the second quarter of 2025. The eight vehicles for Brandenburg are part of a collective order that was carried out jointly with the other Brandenburg transport companies in Cottbus and Frankfurt/Oder. The first vehicle for Cottbus was presented in June 2024. We reported here:
We reported here on the completion at the Škoda factory.
TINA for Halle/ Saale
On the morning of 6 December, the first of 56 new TINA trams was delivered to HAVAG in Halle/ Saale and presented to the public shortly afterwards. HAVAG ordered the new trams in August 2022, as we reported here.
In the presence of Dr Lydia Hüskens, Minister for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt and Egbert Geier, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HAVAG, as well as other representatives of HAVAG and the City of Halle, the vehicle was presented to the press and the public shortly afterwards.
Halle (Saale) is investing 168 million euros in new trams: Hallesche Verkehrs-AG (HAVAG) has ordered 56 TINA vehicles from the Swiss company Stadler. TINA stands for ‘totally integrated low-floor drive’. The first vehicles are due to arrive in Halle in summer 2025, and the new trams will be in regular service from September 2025.

The new tram also sets new standards in terms of comfort and customer benefits. The 100 per cent low-floor tram (instead of the previous 70 per cent) is fully accessible without steps and therefore completely barrier-free with wider passageways, no cross-steps and extremely comfortable seats. Large panoramic windows ensure an open feeling of space and an unobstructed view.
The TINA design
TINA also impresses from the outside with its unique and ultra-modern design, which was further developed by the vehicle manufacturer for Halle (Saale). Bi-directional vehicles with two different lengths have been ordered, which can be used as required. 39 MGT-M vehicles will have space for 167 passengers, 64 of whom will be seated, over a vehicle length of around 30 metres. The MGT-XL vehicle type, which is 45 metres longer, will be built 17 times and offer space for 269 passengers, 96 of whom will be seated.

The air-conditioned passenger compartment is a new feature. The modern air conditioning system regulates automatically and in an energy-saving manner, depending on the occupancy of the vehicle as well as the interior and exterior temperatures. A pleasant temperature in the vehicle is guaranteed in both summer and winter.
TINA is also intended to ensure greater safety in transport and for passengers, for example with the modern LED lights and the illuminated door button. Cameras and monitors will be used instead of exterior mirrors, offering more opportunities to observe passengers boarding and alighting. Innovative driver assistance systems will help to prevent accidents in the future. For a better grip, additional handholds are provided in the ceiling area on both sides as well as at the carriage crossings. For smaller passengers, the holding options in the ceiling area in individual parts of the carriage will be improved with additional holding loops. The new trams will therefore further improve the quality of local public transport and continue to drive forward climate neutrality and the mobility transition in Halle (Saale).

The driver’s workplace has also been further developed. It has been built according to the latest ergonomic findings, the driver’s cab is larger than the previous one, has space for instructors and has a separate access door. The classic exterior mirrors have been replaced by a camera/monitor system which, in addition to the mirror function, provides much more support than before for drivers in observing passenger changes.
The new trams are to be used throughout HAVAG’s entire route network. HAVAG currently has a total of 101 trams in operation on 14 lines in the city of Halle. In 2023, HAVAG transported 54 million passengers, with this figure expected to be significantly exceeded again in 2024.
HAVAG’s Passenger Advisory Board was also involved in the development of the requirements for the new vehicles from the outset and thankfully provided HAVAG with excellent advice on the derivation of key vehicle features from the passenger perspective.
GT-F for Würzburg
On the night of 17 to 18 December 2024, the first GT-F series tram arrived in its new home in Würzburg. It was transported to Würzburg on a low-loader from the manufacturer Heiterblick in Leipzig. The vehicle was then put on the rails at Heuchelhof during the night.

The night-time operation went according to plan and without delay. The new tram is now being put through its paces and set up for the special requirements in Würzburg. However, it will still be some time before it is on the rails in Würzburg. The next steps are the commissioning authorisation by the technical supervisory authority and the test operation. This will take around 9 to 15 months.
Bogie technology of the GT-F
The 18 new light rail vehicles are given the type designation GT-F and the road numbers 215 to 232. Due to the tight curve radii in the network, the decision was made to use five-part vehicles with a length of 36 metres and a width of 2.40 metres. The smallest track radius is only 17.5 metres.
There are minor differences in the technical data between the specifications of Würzburger Straßenbahn GmbH (WSB) and the manufacturer Heiterblick: The engine output is given as 760 kW (WSB) or 800 kW (Heiterblick), the unladen weight as approx. 51 tonnes (WSB) or 49.4 tonnes (Heiterblick). According to WSB, the available space comprises 74 seats, 6 folding seats and 140 standing places, while Heiterblick states 76 seats, 6 folding seats and 147 standing places. The electrical equipment comes from Voith Digital Solutions Austria in St. Pölten, while Heiterblick is responsible for the mechanical part including the bogies and production.

The GT-Fs are designed to be barrier-free and have two large special use areas that offer sufficient space for wheelchairs, pushchairs and bicycles. However, they are not completely low-floor, as the bogies under the first and last sections take up part of the interior space. The floor height therefore varies between 360 mm above top of rail in the low-floor areas and 660 mm above the bogies.

The use of bogies ensures a comfortable ride, especially on bends, and reduces wear on wheels and rails. This is an advantage over the GT-N trains, which do without bogies.
Vehicle shortage in Würzburg
In Würzburg, transport companies and passengers are urgently waiting for the new trams to be deployed. The old Düwag GT-D trams built in 1967 – 68 and 1975 are still being used in Würzburg to bridge the current vehicle bottleneck. At the end of October 2022, a technical defect was discovered in a wheel swing arm on a tram from the newer GT-N series. For safety reasons, all vehicles of this type were temporarily taken out of service.
In order to maintain local public transport services, Würzburger Versorgungs- und Verkehrs-GmbH (WVV) reactivated the ageing GT-D trams. These vehicles were originally only used at peak times to cope with the rush of passengers, especially schoolchildren. However, due to the failure of the GT-N fleet, the GT-D trams have been back in regular service since the beginning of November 2022 and are running according to an adapted replacement timetable.
WVV is working intensively to rectify the technical problems with the GT-N trams, part of the fleet has already returned to regular service. Until these more modern vehicles are fully recommissioned, the GT-D trams will remain an indispensable part of the Würzburg tram network to ensure public transport in the city.
We would like to thank www.wuerzburgerleben.de for their kind permission to publish the photos of the GT-F here.
30.12.2024