The extra LRVs will be deployed on a new 5.2km line between Alaattin Tepesi and Adliye in the east of the city, which will include a 1.8km catenary-free section that will be split with a short catenary section at Mevlana station to allow batteries to recharge. Škoda says the LRVs will be fitted with its Catfree catenary propulstion technology, which uses high-performance nano-lithium-titanium batteries that are mounted to the roof of the vehicle and provide around 3km of catenary-free operation. The vehicles will be delivered between March and August 2015.
The contract award follows the successful tests of the Catfree system on one of the 60 vehicles from the original contract with Konya in February.
