The Škoda ForCity Plus 52T trams developed for Prague have successfully completed the type approval and certification process. The latest generation of Škoda’s fully low-floor trams has passed all technical tests and completed the required 20,000 kilometres without passengers and a further 20,000 kilometres with passengers. This brings the handover to Prague Public Transport (DPP) and the start of regular operation closer, while the first vehicles have already been in preliminary operation since June. We reported on this here.
There are now 13 Škoda ForCity Plus 52T trams at the DPP’s Hloubětín depot, and the remaining seven are in an advanced stage of production. According to the contract, the Škoda Group will deliver them by the beginning of December this year at the latest, just two years after the contract was signed. The vehicles themselves were approved in just 22 months. Before being put into regular service, each vehicle must obtain a certificate of suitability from the Czech Railway Authority.
The Škoda ForCity Plus 52T trams represent the latest generation of low-floor urban vehicles developed for Prague. They offer a fully environmentally friendly air-conditioned interior, a modern information system, new ergonomic seats, but above all a completely new electromechanical brake, which ensures quieter operation, lower maintenance requirements and greater braking precision. In addition, the vehicles are equipped with an anti-collision system with the LiDAR technology, energy-efficient LED lighting, and advanced regenerative braking system, which allows energy to be fed back into the grid, contributing to savings in tram fleet operating costs.
Technically speaking, it is a five-car multi-articulated vehicle, with the end cars resting on conventional turnable bogies. The vehicle is a combination of proven components from other Škoda products. The carbody is based on the ForCity Smart trams for Ostrava, Pilsen and Brno, while the powerful traction motor comes from the ForCity Plus project for Frankfurt, Cottbus and Brandenburg. The basic design of the vehicle is derived from the five-section ForCity Plus tram for Bratislava. With a vehicle width of 2.5 metres, the 52T is four centimetres wider than its predecessors of the 15T type.
At the beginning of 2024, Prague Public Transport (DPP) ordered a total of 40 trams with an option to deliver up to 160 more. The total value of the contract is almost CZK 16.602 billion, which works out at CZK 83 million (around €3.4 million) per vehicle. Delivery was originally scheduled to begin in December 2025, but the first vehicle was presented at the factory in January 2025, just one year after the order was placed. We reported on this here:
Technical specifications of the new 52T tram:
- Vehicle length over bumpers: 31.99 m
- Vehicle width: 2.5 m
- Total vehicle capacity: 243 (with 5 occupants per square metre)
- Standing places: 173
- Seats: 70 in total, of which 44 in direction = 62 % (PID Quality Standards require a minimum of 60 %) and 26 against direction = 38 %
- Multifunctional space: 2 places for a pram, 2 places for a wheelchair
- Low-floor section: 100 % (all seats accessible without platforms and stairs)
- Total number of bogies: 4 traction bogies (2 freely pivoting and 2 partially pivoting)
- Brake: electromechanical
- Diameter of new wheels: 640 mm
- Platform edge height: 350 mm
- Doors: 5 double-leaf doors with a width of 1,300 mm and parallel to the axis of the stops
- Driver’s door: external mechanical, internal sliding
- Vehicle life cycle: 30 years
- Maximum operating speed: 70 km/h
- Empty weight: 48 t
“Travelling around Prague in more comfortable and safer trams is now a step closer to reality, as the successful approval is a key step towards completing the entire first series of Škoda ForCity Plus 52T trams. We are very honoured to supply trams for our capital city and are pleased that production and deliveries are gradually being completed on schedule and without complications. It is a remarkable achievement by our team to have obtained vehicle approval just 16 months after the start of production”.
Petr Novotný, CEO of Škoda Group
“We have successfully completed the homologation process for the new Škoda ForCity Plus 52T tram model. I greatly appreciate that the entire project is running according to schedule, which is a tremendous achievement for new vehicle deliveries these days. Before we can put the new Škoda ForCity Plus 52T trams into regular service, we must perform mandatory test runs and technical safety tests on each newly delivered vehicle, and the manufacturer must then remedy any deficiencies found. We need to obtain a certificate of conformity for each vehicle from the Czech Railway Authority, and they must be transferred to DPP’s ownership by contract. At the same time, our drivers are being trained on the new type of tram. I expect that we will start regular operation with the first vehicles in about three weeks, in accordance with the previously announced schedule”.
Jan Šurovský, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Technical Director of DPP – Povrch.
Ein Video der Präsentation im Januar 2025 gibt es hier:
Adherence to the schedule and rapid implementation have accompanied the Prague Škoda ForCity Plus 52T tram project from the very beginning. The project was launched in December 2023 with the signing of a framework agreement between Škoda Group and Prague Public Transit Company. Subsequently, in January 2024, the public was able to see for the first time what the new tram would look like, including its modern design and technical solutions. In June of the same year, Škoda Group began production, with the first cars seeing the light of day in early 2025. This April, homologation began without passengers, and in June with passengers.
In September 2025, all cars successfully met the requirement of 20,000 kilometres of passenger mileage, completing the operational reliability verification process. Now, in October 2025, the trams have obtained type approval and operational certification. Each individual tram will also receive a certificate of suitability issued by the Railway Authority. After that, the specific vehicle can be put into regular passenger service.
The new Prague tram is the result of close cooperation between Škoda Group and Prague Public Transit Company. The project builds on the long-term partnership between the two companies. Clear evidence of this is the mileage of the previous tram model delivered. To date, the fleet of 250 ForCity Alfa 15T trams has travelled almost 150 million kilometres.
16.10.2025
