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CAF News
DE LIJN (BELGIUM) AND TRANSPORT OF NEW SOUTH WALES (AUSTRALIA) RENEW THEIR TRUST IN CAF BY EXTENDING THEIR TRAM SUPPLY CONTRACTS
The CAF Group has again earned the trust of two customers which are benchmark companies in their countries, having secured tram supply extension contracts in Belgium and Australia. In spite of being so far away from each other geographically, these two countries are extremely demanding in terms of their transport service investment policies.
Both contracts, amounting to a combined value of close to €100 million, corroborate once more the CAF Group's leading position in the international tram market. It should be pointed out that CAF trams are currently running in a long list of cities all around the world, such as Amsterdam, Budapest, Boston, Pittsburgh, Kaohsiung, Mauritius, Nantes, Belgrade, Utrecht, Edinburgh and Stockholm.
Contract extension for the supply of trams for De Lijn (Belgium)
First off, the Flanders Transport Company, De Lijn (Belgium), has approved the purchase of 18 more trams from CAF. These new trams are the fifth batch in the contract concluded with CAF in October, 2017, which comprises of the manufacturing and supply of up to 146 trams which are distributed into batches to be activated by the customer in due course. Unit now the first four batches had been activated for 24, 24, 23 and 17 units respectively. The 18 new trains are different to the previous batches as they will be two-directional.
De Lijn is the public Flemish operator for buses and trams, providing transport for close to 530 million passengers each year. The first 48 units operate on the Belgian coastline, whilst the third, fourth and the current fifth batch will run in Antwerp.
It should be pointed out that over recent years, CAF has secured a significant number of major contracts in Benelux, which, aside from the aforementioned one, include the supply of metro units for Brussels, metro and tram units for Amsterdam, and trams for Luxembourg and Liège. We should also stress that CAF has already made significant progress in supplying the Dutch operator NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) with 206 commuter trains; one of the biggest contracts CAF has secured in Europe to date.
TFNSW awards CAF the supply of a further 4 Urbos 100 LRV units for Sydney
At the same time, Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) has awarded CAF the supply of 4 Urbos 100 LRV 5-module units for the Inner West Light Rail Line in Sydney, as well as all the relevant spare parts. These new units will be delivered in early 2023 and will be added to the current fleet comprising of 12 CAF Urbos units that have been running on the Inner West Light Rail Line since 2014.
The 32 metre long, 5-module articulated Urbos unit is equipped with cutting-edge technology and has been designed to run at a maximum speed of 80 km/h. It is 100% low floor to facilitate passenger access.
With this new contract, TfNSW renews its trust in CAF, having previously awarded it the Parramatta Light Rail projects at the end of 2018 and the Regional Rail Project at the beginning of 2019, thereby consolidating the companies' relationship and CAF's commitment in the Australian market.
CAF Signalling to execute a new project in Turkey
In addition to the above, JV Salini Kolin has selected CAF Signalling as a subcontractor to install the signalling system on the section that runs between Çerkezköy and Kapikule on the line connecting Halkaki station in Istanbul to Kapikule station. This contract is worth in excess of 15 million euros.
This 153 km long section forms part of the high-speed line between Istanbul and the Bulgarian border, connecting the metropolitan area of the Turkish city with the Turkish-Bulgarian border with a double track that will replace the current single track.
The line will be part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), which comprises the priority transport networks used for passenger and freight transport between European Union countries and will also be integrated in the Orient/East-Med Corridor to connect Central Europe with the North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean Sea ports.
CAF Signalling will install the company's cutting-edge electronic interlocking technology and a new CTC with the latest signalling systems compatible with the Level 1 European Train Control System (ERTMS), on a line where trains will reach speeds of up to 200 km/h.
This is CAF's third signalling project in this country in recent years, and establishes the company as one of the signalling sector companies with the strongest presence in the region.
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