6 March 2015, 00:00
The OOO VAGONMAŠ company, which belongs in the Škoda Transportation group, was declared the official winner of a tendering process in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. It will deliver eight modern six-carriage metro trains to local line No. 3. The total price of the new contract is 3.8 billion roubles.
“The Saint Petersburg company OOO VAGONMAŠ from the Škoda Transportation group was declared the winner of a tendering process and a contract should be signed in the coming days. This contract allows us to follow up on our previous delivery of nine six-carriage NeVa trains, which are already successfully operated. We thereby confirm that our products are of high quality and competitive, and they contribute to the renewal of train fleets also in large cities around the world,” said Tomáš Krsek, chairman of the board in the Škoda Transportation company.
The new metro destined for Saint Petersburg meets not only all safety standards, but it is also equipped with new technologies and, last but not least, it improves the comfort of passengers. One of the main advantages of the trains is their significantly lower weight in comparison with the existing carriages of the Russian design. This is because the metal sheet panelling of the body is formed of lightweight aluminium sandwich panels. In addition, the carriages can use an energy recuperation system during braking and they are therefore able to save up to thirty per cent of electrical energy compared to the trains in operation today. The metro trainsets will be manufactured by the OOO VAGONMAŠ company in Saint Petersburg.
A clear audio-visual information system equipped with loudspeakers of the train PA system will also help keep passengers informed. A CCTV system with data recording guarantees safety of the passengers and the driver.
The history of the manufacturing project of the new metro goes back to 2007 when the prototype of the carriage was developed. The first carriage of the modern train was introduced already in July 2009 in Saint Petersburg and it received the prestigious award in the category of the Saint Petersburg Best Innovative Project for the City Needs. According to the contract, the first train from the new delivery should be delivered in 2015, two more trains in 2016 and the remaining five trains in 2017. The metro trains are intended for the third line of the Saint Petersburg Metro system.