Rover Den Haag is calling on HTM, Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague (MRDH) and the Hague city council to speed up the tendering process for 60 new, accessible trams. Because the process has been significantly delayed, the original target date of 2023 for the new trams will not be achieved. Rover-The Hague wants to prevent further delay.

According to Rover the current trams in The Hague have reached the end of their technical life. Moreover, the trams that run on tram lines 1, 6, 12 and 16 are difficult to access due to their high floor and they no longer offer contemporary comfort. The Hague city council therefore agreed in December 2018 with the most important requirements for the tendering of 60 new low-floor trams to replace the current red-yellow trams in 2023.

The process has now been seriously delayed. It took a year and a half until the Transport Authority management committee of MRDH took the decision to invest € 402,6 million for vehicles, depots and infrastructure. At the same time, there are difficulties with the need to build a new depot for the influx of the new low-floor trams. HTM had provided this in Rijswijk-Zuid, but this was stopped by the Rijswijk city council due to nuisance for local residents.

There is now a proposal for a new depot in Ypenburg near the Prins Clausplein. It now seems that the new trams will not be operational until 2026 at the earliest, provided that the tender is now released quickly and suppliers can tender. Rover-The Hague supports the proposal for a new depot in Ypenburg and calls on HTM, MRDH and the Hague City Council to start tendering for the 60 new trams as soon as possible.

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