Pesa is supplying 13 low-floor Swing 122NaSF2 LRVs for Metropolitan Electric Transport (EAD) as part of a Zlotys 98m ($US 25.2m) contract awarded in January, which also involves spare parts, diagnostic devices and training.

The air-conditioned LRVs are 30m-long and can carry more than 200 passengers, including 41 sitting and 160 standing. The vehicles are adapted for passengers with limited mobility.

“We consistently develop an ecological transport in Sofia, which is why we decided to buy modern trams from Pesa, instead of cheaper buses or trolleybuses,” the mayor of Sofia, Mr Jordanka Fandykova, said during the unveiling. “I am glad that tomorrow the new Swing will carry passengers on Line 18 and I hope that within two years we will buy another 25 trams.”

A new tender to deliver the next 25 trams for Sofia is in progress, with three companies submitting offers, including Pesa.

The current contract is the third for Swing LRVs delivered by Pesa. The company was awarded a contract for 20 LRVs in 2013, followed by another contract for five vehicles in 2016.

The new LRVs are part of a public transport modernisation project currently being undertaken to improve air quality.

The order was co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.

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