Czech city Brno is to modernise its fleet of trams, buying a further fifteen vehicles from manufacturer Škoda Group.

The city, in the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic, will replace its obsolete KT8-type trams, which date back to the 1980s and ’90s, with an additional fifteen ForCity Smart 45T trams.

The Brno City Transport Company (DPMB) will buy these from Škoda Group, using the option under the contract that the two organisations signed last year. It will pay 75 million Czech Korunas (CZK) per tram (3.2 million euros), totalling CZK 1.125 billion (46 million euros) for the full order.

The first five of the fifteen trams will arrive in Brno next year, with the remaining ten arriving in 2025. DPMB has an option to order a further twenty trams of the same type.

The ForCity Smart 45T tram is a two-way, low-floor vehicle comprising three parts with a swivel chassis. It boasts full vehicle adhesion, which enables it to operate reliably even in adverse weather conditions.

It is thirty-one metres long and can carry up to 233 passengers, 64 seated and 169 standing. It will operate to a maximum operating speed of seventy kilometres per hour.

The vehicles are air conditioned and have two large multifunctional spaces for wheelchairs, prams or bicycles. They have a modern information system with screens and panels, and an internal and external camera system to enhance safety.

The interior is equipped with stainless steel handrails, widescreen LCD information monitors and USB chargers, with either RIS2 control and information system or EOC2 validators.

The vehicles can transport multiple wheelchair users, and have four tilting platforms to enable access.

The redesigned driver’s cabin has a clear panel, based on simplicity and good visibility, with some controls directly in the driver’s seat. The windscreens are heated, and the front windscreen has daytime running lights.

Regenerative brakung returns electricity to the grid, reducing the tram’s electricity consumption and thus its operating costs.

Tomáš Ignačák, President Region CZ/SK and Central East Škoda Group, said, “We are glad that our trams have proved their worth in Brno traffic, and the Brno City Transport Company has decided to use the option and purchase more modern vehicles. Passengers can look forward to an increase in the quality of travel and safety. More and more cities are choosing rail vehicles as the backbone of the public transport network due to their higher transport capacity, speed, and efficiency.”

Miloš Havránek, Managing Director of the Brno City Transport Company, said, “The ForCity Smart 45T trams are a welcome addition to our fleet. They meet all our requirements for modern 21st-century vehicles, and our passengers are satisfied. The first five trams in Brno almost exclusively serve line number 8 from Lišně to the University Campus. Both of these stops are terminated by a dead centre, so we make daily use of the bidirectionality of these vehicles. Other trams ordered will also be used on this line.”