The first Avenio tram for The Hague has left the production plant in Vienna, Austria. It is being taken to the Wegberg-Wildenrath Test and Validation Center in Germany where it will undergo a program of dynamic tests, to be followed by the acceptance test in The Hague. The first of a total of 40 trams ordered is scheduled to be delivered to the operator HTM later this year. Exercising an option agreed as part of the original order in November 2011, the customer recently ordered a further 20 trams.
The Avenio will be deployed on Lines 9, 11, 15 and 17 in The Hague. In future, the Avenio trams on Line 9 will carry passengers from the main railway station to the North Sea coast at Scheveningen. This line, along with Lines 15 and 17, will be used by the many commuters to get to the government offices and ministries based in The Hague. Lines 15 and 17 will give passengers access to the main railway station and the Den Haag Hollands Spoor station, thus creating a link between the mass transit and mainline transportation networks. Line 11 connects the Port of Scheveningen with the Den Haag Hollands Spoor station. The 20 trams recently ordered will run on The Hague's oldest line, Line 1, which connects the capital with the city of Delft and has been in service since 1866.
The Avenio for The Hague has an attractive, spacious interior design with two large multifunction areas (for wheelchairs/strollers) in the central modules. To ensure quick and convenient passenger flows, one single door and four double doors with a clearance width of 1.3 meters are arranged on each side over the length of the tram. Seats and handrails have been designed according to ergonomic criteria. The air-conditioning units for the driver's cabs and the passenger area guarantee a comfortable, pleasant climate inside.
The Hague, the seat of parliament and government of The Netherlands, has one of the largest tram networks in Europe which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2014. The network has twelve lines with a total length of 130 kilometers. For the operation of the new tram, the city is currently carrying out numerous construction projects. All stops are being provided with new access areas because, in contrast to the existing type GTL 8 high-floor vehicles, the 100% low-floor Avenio permits street-level access.