The five-section bidirectional vehicles will be equipped with permanent magnet motors and Alstom’s Citadis Ecopack onboard storage system for catenary-free operation, which draws current from the catenary via the pantograph in a 20-second charging cycle during stops at stations.

The vehicles will be assembled at Alstom’s plant at La Rochelle, France. Sesto, Italy, will supply traction equipment for the project.

The initial 8.7km phase of the Circular Line opened in 2015 and serves 14 stations. Services are operated by a fleet of CAF Urbos LRVs.

The 13.4km Stage 2 will complete the circle, adding 23 stations, and is due to be completed in 2019.