SEOUL, KOREA - Hyundai Rotem, Korea's rolling stock manufacturer affiliated with Hyundai Group, has succeeded in winning an order worth 60.5 million euros (US$81.1 million) to supply tram cars in Turkey for the first time.

 

The company said on August 8 that it signed an agreement with Turkey's Gulermak Heavy Industries Construction & Contracting Co. to supply 38 sets of low-floor streetcars (each set consisting of 5 rail cars). The tram cars will be delivered to Izmir, the third most populous city in Turkey, for two tram lines (9.7- and 12.6-kilometer lines) currently built by Gulermak. 

 

Once considered a thing of the past, the tram is making a comeback across the world, thanks to its low construction and maintenance costs compared to the light rail train. The tram's initial construction cost is a half to one-third of that for light rail trains.

 

In April last year, Hyundai Rotem has succeeded in developing the wireless-and-wired low-floor tram in partnership with the state-run Korea Railroad Research Institute capable of running up to 50 kilometers in one charge. According to the company, the eco-friendly tram can be run wirelessly in urban areas and with wires in the outskirts, which makes it much more economical than subways and light rails. The tram rail cars will be manufactured at Hyundai Rotem's plant in Adapazari in northeastern Turkey near Izmit that the company established in 2007.