Press releases

2022/09/12

CAF TACKLES SEPTEMBER STRONGLY WITH TWO NEW CONTRACTS IN GERMANY AND AUSTRALIA

These two contracts relate to the cities of Hannover and Canberra for an aggregate in excess of €220 million and reinforce the company's significant orders in hand, which reached a record figure of more than €10.7 billion at the close of the first half of the year.  

SUPPLY OF 42 LRVs FOR HANNOVER 

ÜSTRA Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG, the public transport operator in the city of Hannover, has chosen CAF to supply 42 TW 4000 LRVs. The contract provides for an optional extension of the number of LRVs to be manufactured by up to 233 additional units. 

The first vehicles are scheduled for delivery to the city's Stadtbahn network in the second half of 2025. Hannover, the capital of the state of Lower Saxony, with more than one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, is one of the most important industrial and service hubs in the country. 

The Hannover contract contemplates the upgrade of the current fleet, as old models TW 6000 and TW 2000 models will be replaced with modern LRVs that curtail energy consumption by relying on state-of-the-art technology and vehicle weight reduction for greater energy savings. The new units will also improve passenger experience in terms of vehicle accessibility, passenger information systems and riding comfort. 

In recent months, CAF has reached important milestones in the German market, the largest accessible rail market worldwide. These include the contract signed with the German transport operators VRR and NWL for the supply of 63 battery-powered trains, LRV orders for the cities of Essen and Bonn, as well as trams for Freiburg and EMUs for Schönbuchbahn. Also worth of note is the recent acquisition of the intellectual property of the Talent 3 train platform, aimed at the German and Central European markets, and the hiring of key engineering personnel associated with it, which will boost CAF's capabilities in these markets. 

CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR CAMBERRA IN AUSTRALIA 

In addition, the Australian Capital Territory has once again renewed its trust in CAF through the operator of the Canberra tramway line, Canberra Metro Operations, for the supply of 5 additional trams equipped with OESS (On Board Energy Storage Systems) to operate on catenary-free track sections. These 5 trams add to the 14 units previously supplied to the Australian capital. Furthermore, the agreement provides for the maintenance of the new units together with the upgrade of the previously delivered fleet fitted with the OESS accumulation system. The upgrade equipment will be similar to that on the new vehicles, and will permit catenary-free operation for the entire fleet of vehicles on the city's light rail line. 

The new trams will run on the existing line linking the Gungahlin area to the centre of the Australian capital and on its future extension, and will thus provide a response to the expected increase in demand. 

It is important to note that following the tramway supplied by CAF for Newcastle, which was commissioned in 2019 as the first catenary-free tramway in Australia, and the Parramatta tramway, scheduled to come into operation in 2023-2024, this new tramway project will be CAF's third project with the OESS system in the country. Thus, the company's business in Australia is consolidated with one of the most innovative technologies on the market in terms of sustainable urban transport, which confirms the Australian transport authorities’s trust in CAF.