THE FIRST of six new trams ordered for London Tramlink should enter service next month, said Transport for London. The new vehicle is now being tested in the Croydon area.
The fully low-floor, air conditioned Variobahn trams, built by the Swiss company Stadler in Berlin, are costing £16.3 million. The London Borough of Croydon is contributing £3 million.
Some modifications have been needed to the infrastructure. In particular, TfL said the platforms at some stops would need lengthening, because at 32.5m the new trams are 2.5m longer than the existing Bombardier vehicles, which were built at the end of the 1990s.
Transport for London had planned to increase the size of the Croydon fleet by up to ten vehicles, depending on the cost, and although the present order is for six there is an option for up to eight more.
Trams of this type are also in service in Bergen, and three of the new vehicles have been diverted by Stadler from a further order for the Norwegian city in order to meet TfL's deadline for full delivery by this spring.
The new tram will be unveiled formally by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson during the next few weeks, and is then expected to go into public service.