Eagerly awaited by the public and perhaps even more so by passengers, new trams are back on Lisbon’s tracks after 28 years: The delivery of the low-floor tramcars from Spanish manufacturer CAF has begun. Currently, 5 of the 15 low-floor trams on order have arrived these are no. 601, 604, 606, 608 and 609. At the Santo Amaro depot workshops, adaptation and adjustment works are taking place, and during the night hours, test runs are carried out on the line 15E between Cais do Sodré and Alges. We reported about the new trams here bevore: https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/die-neue-tram-fuer-lissabon/ .
The new five-module trams are 28.5m long and 2.3m wide and have four double doors, two in each of modules 2 and 4. The tram can accommodate 203 passengers. The first and last vehicle modules are powered. The new trams are urgently needed to reinforce the service on shore line 15E. Of the ten partially low-floor articulated Siemens/CAF trams built in 1995, only eight are still operational at all, and they too are in need of a major overhaul. On the route, the operator CARRIS therefore frequently uses two-axle tramcars with their completely inadequate capacity as reinforcement, as well as diesel buses.
The new vehicles are also needed for the long-planned extensions of the lines at both ends – in the first step to Cruz Quebrada mostly on still existing tracks and to the Santa Apolonia long-distance station.
Start of passenger service is expected in September 2023.
