Romanian producer Astra Vagoane Călători Arad, the Bucharest public transport company (RATB) and Siemens, which produced the Imperio Eco tram, presented it in Bucharest recently. The tram, produced in the capital city and costing around EUR 2 million each, could be sold to municipalities in Romania and in other countries in the future. Imperio Eco is the Bucharest version of the new tram, which could be seen on the streets of Arad from September this year.

Astra Vagoane is currently in talks to sell the tram on markets such as Turkey, Bosnia – Herzegovina, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova.

The production unit in Bucharest can manufacture three trams a month. The low floored tram has a system that allows it to recover energy and power the air conditioning system, without using extra electricity. The tram has a maximum capacity of 200 passengers and comes with security cameras ready installed.

“In large urban areas which deal with overcrowded streets, trams are the main means of transport to alleviate the traffic at peak hours. In this case, we don't understand the decision of some municipalities in Romania, which have tram lines but intend to give up on tram transport,” said Valeriu Blidar, president of Astra Vagoane Călători.

The tram will be seen in action in October this year, at the Rail Days 2012, when 300 specialists from 50 countries will meet in Bucharest.

RATB, Astra Vagoane Călători and Siemens started the partnership to produce the Imperio tram in February 2011. RATB pitched the production areas, utilities and work force, while Astra Vagoane Călători, which has the Siemens license, invested in organizing the production space and in equipment for producing the tram. Siemens contributes traction and command equipment.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the companies)