99% Availability: Poznań’s Solaris Tramino are highly reliable

At the start of the year, more than half of the 45 Solaris Tramino ordered by Poznań City Transport (MPK) are in revenue service. Their technical availability is at the excellent level of 99%. The remaining trams are to be delivered by the end of May 2012.

The unveiling of the new Solaris Tramino low-floor tram in autumn 2009 was quickly followed by a first order. Poznań City Transport (MPK) initially took 40 of these state-of-the-art trams, later increasing the order to 45 by exercising an option provided in the original contract. After rigorous tests and trials with the Solaris-owned prototype vehicle, the first volume-production tram for Poznań City Transport entered passenger service in July 2011. Since then, more than half of the order have followed suit.

Jan Firlik, Head of Tram Operations at Poznań City Transport, is satisfied with the Tramino’s performance: “The first 15 vehicles have each covered at least 20,000 km by now. Their technical availability is extremely high at a level of 99%.” This is a remarkably good value not only for new trams: there is no sign of serious teething problems.

Over the next months, Solaris will continue to deliver one Solaris Tramino per week to Poznań City Transport, concluding the delivery of all 45 trams on time by the end of May 2012. The operator will thus have an extensive fleet meeting the latest standards in technology, design and comfort in time for the 2012 European Football Championships, in which Poznań is a host city.

The Solaris Tramino for Poznań City Transport are 100% low-floor multi-articulated vehicles that are step-free along their full length of 32 metres. At 2.4 metres width, Poznań’s Tramino carry 229 passengers, 48 of which will be comfortably seated.

Particular attention was paid to the ease of passenger flows. Four extra-wide double doors each have an opening clearance of 1.500 mm, the widest of any tram currently available in Europe, guaranteeing short stop dwell times. Uncluttered spaces inside allow passengers to move freely inside the vehicle, aided by an aisle width of at least 750 mm throughout the tram. Dedicated bays are reserved for wheelchair users and passengers with pushchairs. The specification is completed by state-of-the-art passenger information systems and two ticket vending machines.

The drivers of the Tramino for Poznań enjoy a spacious and well-appointed cab. Instead of traditional buttons and switches, touch-screen panels have been installed and programmed according to drive mode. Meanwhile, external passenger information takes up a Poznań tradition, with route numbers at the front and rear displayed on roof-mounted circular boards. In the Solaris Tramino, these are LED displays designed to offer excellent readability even at greater distances.

The qualities of the Solaris Tramino have already found favour internationally: in July 2011, Jenaer Nahverkehr GmbH placed an order for five Solaris Tramino to be used in the German city of Jena. Solaris will deliver these trams, which will to be tailored to Jena’s exacting infrastructure and operational requirements, in 2013.