For many observers it was a big surprise: The Spanish manufacturer CAF has been awarded the contract for the delivery of the new Montpellier tram fleet by the public authority Métropole Montpellier Méditerranée. CAF has been commissioned with the development and delivery of 60 low-floor trams. There is an option for a further 17 vehicles. The total order volume is over 200 million euros.
Montpellier is located in the Occitanie region. The metropolitan area with half a million inhabitants comprises 31 municipalities. Montpellier’s first tram line was inaugurated on 1 July 2000. Since then, the network has grown steadily and now covers 60.5 km with four lines. A fifth line is currently under construction. The tram network is operated by Transports de l’agglomération de Montpellier (TaM), which, in addition to the tram, also runs the city’s 36 bus lines and bicycle rental system.
The tender
In 2020, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole had issued a call for tenders for its concessionaire TaM (Transports de l’agglomération de Montpellier) for the procurement of 77 new trams for the next six years, mainly to cover the needs of the future Line 5 (22 vehicles by 2025) and the renewal of the more than 20-year-old rolling stock of Line 1 (30 vehicles).
In addition, 17 trains will be needed to cover the increase in passenger numbers related to the free use of transport (which will be implemented for all metropolitan residents by the end of 2023) and 8 trains will increase the reserves for heavy maintenance and ensure the reliability of the network.
Two manufacturers applied for the tender: Alstom and CAF. After a detailed analysis of the offers, the members of the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole tender committee met on 16 June 2022 to select the supplier.
CAF will supply 2.65 m wide seven-section vehicles of the Urbos platform, which is already in use in numerous cities worldwide, including Amsterdam, Budapest, Nantes, Belgrade, Utrecht, Edinburgh and Stockholm. It is not yet known whether the new fleet will be equipped with the artistic design (white birds on a blue background). In Montpellier, the vehicles of each of the lines have a specific design.
CAF engages in the French market
The Spanish rolling stock manufacturer stressed at the time of the contract award that it wants to remain involved in the French market, where the company has signed a large number of contracts in recent years.
Last year, in a consortium with Alstom (formerly Bombardier), it won a contract to supply 146 trains for the Paris RER B commuter line, jointly operated by RATP and SNCF. This is a contract for 28 regional trains with an option for a further 75. We reported here:
In addition, CAF has already supplied trams for the French cities of Nantes, Besançon and St Etienne, as well as refurbishing the train fleet of Line D of the Lyon Metro.
As part of the takeover of the Bombardier Transportation Group by Alstom, CAF will acquire the former Alstom plant in Reichshoffen (Alsace) due to the conditions imposed by the European Commission. This will strengthen the company’s position in France as part of its growth strategy and increase its technical expertise.
Not far from Montpellier, CAF already has a production site in the Occitanie region, in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, located in the commune of Bagnères-de-Bigorre. The plan is to manufacture the new trams for Montpellier there.
13.07.2022
