Mykolaiv has agreed to receive 23 low-floor trams from Lille, France. The vehicles will be transferred free of charge, and the city will only need to cover the delivery costs. This assistance will help replenish the public transport fleet. This was reported by the mayor, Oleksandr Senkevych.
The agreements were preceded by correspondence, negotiations, and the coordination of technical issues. According to the mayor, the director and the team of the municipal enterprise Mykolaivelectrotrans worked on this direction.
Trams from Lille: what needs to be done before the transfer
The receipt of the cars still requires formalities. Ahead are decisions by the transport company, the signing of contracts between enterprises, and other necessary procedures. There is currently no talk about the completion of the transfer or the arrival of the trams in Mykolaiv.
«The city will transfer the vehicles free of charge; only the delivery will need to be paid for,» Senkevych noted.
The mayor did not specify the transportation cost, timelines for arrival, or the routes on which the vehicles might operate. The model of the trams, the year of their manufacture, and their passenger capacity were also not mentioned in the post.
For Mykolaiv, this is an opportunity to receive more modern vehicles without costs for their purchase. At the same time, the agreement with French partners still needs to go through all the necessary stages of processing.
A similar support is also received by Vinnytsia: the city is being provided trams from Zurich with factory low-floor sections. Before operating on the routes, these vehicles will be adapted and tested.
Low-floor trams: what will change for passengers
The main advantage of the planned replenishment will be more convenient boarding and alighting. The low floor will facilitate transport use for elderly people, passengers with disabilities, and parents with strollers.
The mayor thanked the Lille community and French partners for their willingness to help. According to him, international cooperation allows for exploring options for renewing transport even with limited municipal budget opportunities.
Separately, Senkevych announced news about cooperation with Swedish Gothenburg.
«Work with the Swedish city of Gothenburg is already at the final stage,» the mayor reported.
He has not yet disclosed details of this agreement. The replenishment of the rolling stock remains important for the city, where Russian attacks have already caused damage to electric transport and disruptions in its operation.