First of Melbourne’s new E-Class trams in service

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One of the first generation of E-Class trams at Melbourne's Parliament station. Photo: Leonid Andronov / Shutterstock.com.
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Yarra Trams has brought the first of 30 new E-Class trams into revenue service.

Trams 51 and 52 are the first of the latest generation of low-floor E-Class trams to enter service in Melbourne.

In 2015, the Victorian state government ordered 20 additional Flexity trams from Bombardier for lines 96, 86 and 11. A further 10 units were added to that order in the state’s latest budget.

The new vehicles, known as the E-2 Class, have an updated interior design, which includes additional handrails and straps to improve safety.

Figures released by Transport Safety Victoria in May showed that the total number of slips, trips and falls recorded had increased from 202 in 2015 to 285 in 2016. The number of serious injuries resulting from these incidents had also increased, up from 17 in 2015 to 45 in 2016.

In a statement, Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews said: “We’re building bigger, better trams in Melbourne, for Melbourne – supporting hundreds of local jobs.

“The E-Class tram is local manufacturing at its best – and we can take great pride that these locally manufactured trams will move locals and tourists efficiently and comfortably around our city.”

All 30 of the new E-Class units will be in service by mid-2019.


Read more: Construction begins on final phase of Austria’s Koralm railway in Carinthia


 

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