Bombardier will supply 43 seven-section 42.3m-long vehicles, each capable of accommodating 254 passengers, and 17 31.8m-long five-section LRVs accommodating up to 183 passengers. The first Flexity Basle series will be delivered in 2013, in time for the opening of the SFr 104m extension of Line 8 to Weil-am-Rhein, Germany. Two units a month will subsequently be delivered from 2014.
BVB originally planned to place an order for Stadler Tango trams jointly with Basleland Transport (BLT), which also operates light rail services in the Basle area. However, BVB changed its policy and announced in May 2010 that it would issue an independent tender. The other two contenders were Siemens with its Combino, which won the previous contract, and Stadler with its Tango.
In response to the award of the contract to Bombardier, Stadler said that its efforts were hindered by the strength of the Swiss Franc, which meant that its Eurozone-based rivals were able to offer their vehicles at a significantly lower price.
