The Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux (CuB), has designated Alstom as its preferred supplier for 26 high-capacity Citadis tramsets that can accommodate up to 400 passengers.
The order is for a total of €80 million. Options for an additional five to 30 tramsets could be exercised at a later date; this would bring the total contract amount to roughly €176 million.
These new trams will be suitable for the CuB’s existing and future network infrastructure.
The current tram network in Greater Bordeaux is built around three major service arteries and extends 40km in all, distributed among three lines and includes 13km that is catenary-free and equipped with a ground-level power supply (APS).
By 2013, these three lines will be extended beyond the metropolitan limits, with 500 metres of APS line, and a fourth line is also in the works.
The trams, 43 metres in length, will provide the same level of performance as the existing tramsets, a fact that will speed their integration into the current fleet and reduce network operating costs
Like the 74 trams currently in service in Greater Bordeaux, the new tramsets will be designed and assembled at Alstom plants: La Rochelle for their design and manufacture, Ornans for the engines, Le Creusot for the bogies, Tarbes for the traction drives and Villeurbaine for the electronic systems.
