The first high-floor light rail vehicles of the type TW3000 from the consortium partners Vossloh Kiepe and Alstom Transport Deutschland took up passenger operation with Üstra Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe on March 15. Immediately after the management of Üstra and the first passengers on line 7 had participated in an opening ceremony, the normal passenger operation began.
The 25 m long light rail vehicles stand out due to their modern concept and their high passenger comfort. The development of the LRVs included evaluation and extensive consideration of the passengers and drivers’ needs. The drivers’ wishes for the ergonomic design have been considered so that a fully practically oriented workplace has resulted.
The bogies of the vehicles have been designed in a particularly compact way to meet the requirements for the LRVs. Moreover, the light rail vehicles fulfil high safety requirements: Thus, special impact and crash elements have been integrated, which provide better crash protection. The vehicles also convince with their ride quality, which provides high comfort for the passengers.
The delivery of the TW3000 LRVs is based on a contract concluded in 2011, which originally included 50 vehicles and an option for another 96 vehicles, of which 50 were ordered already in 2013.
