The procurement of new trams may turn out to be more complicated than hoped. The tender has already been postponed several times, after the deadline for 15 new trams including an option for 40 more it is clear: There is only one manufacturer who has submitted an offer.
It had been clear for months that only Siemens and Alstom were in the running. However, the rumor mill has been bubbling over the past few weeks, and now holding company boss Wolfgang Malik has confirmed: Siemens has not submitted any offer at all. The tender was very detailed in order to avoid unpleasant surprises like the ones that followed the orders for the Cityrunner and the Variobahn. Too detailed for some, in German cities manufacturers recently had to pay heavy penalties. That leaves only Alstom as a provider in Graz, which is already on the move with the Cityrunner on the Mur (at that time still under the name Bombardier).
Offer for more than 62 million euros – and with options for more
According to research by the Kleine Zeitung, their offer should be slightly above the 62 million euros that politicians defined years ago as the maximum framework for the new trams. In addition, the offer should also include some options that could make the final package even more expensive.
“We will now analyze and examine the offer together with the holding company,” says Finance City Councilor Manfred Eber (KPÖ). A meeting of the control committee will take place on Thursday, with Malik and Mark Perz at the top of the holding company, from the political side it will be Eber and Deputy Mayor Judith Schwentner (Greens).
The city is now in a bind
The situation is tricky, one is now at the mercy of a provider. At the same time, new trams will have to be in use when the inner city unbundling is completed in November 2025. According to the holding company, that was always the last possible date for refreshing the fleet.
Nevertheless, it will now be discussed intensively. The range of options ranges from winning the contract for Alstom to re-tendering. The formal final decision will be made by the Holding Supervisory Board, which will meet on March 15th.
