Extension of Tampere's trams

On 26 September 2024, Škoda Group and Tampereen Raitiotie signed in Tampere a contract for the extension of the ForCity Smart Artic X34 trams. A ten-metre-long module will be added to the eleven existing 37-metre-long three-section trams, increasing the length of the vehicle to 47 metres and the capacity from 264 to 345 passengers, i. e. by more than 30 %.

The reason for this is that passenger numbers are growing faster than expected: in 2016, it was estimated that 55,000 passengers a day would be travelling on the tram in 2025; in fact, the 65,000 people a day mark was already crossed in April this year. From the beginning of this January to the end of April, 5.6 million trips were made, compared to 4.9 million last year and just under 3.4 million in 2022.

In connection with the developments described above, the Tampere City Council, at its meeting of 10 June 2024, decided to grant a loan guarantee to Tampereen Raitiotie. The project will start with the production of a prototype module at the Otanmäki works in 2025, which will be installed in one of the trams and undergo comprehensive factory testing, which should take approximately two months. The first long tram will then be transported to Tampere for type testing during 2026. Once the prototype is approved, Škoda Group will manufacture and deliver the remaining 10 modules, with installation to start in summer 2027 and finish in summer 2028.

The tram network in Tampere is already designed for 47 m long cars. The only modifications will have to be made to the Koskipuisto stop ('Wetland Park', near the main railway station), which was built for 37-metre trams only due to lack of space and which will be adapted accordingly by 2027.

The cost of the tram extensions was estimated to be between 15 and 25 million EUR depending on the number of trams. Even with the planned development of the tram network in Tampere, the target is to have 34 trams by the beginning of 2030 and nineteen of them 47 m long.

The cost of the extension of the first eleven trams is around 18 million EUR. The contract, worth a total of approximately 25 million EUR, is part of an option for the original contract and also includes a ten-year full service package for all 28 trams ordered so far. Škoda is providing full service for the existing trams from 2020, so the package in question covers the optional trams as well as the extended ones. The new inserted cars will have components compatible with the existing trams and will also be fitted with one powered bogie, so that the extended trams will retain their existing running characteristics (1,000 kW instead of 800 kW power).

In 2017, Tampereen Raitiotie ordered 19 trams (TR 001 to TR 019), which were delivered from 2020. Subsequently, an agreement was signed allowing the assembly of an additional TR 020 tram from spare parts, which arrived in Tampere in September 2021. Regular service on the first part of the new network started on 9 August 2021.

On 25 May 2022, the customer then ordered a further five ForCity Smart Artic X34 trams, exercising an option to the 2017 contract. Also in 2022 three more trams from the option were ordered. Deliveries of the optional Artics are ongoing, the first three are already at Tampere, the last one will be delivered first quarter of 2025.

In Tampere, at the Hervanta depot, the Smart Depot system of Škoda Group for automated tram movement is also being introduced.