Bombardier-CSR partnership wins low-floor tram order

Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CSR has won an order from the city of Suzhou for 18 low-floor trams.

CSR Puzhen, a subsidiary of the China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation, will build the new light rail vehicles at its Nanjing site based on Bombardier’s Flexity 2 design.

This is the first order won by CSR Puzhen under the new partnership with Bombardier.

In July 2012, both companies signed a 10-year technology license agreement to sell and manufacture low-floor trams in China – including Hong Kong and Macao – using Bombardier’s technology.

Jianwei Zhang, president of Bombardier China, said: “Low-floor trams have strong potential in China, with more than 10 Chinese cities currently working on projects for modern 100 per cent low-floor vehicles.

“Bombardier’s global trams expertise makes it a natural partner in China’s first public tender project in this field.”

Suzhou New District Tram (SND) will operate the new fleet within the municipality’s industrial development zone, located 5 kms west of Suzhou.

The new tram network features six lines and is due to form the backbone of the SND public transport system.

The current tender applies to the first 18 km line.