Italian speed trams to appear in Kazan

The first speed trams could appear in Saint-Petersburg and Kazan in 2 years, told journalists Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin while commenting on a memorandum of understanding signed within Russia-Italy interstate consultations by Saint-Petersburg and the Italian concern Finmeccanica.

“If we form an order, the plant [manufacturing speed trams in Russia] could be built in 2010-2011. If the decision is made, we will buy first trams, to manufacture them here in the future,” Interfax quotes Levitin as saying.

“The first cities we see doin it are Saint-Petersburg and Kazan,” said the Transport Ministry chief.

Kazan plans to purchase a total of 66 trams with increased speed by the Universiade 2013 event. To do that, it will have to build 19.5 kilometres of new tram tracks and reconstruct the 43.4 kilometres of operated tracks.

Finmeccanica is an Italian machine building holding company. The company’s largest stockholder is the government of Italy, 33.73 percent. The company is one of the leading global suppliers of electronic and electromechanical rail transport systems.