Romanian company Astra builds EUR 1.7 mln tram together with Siemens

Romanian company Astra Vagoane has produced the first tram in partnership with Siemenes and expects to deliver the new model, called Imperio, to municipalities like Arad and Bucharest. The town of Arad wants to buy ten such trams in 2012, when it will have a budget for this. According to Astra Arad, Imperio will have a 30 percent lower cost that models of producers in the same category. “If a tram from a high-flown producer costs EUR 2.5 million, ours will cost around EUR 1.7 million. Local authorities are interested and I think we will be successful as no one in the world produces a better and cheaper tram,” said Valeriu Blidar, the main shareholder in Astra Arad. editor@romania-insider.com