Press releases

2017/10/10

MORE WINS FOR CAF AT THE GLOBAL LIGHT RAIL AWARDS

CAF is delighted to announce their success at the prestigious Global Light Rail Awards, held on 4 October in London, winning the acclaimed “Manufacturer of the Year” category and the “Project of the Year Over €50m” as well as being Highly Commended in a further three categories.

Winning  “Manufacturer  of  the  Year”  with  an  entry  which  championed  their  international  growth  and innovative projects, reinforces their position within the industry.

The second win for the evening was achieved with “Project of the year over Euro 50m” for the Kansas City Streetcar (KC Streetcar) which is the first modern 100% low-floor railcar to operate in the United States.

The platform level boarding enables easy and quick boarding, resulting in lower dwell times at stations and increased efficiency in operation of the system.

CAF´s  Edinburgh  Trams  team  was  Highly  Commended  for  the  “Team  of  the  Year”  for  its  customer satisfaction, excellent reliability, high quality checks and continuous improvement. CAF was also Highly Commended for  the  “Environmental  &  Sustainability  Initiative”  and “Technical  Innovation of  the  Year” categories for its “Greentech” on-board energy storage system allowing a completely catenary-free tram system to be provided in Kaohsiung, the second city of Taiwan.

Additionally,   CAF´s   subsidiary   Lander   Simulation   &   Training   Solutions,   manufacturers   of   train-cab simulators, was Highly Commended for the “Supplier of the Year” category.

Recently CAF has successfully delivered the Kaohsiung “full” catenary-free system in Taiwan. CAF Urbos trams operate in Kaohsiung using its advanced and leading edge “Greentech” technology meaning that the trams can run without unsightly overhead catenary wires. Apart from the rolling stock CAF also supplied the  signalling,  electrification,  the  ticketing  system  and  the  integration  of  all  subsystems  in  addition  to Project  Management  with  the  participation  of  the  companies  CAF  Signalling  and  CAF  Turnkey  & Engineering, both part of the CAF Group. CAF also supplied the equipment for the maintenance workshops.

CAF  has  also  delivered  new  trams  to  Granada,  Spain;  Utrecht,  The  Netherlands;  Saint-Etienne,  France; Budapest, Hungary; Cincinnati and Kansas City, USA.

The  awards  were  collected  by  Richard  Garner,  Business  Development  Director  CAF,  UK  and  Ireland.

Acknowledging  the  success,  Richard  said:  “This  is  fantastic  news  for  CAF;  it  is  great  to  celebrate  CAF´s centenary by being recognised for achieving such world class performance. CAF are absolutely delighted. 

The deployment of CAF’s proven, leading edge ‘catenary-free’ technology should allow many more Tram and  Light  Rail  Projects  to  be  developed  as  significant  lengths  of  electric  overhead  line  are  eliminated, reducing both the associated capital and operational costs whilst improving the business cases for Project  Promoters’”.

 CAF’s trams were also highlighted in the ceremony – with Edinburgh Trams winning the “Operator of the Year” category and Highly Commended in the “Most Improved System”. 

The West Midland Combined Authority, who also use CAF trams on their network, was the winner for the “Team of the Year”. Midland Metro Alliance was Highly Commended for the “Innovation of the Year” for its Geographical Interface System.