Solaris to supply trams to the city of Cracow

On March 22 an agreement was signed between the MPK S.A. City Transport Company of Cracow and the consortium of three companies, Bombardier, Vossloh Kiepe and Solaris Bus & Coach S.A., to supply a batch of 24 low-floor trams for the

Cracow‘s city transport operator.

The contract, worth over EUR 42 million, is due to be completed over two years from the date of signing. The first trams are due to enter service in Cracow in September 2007, and the last units from the batch of 24 vehicles will be handed over to the operator in spring of 2008.

The three manufacturing companies in the consortium have divided responsibilities in the following way: the Canadian Bombardier company will supply tram bodies, German-based Vossloh Kiepe will manufacture the electrical equipment, while Solaris Bus & Coach has been entrusted with the supply and logistics of the remaining components plus the final assembly of the vehicles.

“This complex task that we face is nothing new to our company. We regularly undertake a similar scope of work when manufacturing our trolley bus range, and this is the segment in which we are currently the leaders on the European market,” pointed out Krzysztof Olszewski, Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. chairman and chief executive.

“Now, jointly with Bombardier and Kiepe, we are going to build 24 modern trams. I am sure the co-operation on the project between the three well-established and experienced manufacturers in the consortium will be as smooth as ever,” added Krzysztof Olszewski.

The trams that will boost Cracow‘s transport system are the modern NGT6-2 models. These 26-metre three-section outfits can take up to 184 passengers on board.

Currently, the Cracow‘s MPK operator runs a total of 26 similar trams. Together with the new batch, Cracow will boast a fleet of 50 modern low-floor Bombardier trams. This will enable MPK to increase the frequency of services on the express tram route on which the new Bombardier vehicles are due to operate.