Expansion of the BOGESTRA city rail fleet

Stadler to deliver six further city rail vehicles of the type TANGO and will be overseeing the modernisation of the existing B80D fleet.

BOGESTRA commissioned the Swiss rail vehicle manufacturer Stadler to build 6 new city rail vehicles and completely modernise the 25 B80D vehicles already in use. The new high-floor TANGOs will be operating on the U35 route from spring 2021. The three-part bidirectional vehicles offer space for up to 172 passengers, 66 of which on seats, over a stepless accessible length of 28 metres. Four wide doors on each side allow smooth entry and exit. The bright, spacious and barrier-free passenger areas have wide gangways and an open design. The complete accessibility boosts the sense of safety among the passengers. Specially marked multifunctional areas facilitate the transportation of pushchairs and bicycles; two areas are reserved for wheelchair users. The passenger information system and the vehicle’s WLAN technology allow precise minute-by-minute updating of individual travel schedules. The modern wide-screen TFT displays provide information about the end station, line number and route.

“The TANGO rail vehicles of the 2nd generation are equipped with WLAN and, for the first time, also with USB slots, so that the almost 94000 customers that use the underground trains during the week can surf free-of-charge at a download speed of up to 100 MBit per second and a data volume of up to 5 gigabytes“, says Andreas Kerber, member of the board at BOGESTRA.

As soon as the new vehicles are operational, the 25 city rail vehicles of the type B80D will be modernised from spring 2021 onwards. These vehicles, some of which are 30 years old, will be given an extensive facelift and technical overhaul. For instance, the carriages will be repainted and the passenger areas completely refurbished. The driver’s cab will also be redesigned in line with the latest ergonomic research. Also, modern passenger door systems that meet the standards for new vehicles will be fitted into the vehicles. The control and drive equipment will also be exchanged and replaced.

“The order for the additional TANGO city railways increases the number of BOGESTRA’s city rail and tram vehicles made by Stadler to 99. Our trams have been used for more than 10 years in Herne, Bochum and Gelsenkirchen. We are delighted to have signed the contract because it allows us to continue with our successful working relationship also in the field of modernisation,” says Patrick Sefzik, head of LRV sales Stadler Pankow GmbH.

“We have worked successfully with Stadler in the new vehicle field for many years, which is why we decided to enhance our collaboration with this contract to include the modernisation of our existing fleet of B80D vehicles,” says Andreas Kerber, member of the board at BOGESTRA.