Switzerland sends decommissioned streetcars to Ukraine
Published: Friday, Jan 12th 2024, 10:20
Updated At: Friday, Jan 12th 2024, 10:21
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The cities of Bern and Zurich are making decommissioned but fully operational streetcars available to Ukraine. These will be used in the cities of Lviv and Vinnitsa.
Some of the vehicles provided were presented to the media in Bern on Friday. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is organizing the transport to the war-torn country, as well as the training of employees of Ukrainian transport companies.
The Bernmobil public transport company is donating eleven "Vevey" streetcars to the city of Lviv. These are the first low-floor streetcars to be built in Switzerland.
The vehicles are in good condition and could be used in Ukraine for another ten to twelve years, said Bernmobil Director René Schmied. The first streetcars are due to be delivered in late summer 2024.
Many displaced persons came to Lviv because of the Russian war of aggression. In addition, many companies have relocated to the city, which has led to a sharp increase in the population. Seco is financing the construction of a new streetcar line to a hospital that can be operated with Bern's low-floor streetcars.
Seco is spending around CHF 1.2 million on the transportation of the Bern streetcars, staff training and spare parts, a spokeswoman told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
"Great gratitude"
Seco had already reached an agreement with the Zurich transport company (VBZ) in 2021. So far, 28 Tram2000 vehicles have been transported to Vinnitsa. In the end, there will be 67 of them. These can continue to be used in Ukraine for up to 15 years.
Speaking to the media, Ukrainian Embassy Counsellor Andrii Biriuchenko expressed his "great gratitude" for the swift and uncomplicated cooperation with the Swiss partners. The streetcars are an important contribution to a better future for his home country.
Zurich streetcars are nothing new in Vinnitsa. Between 2007 and 2011, 88 older models were already sent to the Ukrainian city.
Exports have a tradition
The export of Swiss streetcars to partner countries has a long tradition. For example, Bernmobil and Seco transferred more than a dozen streetcars to Romania from 2003, and the Basel transport company delivered 65 streetcars to Belgrade in Serbia. Most of them are still in operation.
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