A brand new tram started running in Timisoara, western Romania, on December 14. Serving Line 1, it is the city’s first new tram in decades. (Photo source: Facebook/Dominic Fritz)

“Today, we embarked on a journey, not only an inaugural one of the first new tram in the last 40 years but also one for the transformation of the public transport in Timisoara,” mayor Dominic Fritz said on Facebook.

Timisoara City Hall purchased a total of 21 new trams from the Bozankaya Otomotiv company from Turkey. A second tram also arrived in the city and will have to pass some tests before joining the local public transport fleet. The rest are to be delivered by October 2023.

Each new tram costs RON 11.58 million (some EUR 2.3 million), VAT included, is 30 meters long and has a capacity of 200 passengers (48 seats), according to News.ro. The entire contract is worth almost EUR 50 million, with more than 80% of the money being European non-reimbursable funds obtained through the Regional Operational Program. The rest of the amount will be covered by the municipality through a loan.

“With the 21 new trams we buy now and others we will buy in the future, with the 44 electric buses and the future electric trolleybuses, we want the public transport fleet to be mostly electric in 2024,” mayor Fritz said.

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