On November 14, 2015, the first of 31 new vehicles of the type GTW 2014 was delivered to the Wuppertal suspension railway. The running tests of the vehicle and the official acceptance by the technical supervisory authority are to be finished in the middle of 2016. The vehicles are being finally assembly in Valencia, Spain, whereas the complete electrical equipment is manufactured in Düsseldorf. By 2017 the state-of-the-art vehicles will have replaced all the articulated vehicles of the type GTW B72 from 1972.
At an event for the citizens of Wuppertal on the premises of the WSW Wuppertaler Stadtwerke (WSW), at which not only the mayor of Wuppertal, but also the CEOs of the WSW and Vossloh participated, the first car section with driver’s cab and the bogies were presented on a truck arriving exactly at the right time.
The 3-part articulated multiple units in a new, modern design are 24 m long and 2.2 m broad and weigh less than 25 tons. The light car body is manufactured from hollow aluminium extrusion profiles, the front and rear car sections are manufactured from plastic materials in a lightweight construction. The traction equipment is highly efficient and allows shorter distances between the vehicles in future. Utmost care has been paid to the environment. Thus, the new vehicles can feed back the braking energy to the power supply system. Moreover, the new vehicles offer more comfort to the passengers with modern passenger information systems and air treatment equipment. The drivers have a state-of-the-art workplace with air conditioning.
