Business news

16 Oct 2018

Stadler Minsk to manufacture 12 Metelitsa trams for Bolivia

FANIPOL, 16 October (BelTA) – Stadler Minsk will produce 12 Metelitsa trams for Bolivia’s Cochabamba Department. On 16 October, the factory hosted a Bolivian delegation headed by Cochabamba Department Governor Ivan Jorge Canelas Alurralde, BelTA has learned.

A contract to manufacture the tramps for Metropolitan Train was signed by Stadler Rail Group in February this year. The Belarusian plant will roll out the first trams in August 2019. The order came from Asociacion Accidental Tunari set up by the Spanish construction company JOCA and Swiss construction company Molinari Rail AG. Stadler will provide technical maintenance support within three years.

“This tram is not only our first product for Bolivia but also the first tram of the Metelitsa series which we manufacture to the European standards, with the railway gauge of 1435mm. The tram offers comfortable conditions for passengers, Wi-Fi, electrical outlets, comfortable seats. We will manufacture 12 tram-sets of 36 cars,” Stadler Minsk CEO Philipp Brunner said.

The tram will be used to connect several administrative centers in the Cochabamba Department providing transport services to more than 1 million people. “We are happy that such trendy and modern vehicle will enter passenger service in our country. This means of transport will change the look of our region, will make it more recognizable thanks to your high technology. I would also like to highlight that your trains are environmentally friendly, which is very important to us,” Governor Ivan Jorge Canelas Alurralde said.

The guests were offered a tour round the company and a trial trip on the Metelitsa tram made for St. Petersburg. The foreign delegation comprised the deputy minister of civil and industrial sector construction, the head of the technical department of railway workers, representatives of the Society of Engineers of Bolivia, technical specialists, and journalists.

The three-section low-floor tram Metelitsa is of a modular design. The tram is 34m long, 2.5m wide, and 3.6m high. The tram car is designed to carry up to 376 passengers and is made according to the European standards. The maximum operating speed of the tram is 60 km/h.

Minsk Oblast Vice Governor Nikolai Rogashchuk said that Stadler Minsk is one of the largest private enterprises in Minsk Oblast in terms of investment in the engineering industry. “It is an innovative company. The new contract with Bolivia will help increase bilateral trade between our countries. We also expect to discuss new areas of cooperation during the visit,” he said.

Cochabamba is the capital of Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia (after Santa Cruz de la Sierra, La Paz and El Alto). It is the center of the most picturesque and fertile zone of the country, where small fertile valleys are located among the mountain ranges.

Stadler Minsk is a resident company of the FEZ Minsk and makes part of the Swiss Stadler Rail Group. The enterprise manufactures products for broad-gauge railways. The train factory is based in Fanipol.