Alstom to supply 23 trams to the agglomeration of Caen la Mer

Alstom is to supply, for an amount of approximately 52 million euros, 23 trams to the agglomeration community of Caen la Mer. The trams will be delivered from the summer of 2018 onwards, with entry into commercial service scheduled for September 2019. This first order could be extended, via the exercising of options, to include up to 9 tramsets by 2021. The trams will run on all three of the new lines, replacing the existing trams in reserved lanes. 

33 metres long, equipped with 6 double doors on each side, the Citadis X05 of Caen la Mer will be able to transport over 210 passengers. It will be equipped with 100% LED lighting and large glass surfaces, and will offer USB recharging sockets, a first in France. It will be highly energy-efficient, and will offer a high level of reliability, thereby guaranteeing an improved alternative to Caen la Mers existing system. Citadis X05 is the lightest tram of its generation, thus reducing its infrastructural imprint to a maximum. The design, over which discussions have begun today and will be submitted to a vote by inhabitants by the end of the year, will highlight the identity of the region of Normandy. 

The Caen la Mer tram could reach full autonomy in terms of power supply, through its specially designed roof, without using infrastructure that affects the urban environment. 

Seven of Alstoms twelve sites in France will be involved in the trams production: La Rochelle for the design and assembly, Ornans for the motors, Le Creusot for the bogies, Tarbes for the traction, Valenciennes for the interior layout, Villeurbanne for the onboard electronics and St-Ouen for the design. In total, 1,000 jobs will be secured with Alstom and its suppliers. 

To date, over 2,300 Citadis have been sold to 55 cities worldwide, of which 23 in France. Notably Nice and Sydney have already ordered them in their X05 version. 

I am very proud that the agglomeration community of Caen la Mer has chosen Alstom. The trams of the Citadis range, which have been adopted by 55 cities worldwide, combine tried-and-tested technology with ease of modularity to offer reliability, comfort and customisation, said Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, President of Alstom France. 

In 2019, a new tram on tracks will circulate from the north to the south of the Caen agglomeration. The rubber-tyred trams, or trams in dedicated lanes, will stop running to give way to this highly efficient mode of transport. From now on, the trams will serve the PresquÎle of Caen. The tramway network will be extended to the district of Hauts de lOrne via the Marcel Pagnol secondary school.