Sporveien, the public transport operator of the city of Oslo, has once again awarded CAF a contract for the delivery of new vehicles. This involves the delivery of 20 metro trains and associated spare parts, with the option to increase the number of units by up to 90 additional units. The base contract has a value of more than €150 million, which would increase significantly if the customer decides to implement the specified options.
The Oslo Metro, also known as the T-Bane, is one of the city’s busiest means of transport and has more than 85 kilometres of track spread over 6 lines. The new M4000 vehicles for the metro will be based on the CAF metro platform INNEO. These are 3-car trains with 3 double-leaf doors on each side. This design ensures easy and fast access and thus optimises the stopping times at the individual stations.
The trains will be designed to operate in the challenging weather conditions in the Norwegian capital, including snow and extreme temperatures. All bogies will be motorised bogies, which will improve the adhesion and traction of the unit during operation. In addition, the vehicles will be equipped with on-board batteries that will enable them to reach the next station in the event of a power failure or to manoeuvre in the operator’s depot without overhead lines if necessary. All of these measures are focussed on efficient energy consumption in order to achieve a sustainable energy supply. The vehicles are also being prepared for automatic operation in accordance with GoA4 (Grade of Automation 4 = driverless).
In addition to increasing capacity on the existing lines, the new trains are also needed for the Fornebu line, which is currently under construction and is expected to go into operation in 2027. The Fornebu line is a new metro extension in a continuous tunnel system between Majorstuen and Fornebu on the southern banks of the city. The new metro line will be around 7.7 kilometres long and will have six new underground stations.
CAF’s success story in Oslo
This is the third order that the CAF Group has received for the City of Oslo in recent years, following a contract for the delivery of 183 Solaris articulated electric buses in 2022, which have been on the streets of Oslo since last year, and the contract for the delivery of trams, which are currently being delivered. In 2018, Sporveien ordered a total of 87 Urbos low-floor trams from CAF, with deliveries starting in 2020. Locally, the five-car low-floor vehicles are referred to as type SL18. They will enter service from January 2022 and there is an option for 60 more vehicles.
