Skoda in running for new trolleys and trams too? – Company presents its vehicles to Government and GSP Beograd

New trolleys, as well as trams for the needs of the Belgrade City Transport Company (GSP Beograd), could be purchased as part of the Leap into the Future - Serbia 2027 project, which also includes EXPO 2027, i.e. as part of procurement procedures implemented by the state, and not as part of a tender by the city of Belgrade, eKapija has learned.

According to our findings at GSP Beograd, the company Skoda presented its vehicles to this company, but also to the Ministry of Finance, a few days ago. As we were told, at meetings attended by the Czech ambassador, modern trolleys produced by Skoda in cooperation with Solaris, as well as Skoda trams, were presented.

It is not yet known how and when the procurement for the purchase of new trolleybuses and trams for GSP will be organized, nor whose vehicles will be purchased, but what is known, as a source from GSP told us, is that a meeting was held at the Ministry of Finance with representatives of GSP Beograd in early August, at which they were assured that the trolley subsystem would remain in operation in Belgrade, that it would not be abolished, but, on the contrary, that there would be additional investments in it.

The latest plan and proposal of the state, as we were told, is that for the needs of the largest city transport company, within the framework of the Leap into the Future - Serbia 2027 project, 60 modern single and 20 articulated trolleys, as well as 20 electric buses, will be purchased. As we were told, experts from that company presented analyses and technical characteristics of vehicles that are in line with the needs of public transport in the capital, so the preparation of possible models for the procurement of electric vehicles for the needs of GSP Beograd is underway and it is expected that all documentation will be completed by the end of autumn, after which the decision remains up to the state to sign contracts and formalize the procurement, and the implementation of interstate agreements that Serbia has signed with both the Czech Republic and China is also being considered.

The idea is also to remove the trolley contact network from Student Square to Slavija, as well as in the part of Kneza Milosa Streetg, and on these routes in the future, new trolleys will use autonomy, i.e. modern vehicles that do not use the contact network at all on part of the route. This idea, let us remind, is something that was once announced by the city of Belgrade, i.e. when the capital was led by the current Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali. The only thing that was not precisely determined at the time was whether autonomous trolleys would operate on these routes or whether they would be replaced by electric buses.

Troubles with Bozankaya continue

When it comes to the tram subsystem of public transport in Belgrade, the latest news is certainly the recent start of deliveries of the first trams of the Turkish Bozankaya in Belgrade and the launch of the first vehicle of this manufacturer. Let us remind that numerous controversies accompanied the process of procurement and delivery of these trams, from the announcement of the tender for the new trams, when they were informed about this job and before the tender procedure was launched, they indicated that the job would be awarded to a Turkish company, through the tender process itself, within which there were several remarks and objections from interested potential bidders, to the start of deliveries of these vehicles when it was discovered that these vehicles were wider than all other trams running in Belgrade, which was first reported by eKapija.

The troubles with these trams, it seems, do not end there. As a source from GSP told our portal, four Bozankaya trams out of 25 that should be delivered in total have arrived in Belgrade so far, the fifth tram is expected in the next two weeks, but only one is still operating and that one is not on the line all day. As the source specifies, the other Bozankaya trams are not yet on the streets of Belgrade because it has been determined that there are certain problems with the sensors of the door control system, as well as with the air conditioning in the vehicles, and this problem has been reported to the manufacturer. It is not yet known how and by when these problems could be eliminated and, above all, when the other Bozankaya trams could finally become operational.

What is known is that the annex to the contract changed the dynamics of the delivery of new trams. Namely, the tender documentation originally envisaged that GSP would receive two Turkish trams, and that only after several months of testing in real circumstances and traffic conditions in Belgrade, would the remaining 23 be ordered with potential suggestions from the client. However, immediately after the delivery of the first two trams, GSP ordered all the remaining trams, which, according to our source, means that the city administration is under pressure to complete the delivery of the trams in the spring of 2026 and does not leave much room for any corrections or changes.

Let us also remind that after the tender in which the deal was signed with Bozankaya, the city also announced a procurement procedure for the purchase of 100 short trams, but that procedure was suspended in April of this year. As things stand now, there is an open possibility that the state will take over this procurement as well and that it will be the buyer of new trams for the needs of GSP Beograd, and not the city.

D. Aleksic

JKP GSP Beograd

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Škoda

Solaris

Bozankaya

Ministry of FInance

GSP Beograd

Siniša Mali

procurement of trolleys for GSP Beograd

procurement of trams for GSP Beograd

Leap into the Future Serbia 2027

EXPO 2027