Stadler Tramlink
Tramlink is a family of three-, five- and seven- section low-floor trams, mostly of multi-articulated type, produced by Stadler Rail Valencia. The Tramlink was originally developed by Vossloh but has been manufactured by Stadler since they took over Vossloh's factory in Valencia in 2016.
Operators
Prototypes and vehicles for León
Initially Vossloh built two prototype vehicles. These bi-directional vehicles had five sections and were 32 m long and 2.4 m wide. Testing took place from 2011 on the tram sections of Metrovalencia. Four identical vehicles were ordered for a tram project in León which was never built. The prototype vehicles are not known to have carried passengers, and their current location is unknown.Rostock
Between 2011 and 2014 the Rostock tramway received 13 uni-directional vehicles from Vossloh Kiepe, which from December 2014 began to replace Tatra T6A2 trams and 4BNWE trailers. The Rostock Tramlinks have two special features. The bottoms of the side walls slope inwards from 2.65 m wide to only 2.3 m to allow them to use the existing platforms. The vehicles are fitted with supercapacitors on the roof. These store up to 0.9kWh of energy generated by regenerative braking, which can then be used for acceleration or heating and air conditioning, which is hoped to reduce the total energy consumption. The double doors in the suspended middle sections are each 1300mm wide and the single doors in the end sections are 800mm wide.Stern & Hafferl
After tests with a Combino from Nordhausen and a long-term loan of a Cityrunner from Innsbruck, Stern und Hafferl Verkehr ordered eleven bi-directional Tramlink V3 type trams from Vossloh Kiepe in 2014 for use on the Traunseebahn and the. The vehicles were produced at Vossloh Kiepe's Spanish factory in Valencia. In order for the vehicles to be used on both the Traunseebahn and the Gmunden Tramway they are approved under railway and tramway regulations. Delivery was begun in 2015. The trams began operating on the Traunseebahn in March 2016. On 1 September 2018 the Traunseebahn and the Gmunden Tramway were connected and the Tramlink vehicles operate over both.Baixada Santista
Tramlink vehicles have been in operation since 2015 on the Baixada Santista Light Rail in Brazil. The bi-directional vehicles were ordered at the end of 2012 and are fitted with batteries for use on the catenary-free section of track in the centre of Santos.Lugano–Ponte Tresa
In summer 2018 the Ferrovie Luganesi ordered nine Tramlink vehicles for approximately 50 million Swiss francs. The contract included an option for a further three vehicles. The seven-section vehicles were built at Stadler's factory in Valencia and replaced the Be 4/8 and Be 4/12 Mandarinli trains from 1978/79 on the Lugano–Ponte Tresa Railway The first vehicle was delivered on 11 March 2021, the last a year later.Erfurt
In 2018 Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe ordered 14 Tramlink vehicles for the Erfurt tramway system. The uni-directional vehicles are 42m long and can carry 248 passengers. They have been in service since 2021 and the total cost was around 56 million euros. As well as in Valencia some of the production also took place at Stadler's factory in Pankow, Berlin. In May 2023 an option in the original contract was used to order ten more trams.Waldenburgerbahn und Limmattalbahn
In autumn 2018 Baselland Transport and Aargau Verkehr announced a joint order for 18 seven-section Tramlinks, worth 103 million Swiss francs. The trams with a maximum speed of 80km/h have been in service since the end of 2022 on the Waldenburgerbahn and the newly built Limmattalbahn. The Waldenburgerbahn, formerly the only 750mm-gauge railway in Switzerland, was being rebuilt and re-gauged to metre gauge. The joint order allowed considerable savings on the cost of the vehicles and their maintenance. On the Waldenburgerbahn the approximately 45m long trains are intended to be used in coupled pairs at peak times. The Limmattalbahn vehicles are fitted with a ZSI-127 train protection system. Although this is not used on the Limmattalbahn itself, it is needed for the vehicles to use part of the Wohlen–Dietikon railway line in Dietikon and to access the AVA workshops in Bremgarten.Milan
In July 2019 Stadler won a tender from Azienda Trasporti Milanesi to deliver up to 80 bi-directional vehicles for the Milan tram network. The first order comprised 30 vehicles, 20 for the city network and 10 for interurban lines. Unlike all other Tramlink vehicles these are not multi-articulated vehicles, but have a suspended articulation. The short centre module of the three-section trams runs on a fixed trailer bogie and the two longer end modules each have a motor bogie at the outer end. The bogies were adopted from the Metelitsa tram built by Stadler Minsk. The trams are 25m long with three doors on each side. The first vehicle was delivered to Milan in December 2022 and entered service in February 2025. In June 2023 Stadler won a second tender for up to 50 further vehicles, of which 25 will be 35m long with four doors per side. Initially fourteen 35m long trams were ordered, with delivery expected from June 2026. A further 30 trams were also ordered from the first contract.Bern
ordered an initial batch of 27 vehicles in September 2019, and a contract for up to 50 trams in December 2019 was signed in December 2019. The first tram was delivered on 1 February 2023. In February 2024 the delivery of new vehicles was interrupted due to faults in the nine trams already delivered.Augsburg
In October 2019 Stadler and the Stadtwerke Augsburg announced an order for 11 trams for the Augsburg tram network. At the end of 2020 the order was increased to 15 trams. The seven-section uni-directional vehicles are 42m long, 100% low-floor and can carry up to 231 passengers, 86 of which seated.Jena
In August 2020 Stadtwerke Jena-Pößneck announced an order for 24 trams, with an option for 19 more, for the Jena tram network. The operator named them as Lichtbahn. Delivery of the 16 seven-section and 8 five-section vehicles began in May 2023 and the first tram entered service in December 2023. The entirely low-floor trams are 41.88m or 32.55m long with capacity for 241 or 180 passengers respectively, including 80 or 58 seats. Unlike the GT6M and Tramino already in use in Jena the Tramlink are wider, with an unusual width of 2.45m. The seating arrangements in the wheeled modules are varied, sometimes with two seats either side of the aisle and sometimes with two seats on one side and an unusually wide single seat the other side, or with single seats on both sides. Also noteworthy is that none of the double doors are opposite each other.The manufacturer will also maintain the trams for 24 years, with an optional extension of 8 years.