The Brno Transport Company will refresh its public transport fleet with 40 new Škoda trolleybuses and 40 Škoda ForCity Smart trams. The first 20 trolleybuses will arrive in January next year and five trams will be delivered by February 2023. Photo Credit: KK / BD.
Brno, Feb 3 (BD) – The Brno Transport Company (DPMB) has finalised a contract for up to 40 new articulated low-floor Škoda 27Tr trolleybuses, to be delivered by Škoda Electric. The first 20 new trolleybuses will arrive by the end of January 2022, and DPMB will have the possibility to purchase another 20 for the same price by 2024. The total cost of the vehicles will be CZK 478 million.
“With almost 150 vehicles, Brno boasts the largest fleet of trolleybuses in the entire Czech Republic. I am glad that we are continuing this trend, as this is an environmentally friendly means of transport that does not add to air pollution in the city. Almost 70 percent of DPMB’s fleet runs on electricity, and 160 buses run on natural gas, and we are at the forefront of green public transport and smart solutions,” said Mayor of Brno Markéta Vaňková (ODS).
The new trolleybuses will operate mainly on the busiest lines: 25, 26 and 37. “The new vehicles will replace the 15Tr, 22Tr and 25Tr types, which are at the end of their service life. Some of them have been in operation for almost 30 years,” said Miloš Havránek, General Director of DPMB.
DPMB has also signed an agreement to purchase 40 new two-way trams from the Škoda Group in the years 2022–2026. The trams are part of Škoda’s ForCity Smart series of trams, already operating in other cities including Ostrava, Plzen, Helsinki, Tampere, Bonn and Mannheim. Five trams will be delivered by February 2023, and further deliveries will depend on DPMB’s financial situation. The framework agreement is valued at CZK 2.4 billion.
“Not only will our modern trams gradually change the face of Brno’s streets, but in particular they will help attract more passengers onto public transport and make it more attractive than individual car transport. Investments in modern vehicles clearly have a positive effect on reducing emissions and thus contribute to improving air and life in cities. Reducing emissions from transport is also the goal of the Green Agreement for Europe, and the gradual modernization of public transport and massive investments in emission-free vehicles will be a necessary basis for meeting these goals in the future,” said Tomáš Ignačák, Deputy Chairman of the Škoda Transportation Group.
Visualization Source: Škoda Transportation.
The Škoda ForCity Smart trams are two-way, low-floor and air-conditioned vehicles with high passenger capacity and multifunctional spaces for wheelchairs, prams or bicycles. The interior also includes widescreen information LCD monitors, as well as a camera system to ensure traffic safety and prevent vandalism. The vehicles meet the latest safety standards and perform reliably in poor weather conditions while running at low operating costs.
The two-way trams will operate mostly on line number 8 which meets a dead end in Líšeň. After the completion of the newly commissioned line to Bohunice university campus, line 8 will end at a dead end on both end stops.
