Spanish train builder CAF has won a €57 million (approx £50m) contract to supply 15 new tramway units to Marseille in France, with an option for additional trams depending on future network extensions.

The order was placed by Régie des Transports Métropolitains (RTM), which operates all of Marseille’s public transportation network. The trams will be based on CAF’s Urbos platform and comprise seven modules with a total length of 42.5 metres, a similar design to vehicles already operating in the city, and with a livery based on marine motifs that are historically identified with Marseille.

They are planned for operation on the network’s three existing lines, whilst T3 line is soon to be extended north and south of the city. As well as the tramway lines, RTM also operates underground lines and the city’s bus and ferry services.

Marseille is France’s second most-populated city with a population of 900,000 inhabitants and has one of Europe’s most important commercial ports. The Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis is looking to improve its residents’ standard of living by improving the area’s public transport. Extension of the tramway network is one of the top priorities of the investment programme.

This latest contract confirms CAF’s commitment to the French market, where it has been involved in a significant number of projects. These include a contract awarded in 2021 as part of a consortium to supply 146 trains for the Paris RER B commuter line, a contract from SNCF for 28 regional trains with an option for an additional 75 trains, projects to supply trams for the cities of Nantes, Besançon and St. Etienne, and refurbishment of the train fleet on the Lyon metro system’s D Line.

Elsewhere, CAF has refurbished light metro units running on line 1 in Athens and supplied new trams to Seville, and been awarded contracts to supply 42 light rail vehicles to Hanover in Germany, five new trams for Canberra in Australia, and a contract extension to continue with the operation of Canberra’s tramway.

Another major contract was awarded in June by Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole for the supply of 60 trams, which is the largest tram contract awarded in France so far this year and, together with the Marseilles contract, confirms CAF’s position as one of the World’s market leaders in this sector.

To improve its production capacity in France, CAF has recently completed the purchase of the Reichshoffenmanufacturing plant, located in the French region of Alsace. Along with CAF’s plant at Bagnères de Bigorre near Lourdes in southwest France, this will consolidate its position as number two in the French railway industry.