Earlier this month, Skoda Transportation (www.skoda.cz) presented the first of 14 new modern For-City Classic trams in Chemnitz, Germany.

This is a bi-directional low-floor vehicle with a body made of stainless steel.

The total value of this contract is close to 950 million CZK (about 36.7 million euros).

Petr Brzezina, CEO of the Skoda Transportation group, said: “The tram we are presenting to our customer today has many significant innovations.

“This first vehicle has been the subject of several months of challenging ‘type tests’ in Chemnitz.

“The first passengers will be able to use this tram during a trial run in the spring of 2019, with the entire fleet being delivered in the summer.

“Back in 2012, we were able to carry passengers from Chemnitz on a test run in our Prague ForCity Alfa tram.

“The operation was considered very successful, and it formed the basis for the offer that in 2016 saw us win the tender for the supply of these 14 trams — against tough competition.”

The trams are 31.4m long and 2.65m wide; they can accommodate 281 passengers (64 seated).

They have a maximum speed of 80kph (restricted to 60kph in Chemnitz), and “excellent driving performance, even in bad weather” (each of the 12 wheels is driven directly by its own motor, without a gearbox).

Skoda Transportation has been successful in the German market in recent years.

In June, the company won a tender for the supply of 80 modern trams (plus an option for 34 more) for transport company Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr for the lines between Mann-heim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg.

The first vehicles will be put into operation in early 2021. The total value of the contract is several billion CZK.