CAF has once again been selected by two European cities to execute two contracts to improve their urban public transport services. In one case, it will refurbish the light metro units running on line 1 in Athens, and in the other, it will supply new trams for Seville. These two contracts amount to a value of over 100 million euros.
The refurbishment of 14 units on Athens Metro Line 1
The operator STASY S.A., in charge of managing transport in the city of Athens, has selected CAF to refurbish 14 metro units that currently run on line 1 of the Greek capital's metro system. This project, with a tender budget totaling €70 million, marks the first major contract for the company in Greece.
Athens metro Line 1 is the city's oldest metro line, known as the Green Line, which connects Piraeus with the neighboring town of Kifisiá, to the north of the capital city. The contract establishes a 34-month completion period for the unit refurbishment project. These units were commissioned for operation between 1983 and 1985, and the intention is to update them so that they can continue to run efficiently for a further 25 years.
The scope of the work to be carried out on the units will include CAF Power & Automation replacing the traction equipment, fitting new state-of-the-art motors providing improved consumption efficiency, as well as updating various systems such as those related to braking equipment, vehicle access door control, and passenger information systems, to name a few. The project also includes improving train access and refurbishing the interior of the units, as well as adding areas for persons with reduced mobility, all of which is geared towards improving passenger comfort and safety.
This project falls under the umbrella of the company's refurbishment business, an area of activity that has experienced growth over recent years with projects undertaken for the Medellín metro, Lyon metro, Paris RER A trains, as well as the contract awarded last November for the refurbishment of 23 Cairo metro units, in partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation, which also included the refurbishment of the line's new maintenance depot.
The supply of trams for the city of Seville
Yesterday, the city council of Seville awarded CAF the contract to supply two new units for the city and their maintenance for 30 years. The contract also included the possibility of increasing the number of units to be supplied.
The trams that CAF will supply to the operator company TUSSAM will be 100% low floor and consist of 5 modules. The vehicles will be equipped with an on-board energy storage system whereby they will be able to run along sections with no power lines between stops, thereby improving integration of the tram in the city of Seville, reducing the visual impact in the historic centre as a result of catenary-free operation between stations and increasing energy efficiency.
Metrocentro de Sevilla is a public transport system that was inaugurated in 2007 and runs through the centre of Seville, connecting the San Bernardo interchange station with Plaza Nueva in the city's historic centre. These new units are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2023 and will be added to the network's current fleet of 4 units, which were also supplied by CAF.