Bielefeld orders new Vamos trams

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Photo: G8w/ CC BY-SA 3.0
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Bielefeld’s public transport operator, MoBiel, placed an order before Christmas for 24 additional Vamos light rail vehicles.

The €90 million order was awarded to a joint venture between HeiterBlick, which will manufacture the car bodies and bogies, and Kiepe Electric, which will supply the electrical components.

HeiterBlick and Kiepe Electric has already supplied the city with 16 Vamos GTZ8-B vehicles, the first of which entered service six years ago.

The new 35-metre trams will replace the ageing M8C light rail vehicles. They will initially operate on lines 2 and 4. In the future they will also run on line 3 – subject to various infrastructure works.

Deliveries are due to begin in early 2020 and take two years to complete. The first new Vamus unit is set to go into service in spring 2020.