New, 8-axle tram for Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia with asynchronous traction system

In beginning of year 2011 the GTKB Ltd, Baja contacted with our company that a financing and main contractor partner was looking for engineering office for design a brand new tram for Addis Ababa.

Our company signed that it was interested in with pleasure taking such a project and for mechanical design we suggested the Hungarian company named Invent Ltd.

In 2011 the production was started with our company and earlier mentioned ones and in 3 years, in a frame of technology transfer, the prototype tram was built in workshop of Ethiopian company Metec.

In project the task of our company were the followings:

• traction- and control system design,

• finding the best main components and suppliers of these items

• specification and finding all electric units (from relays till traction system)

• providing the main arrangement together with mechanical designer office based on our system design,

• integration in system up-to-date CAN based traction- and control systems

• supply of the CAN control system

• providing of complete electric documentations (theoretical schemes, assembling drawings, wire branch design and wiring drawing)

• electric and mechanical documentation of roof containers

• mechanical design of controller frames and driver’s desk panels

• design and coding of vehicle control system software

• training for Ethiopian experts

• carry out the assembling together with Ethiopian experts

• start-up of tram

The Addis City Tram has the following favorable features:

• low maintenance cost tanks to asynchronous traction motors

• energy saving operation by lossless acceleration and recuperation ability

• good wheel-rail wearing thanks to well proven bogies with disc brakes and excellent running behavior from a high number serial comparing to other rigid frame 100% low floor trams

• modern diagnostic facilities with color display in driver’s desk

• rear view cameras and monitors

• esthetical external and internal appearence

• motor operated pantograph

• low floor section in middle for help the traffic of disabled passengers

• modern and wide slide type doors with external and internal buttons for local handle for the aim of fast passenger change

• high level of passenger protection against grip for safe get-on and get-off.