The first of the 18 vehicles Metro do Porto ordered from the Chinese manufacturer CRRC Tangshan arrived Thursday, December 22nd, in Leixões and is already at the Guifões workshops. There is, however, still no date to start circulating
The remaining trainsets will arrive over the next year with an average of one to two per month. They will reinforce all the metro lines and the new ones that are under construction. There is, however, no date set for the entry of these new vehicles into operation.
The first vehicle received in "cousin" of the two models that are in circulation but its interior "gives the passenger the feeling of greater interior space. It arrived in two parts and will now have to be coupled and receive finishing touches. A source from the Metro company also informs that, in the meantime, training will be given to the drivers and only then will the compositions go into testing. "They will reinforce the operation on all Metro lines, as well as on the lines under construction and expanding the network," the company adds. A major reinforcement to the Metro fleet, which will increase from the current 102 to 120 compositions.
Each of these new compositions will have 72 carriages, a maximum capacity of 346 passengers and a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour. The CT (abbreviation of CRRC Tram), as these vehicles are called, "stand out for their modern design in which gray predominates, together with lines of great dynamism and modernity". The new units "also stand out for their aerodynamic shapes and accessibility". In this particular, "the seven double doors on each side are a great advance", especially if we take into account the six doors of the Eurotram (the first vehicle to arrive in Porto in May 2001, a year before the opening of the Blue Line) and the four doors on each side of the Tram-train (which operates since 2010 on the Red and Green Lines).
It should be recalled that these 18 new light rail vehicles, contracted to the Chinese manufacturer CRRC Tangshan, represent an investment of 49.6 million euros. Founded in 1881, the Chinese company has a long tradition in the production of trains, high-speed trains and subway vehicles. It is the world's largest manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with headquarters in Beijing, and employs more than 180,000 workers.
The company is currently in the running for the tender to acquire 117 railcars for CP - Comboios de Portugal's regional and suburban services, for a base price of 819 million euros, with the material to be delivered by 2029.
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