New streetcars for the city of Würzburg

The Würzburg tramway has commissioned HeiterBlick GmbH with the manufacture and delivery of 18 new vehicles. The vehicles are 5-part, modular low-floor streetcars. They are designed to meet the special requirements of a demanding infrastructure with steep sections and a track gauge of 1,000 millimetres. The first vehicles in this series will enter passenger service in Würzburg in 2022.

The engineering partner for HeiterBlick is HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering GmbH. The Chemnitz-based company is responsible for the entire mechanical design, supplemented by functional system integration, as well as processing the fixture design for body-in-white production. 70 employees from HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering are involved in this major project.

More mobility and shorter changeover times

In total, the new vehicles have a length of 36 meters (or alternatively 42 meters) and a width of 2.40 meters. 76 seats and four standing places on one square meter each offer space for a total of 147 people in one carriage. The coaches offer a bright and friendly interior paired with a high level of ride comfort and practicality. In 2020, HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering prepared the 3D design and calculation of the carriage body and the bogie frame as well as the mechanical integration of the electrical components.

The vehicles are specially designed to meet the requirements of passengers with reduced mobility and passengers with baby carriages and bicycles. There are two special use areas with spaces for a total of four wheelchairs in the end modules, which can be easily reached through the large double doors . "Low-floor technology is primarily used in local public transport, as the low-lying floors in the interior make mobility easier for passengers with disabilities or age-related restrictions and lead to shorter passenger transfer times," explains Frank Salzwedel, Managing Director of HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering.

Partnership with HeiterBlick in Leipzig

The collaboration with HeiterBlick, which began in 2010, has developed into a close partnership. HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering develops specially adapted vehicle concepts with which HeiterBlick participates in new tenders. In the area of "research", both companies are working on converting a streetcar to fuel cell drive, which would be the first of its kind in Europe.

In a fuel cell, a supplied fuel, for example hydrogen, reacts with an oxidizing agent such as oxygen. This electrochemical reaction is known as "cold combustion" and is particularly efficient. The fuel cell is regarded as the environmentally friendly drive of the future. "With our conversion of a train to fuel cell drive, we are working at the cutting edge," emphasizes Frank Salzwedel.