In March 2022, the German public transport entity Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen (VMS) ordered 19 new eCitylink light rail vehicles from Stadler Rail, with an option for up to 27 additional vehicles for the tram-train network in the Chemnitz area. The fully electric trains will connect the city centre with the surrounding area without the need to change trains.
The first train arrived in Chemnitz this week – it was transported by ship from Spain to Antwerp (Belgium) and then by rail to Chemnitz.
The entire series of 19 eCitylinks is being built in Valencia (Spain) at the Stadler plant there. Chemnitz did not join the VDV’s large tram-train order, but instead put the vehicles out to tender and ordered them separately, as we reported here recently:
https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/stadler-liefer-neue-citylink-tram-train-generation-nach-chemnitz/
While the 12 first-generation Stadler Citylinks built in 2015/16 use either diesel or electric power (600 volts) on the C13-C15 interurban lines, the second-generation eCitylinks are ‘doubly electric’: either in Chemnitz with tram power under 600/750 V DC or in the electrified railway network with 15 kV AC traction current.
The eCitylinks will be used by City-Bahn Chemnitz from 2027 between Chemnitz and Stollberg as well as Chemnitz and Mittweida/Döbeln. Later, they will also be used on the new Chemnitz–Limbach-Oberfrohna (Chemnitz model, stage 4) and Stollberg–St.Egidien (Chemnitz model, stage 5) lines, as well as other lines to be electrified.
Technical data:
- Bi-directional light rail vehicle
- 37.14 m long, 2.65 m wide
- Four double-width doors per side
- Entrance designed for different platform heights (BOStrab: 190 mm/240 mm/380 mm; EBO: 380 mm/550 mm)
- 88 seats, total capacity 227 passengers
- Drive power: 6 x 125 kW
- Vmax: 100 km/h
- Lightweight construction made of high-strength, stainless steel
- Multifunctional compartments, spaces for wheelchair users, prams, bicycles,
- Toilet
- Dynamic passenger information system
These features are essentially the same as those of the tried-and-tested first-generation Stadler Citylinks, which have been in service since 2016.
In March 2022, the association meeting of the Central Saxony Transport Association (ZVMS) approved the total package worth £234.56 million. The total amount includes the new Citylinks, the new Chemnitz Central Station depot (on Sachsen-Allee) and maintenance. The VMS GmbH project is being financed by investment loans, subsidies from the Free State of Saxony and the ZVMS’s own funds.
