Urbos

Urbos 1 tram in Bilbao.

Urbos 2 operating in Vélez-Málaga

Urbos 2 operating on the Seville Metro

Urbos 3 tram in Belgrade.

Urbos 3 in Edinburgh.

Urbos 3 in Kaohsiung.

Urbos AXL in Tallinn

Urbos AXL in Stockholm

Urbos LRV in Houston

Urbos 3 in Budapest

Urbos 3 in Sydney

Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF.

The Basque manufacturer CAF did already have a long history with the construction of trains, including regional and underground metro variants. It started building a tram type in 1993 with a contract for Seville Metro with the delivery of 16 trams between 1993 to 1999. This original tram type was a variant of a Siemens tram type and some components were delivered by Siemens, including bogies and traction motors. After acquiring a contract for Lisbon Trams in 1995, it was decided to start construction of its own model.

There are three generations of Urbos, known as Urbos 1, Urbos 2, and Urbos 3. The first generation was ordered by the tram operator of the Basque city of Bilbao that received 6 trains between 2004 and 2006. Manufacturing locations have initially been in Saragossa and Linares.

Urbos 1

This series was only sold to Euskotren Tranbia to operate tram services in Bilbao. The original tram system was shut down in 1964 and the second generation opened in December 2002 with extensions in 2004.

• Line A (EuskoTran), 8 trains (named 401–408)
  • the 8 trains are 70% low-floor two-directional with three bogies on metre gauge

Urbos 2

• Vélez-Málaga Tram (leased to the Sydney Light Rail)
• Tranvía de Vitoria
• Seville Metro
• MetroCentro (Seville) (replaced by Urbos 3 in March 2011)
• Tranvía de Antalya

Urbos 3

The Urbos 3 is the successor of Urbos 2 with all new sales going for this type. The standard variants, the Urbos 100 and Urbos 70, have either a 100% or 70% low floor design, respectively, and a maximum speed of 70 km/h. The tram type is offered in meter gauge and standard gauge and allows for a tram width of 2,300, 2,400 or 2,650 millimeter. Trams can be assembled from 3, 5, 7 or 9 modules (the 9 module option available only on the Urbos 100), with the length ranging between 23 and 56 metres.

CAF has developed an option to build supercapacitors into the Urbos 3, allowing brief operation without an external electrical supply. This ACR system (Acumulador de Carga Rápida) allowed the tramway operator in Seville to remove the overhead wires in key locations during Holy Week 2011.

Urbos 70 and Urbos 100

• Cuiabá, Brazil (40 ordered)
• Salvador, Brazil
• Belgrade, Serbia (30)
• Seville, Spain
• Granada, Spain
• Cádiz, Spain
• Debrecen, Hungary (18)
• Edinburgh, Scotland (27)
• Málaga, Spain
• Besançon, France (19)
• Nantes, France (12)
• Zaragoza, Spain (21)
• West Midlands, England (£40 million order for 20, with options for five)
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan (9 ordered; ACR system built in; no need for catenary)
• Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ($25 million for 5 trams)
• Sydney, Australia. ($20m order for 6 trams; order subsequently expanded to 12 trams)
• Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany (12 ordered)
• Kansas City, Missouri, USA
• Budapest, Hungary (47; €90m order for the 47 trams)
• Utrecht, Netherlands (27 ordered; to be operational in 2018)

Urbos AXL

Vehicles in the Urbos AXL series have larger modules and railway-style pivoting axle bogies. With a maximum speed of 90 km/h. it is designed for high-capacity, mass rapid transit systems.

• Tallinn, Estonia, (17 trains, from 20 ordered)
• Stockholm, Sweden (22)

Urbos TT

The Urbos TT series is built with tram-train technology, connecting existing heavy rail infrastructure directly to urban tramway systems. This makes them ideal for commuter rail services that for carrying passengers into city centers.

Urbos LRV

Consisting of 2 articulated cars supported by 3 bogies, the LRV variant of Urbos, designed for the North American market, is easily customizable to each customer's needs.

• Houston, Texas, USA (30 vehicles ordered)

External links

• CAF website

• Revista Vía Libre, mayo 2009, «Urbos3, la nueva generación de tranvías» (pdf)
• http://www.diariodesevilla.es/article/sevilla/656857/las/catenarias/seran/desmontadas/este/fin/semana/cara/la/semana/santa.html