Astra Vagoane Călători Arad and Siemens sign contract for cooperation on the manufacturing of "Imperio" tramways

Astra Vagoane Călători SA and Siemens signed in Budapest, the cooperation contract for the manufacturing of "Imperio" tramways, which will be manufactured by year end in Arad.

The tramway factory will be unique in the country, both by the technology it will use, as well as through the end product. The set up of the production and testing facilities has begun at the former location of the Aris lathe factory.

Valer Blidar, the owner of Astra Vagoane Călători Arad said that the signing of the contract required nine hours of negotiations, after the two companies signed a cooperation protocol in February. "We had long negotiations, because it is in everyone"s interest for the best solution to be found. The tramway factory in Arad will be manufacturing very practical, aesthetically pleasing and affordably priced tramways which will be sold across Europe", Valer Blidar said.

Siemens officials also expressed their conviction that they have signed a contract with a solid partner. "I am convinced that we will surpass our goals, because we have solid partners, with which we have negotiated for six months every detail of the contract", said Franz Proksch, speaking for Siemens.

The "Imperio" tramways, manufactured in Arad will be based on an original concept, which will borrow the style of Siemens products, but its interiors and finishings will be done by Astra. 80 to 100 employees will work on the manufacture of the model. The production line was designed to handle the manufacturing of five tramways a month at peak production capacity.

The investment in the tramway model and in the production line will amount to roughly 6 million Euros. The new sets will be far more comfortable, will feature air conditioning and electronic route display. Based on the requests of the beneficiary, these tramways can come in a narrow or wide rail gauge, and their capacity can vary from 55 to 200 passengers. The state-of-the-art technology used, will help lower the energy consumption to levels comparable to those of similar products present on the international market.

The first buyer for these tramways will be the mayoralty of Arad. Authorities expect the public transportation system of the city to use over 24 Imperio tramways between 5 and 8 years.