ŠKODA GROUP TO DELIVER UP TO 40 NEW TRAMS FOR THE GERMAN CITY OF KASSEL

Public transport in Kassel is built on trams. They carry 48 million passengers a year, i.e. 80 percent of the total number of passengers. The rest of the transport is provided by buses and trains.

Production of the new two-way trams for Kassel is scheduled to start at the end of 2024. Just like the existing trams, the new vehicles will have a length of 30 m and an Albert coupling which allows for the attachment of an additional motor car or trailer. Each of the trams will have four doors on each side for passengers to board and alight and, as a matter of course, a low-floor design to facilitate boarding and alighting for people with reduced mobility.

The anti-collision system will offer a higher level of safety for passengers
The trams for Kassel will be among the first from the Škoda Group to be equipped with Škoda’s advanced anti-collision system which increases safety and protects passengers and pedestrians. The inclusion of this technology demonstrates the Škoda Group’s clear focus on innovation and its commitment to prioritising passenger safety. Škoda presented this new safety feature for the first time at the InnoTrans 2022 trade fair.

The Škoda Group’s new anti-collision system creates a virtual tunnel in front of the tram in which it detects all static and dynamic obstacles and, if it detects one, alerts the driver and activates the emergency brake. The entire surrounding area is monitored by a suite of sensors which includes LiDAR, an IMU unit and a camera. The LiDAR is responsible for 3D mapping of the surrounding area within a range of 100-150 m in both horizontal and vertical fields of view. The IMU unit feeds information about the vehicle’s tilt into the system and helps the sensor output from the anti-collision system to reflect the profile of the track. The camera provides high-resolution 2D images which capture more detail.

Deployment in 2027
Delivery of the first tram to Kassel is scheduled for 2026. This should be followed by technical tests and trials on the streets of the city. After approval by the Technical Supervisory Authority (TAB) of Darmstadt Regional Council, the first new trams can be put into regular operation in 2027. They will run within the urban network operated by KVG which, in addition to Kassel itself, also includes Vellmar, Baunatal, Lossetal and other neighbouring areas.

Trams from the Škoda Group are, for example, currently operating in the German cities of Chemnitz and Schöneich and Škoda is currently producing new vehicles for seven other cities.