Siemens to supply Ulm with Avenio M light rail vehicles

From left: Christoph Klaes, Head of light rail business at Siemens, Ingo Wortmann, managing director of SWU Verkehr und Stefan Eckert, Head of the Division Mobility in the German region Southwest

SWU Verkehr GmbH, a subsidiary of Ulm municipal authority in Germany, has signed a contract with Siemens for the supply of 12 Avenio M light rail vehicles.

From left: Christoph Klaes, Head of light rail business at Siemens, Ingo Wortmann, managing director of SWU Verkehr and Stefan Eckert, Head of the Division Mobility in the German region Southwest

The contract, signed on the 22^nd May 2015, is valued at €32 million and includes delivery of twelve Avenio M low-floor light rail vehicles for the city of Ulm. The agreement also includes an option for the supply of six additional trams. The new vehicles are planned for use on the city’s most recent planned service, line 2. Delivery of the first Avenio M is due for delivery in mid-2017 with the final delivery scheduled for spring 2018. The trams will be manufactured at the Siemens plant in Vienna. The bogies will be manufactured in Graz, while the control and traction drive technology will come from the Siemens factory in Nuremberg.

Ingo Wortmann, managing director of SWU Verkehr, commented on the agreement:  “The Avenio is similar in many ways to the existing Combino with the result that we can offer our passengers a reliable vehicle. This means that we will be able to operate the two future tram lines from an almost standardized vehicle pool. That will also be economically reasonable.”

Sandra Gott-Karlbauer, CEO of the Urban Transport Business Unit at Siemens, gave reaction to the news: “This order is an important milestone for the streetcar business at Siemens. After Munich, the order from Ulm is the second one we have received from Germany. All eight new trams have been in service in the Bavarian capital since the start of the year but at the same time the vehicles for Ulm represent a first too. This is the first time a multi-articulated version of the Avenio is being deployed”.

The Ulm metropolitan area is among the fastest growing economic regions in Germany. As a result, it has a commensurate need for mobility in public transportation. The municipal council called on SWU Verkehr GmbH in 2009 to plan a second streetcar line for Ulm. The new Line 2 connects the science district in the north of the city with the central train station, downtown, and Kuhberg to the southwest. The Ulm city council decided on May 6, 2015 with a large majority to go ahead with the construction.

Ulm’s line 2 will consist of 20 stations and measure 10.5 kilometres long, of which 9.3 kilometres and 18 stations have yet to be built. Construction is estimated at €192 million. The bus network will also be adapted. This will enable the light rail vehicles to be incorporated into the existing transportation network.

The new 31 metre long, five-car Avenio M is a 100 percent low floor light rail vehicle that can accommodate up to 175 passengers. The weight-optimized aluminium car body and the already standard Avenio drive and control technologies minimize energy consumption and save operating costs. Adequately dimensioned aisles above the bogies and a larger first door improve passenger circulation. During operation, the Avenio M can store and re-use valuable braking energy instead of losing it as heat, which makes a significant contribution to reducing the city’s carbon footprint.