The Pays d’Aubagne et de l’Etoile metropolitan region has chosen Alstom to supply 8 Citadis Compact tramsets. The contract is worth €14 million.
The tramsets will be delivered in the summer of 2013, with entry into commercial service slated for early 2014, and options for 5 to 10 additional tramsets can be exercised until 2017.
The Pays d’Aubagne et de l’Etoile metropolitan region is the first municipality to acquire Alstom’s new Citadis Compact tramway, the first model in the New Generation Citadis range, and has now become the 20th French metropolitan region to choose Citadis technology.
Located in the eastern part of the Bouches-du-Rhone region, Pays d’Aubagne et de l’Etoile has 103,000 residents spread among 12 towns: Aubagne, Auriol, Belcodène, Cadolive, Cuges-les-Pins, La Bouilladisse, La Destrousse, La Penne-sur-Huveaune, Peypin, Roquevaire, Saint-Savournin and Saint-Zacharie.
The tramway will link Penne-sur-Huveaune to the Paluds industrial zone in Aubagne and will serve Aubagne’s city centre and major residential areas. Like all of the region’s public transport, the tram will serve all passengers free of charge.
Measuring 22 metres in length (other Citadis trams are 32 to 43 metres long), the Citadis Compact can accommodate some 130 passengers.
The tramset’s interior fittings are completely modular and feature two to four seats across.
Wide bay windows, air conditioning and real-time information provide customers with a sense of comfort, safety and well-being. Its four double doors, a first in rolling stock of this length, save operating time by facilitating passenger boarding and dismounting.
Equipped with Alstom’s new Ixège bogie, which features a double suspension and two permanent-magnet motors, the Citadis Compact is more reliable, offers higher performance, consumes less energy and requires less maintenance than a traditional tram.
With the Ixège bogie, the Citadis Compact offers the widest aisle on the market, thus providing greater freedom of movement for passengers on board.
The Citadis Compact will be designed and assembled at Alstom’s French sites in Valenciennes, La Rochelle, Ornans, Le Creusot, Tarbes and Villeurbanne.
