At the beginning of this month,
CAF entered into a framework agreement with the Malaysian construction company Gamuda Berhad, to supply up to 23 Urbos trams that will operate on the Xidong and Keelung lines in New Taipei. The contract, worth about 200 million euros, also covers the supply of spare parts, depot equipment and a driving simulator.
This is CAF’s second project in Taiwan, following the completion of an integrated project for the city of Kaohsiung’s tram line in the south of the country — ‘the world’s first to be completely catenary-free’, thanks to on-board energy storage technology that enables catenary-free operation by charging the trams while they are at a standstill at stops on route.
With almost 4 million inhabitants, New Taipei City is the largest municipality in Taiwan. The project is part of a major infrastructure initiative currently underway in the New Taipei metropolitan area, which aims to meet the area’s growing demand for rail transport. Specifically, the first Xizhi-Donghu (Xidong) line will span about 6km and will be fully elevated. The line will feature six stations and a unit depot, and the contract will include the supply of rolling stock and the systems required for operation.
Headquartered in Spain and with factories in the UK, France, the USA, Brazil and Mexico, CAF will supply Urbos platform vehicles consisting of nine aluminium modules, each over 55m long and offering a maximum capacity of up to 615 passengers per unit. CAF says this award further emphasises the company’s position as a leading provider of urban transport solutions, particularly for trams.
There are now more than 50 cities where CAF units are already in operation; these include Stockholm, Liège, Sydney, Luxembourg, Birmingham, Mauritius, Houston, Budapest, Oslo, Lisbon, Boston, Zaragoza and Seville.