50 modern low-floor vehicles will be added to the Silesian tram fleet by mid-2027. The order has a total gross value of almost PLN 777 million (just under EUR 186 million) and will be realised by the Polish manufacturers PESA Bydgoszcz and Modertrans Poznań. The scope of delivery of the two manufacturers has not yet been announced. The tender originally defined two delivery lots, one of 10 single direction vehicles and one of 30, including 20 single direction vehicles and 10 bidirectional vehicles with an option for 25 more.
The investment is part of the European Fund for Infrastructure, Climate and Environment 2021-2027 (FenIKS) programme. This is the third funding period in which the Silesian Tramway has benefited from EU funds. In addition to infrastructure measures, the tram fleet is being continuously modernised to bring the 178 km tram network up to date.
Expansion and renewal of the vehicle fleet
There are currently almost 300 trams in operation in the Upper Silesia metropolitan region. The proportion of low-floor vehicles (including vehicles that only have a low-floor centre section) is around 40%. The new vehicles will increase the fleet by 25 % and, above all, enable the older Konstal high-floor vehicles to be phased out.
According to the requirements specification of the tender, the new trams are 22 – 25 metres long and are low floor. They are equipped with air conditioning, electronic information systems and Wi-Fi. PESA, whose trams have already covered 28 million kilometres in the region since 2018, will once again supply the Twist type. There are no details yet about the Modertrans vehicle type, but it is assumed that Modertrans will supply the familiar Modertrans Gamma in a customised length. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2026.
We recently reported on the latest Twist variant for Wrocław and Tallinn here:
