The contract includes 24 years maintenance with an optional extension for another eight years. The base order is worth around €92m, with around €23.4m funded through the European Fund for Regional Development while another €21m will come from state funds.
The order comes less than a month after the state of Thuringia announced it would support Jena’s order for new LRVs. The state financing is being provided through the Thuringian Construction Bank (TAB) and the Thuringian State Office for Construction and Transport (TLBV).
The first vehicles are due to enter service in 2023.
Jenaer Local Transport has ordered two variants. The 16 42m-long seven-section trains will have space for 234 passengers, including 75 seated, and will have five spaces for wheelchair users in three multifunctional areas. The eight 32m-long five-section trains will have space for 174 passengers, including 46 seated. The shorter version will have space for four wheelchairs across two multifunctional areas.
The low-floor LRVs are equipped with between five and six doors per side, and feature a passenger information system that is designed to be visible from every seat.
“The new trains are an important investment for public transport and for the climate-friendly future of our city on the Saale,” says Jenaer Local Transport managing director, Mr Steffen Gundermann. “In the long term, they will ensure the environmentally-friendly mobility of our residents - with sufficient space and heightened comfort.
“In the case of the LRVs for Jena, special attention was paid to reducing energy consumption,” says Mr Christoph Klaes, head of Stadler’s LRV and metro product segment. “For example, the car body structure is made of high-strength stainless steel and the large panes of glass in the passenger compartment are double-glazed for better insulation.”
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