Rolling stock › In serviceData updated
Variobahn (Stadler)
Stadler's five-section low-floor trams, bought in three batches (6, 4 and 2) to run more trams to Wimbledon and Elmers End. 2561 was out of service after a derailment on 30 January 2022 until 2024.
Scale
106 ft (32.37 m) long
Variobahn (Stadler) · schematic drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/variobahn/ · CC BY 4.0
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- Type
- Tram, five sections, 100% low floor
- Builder
- Stadler Pankow, Berlin (Germany)
- Built
- 2011–12 and 2015–16
- In service
- since 2012
- Lines
- Trams
- Formation
- Five sections, 106 ft (32.37 m), double-ended
- Trains in fleet
- 12 (2554–2565)
- Top speed
- 50 mph (80 km/h)
- Power
- 750 V DC overhead; eight 45 kW motors · how it works
- Bogies
- Stadler Variobahn running gear: two powered, one trailer
- Train length
- 106 ft (32.37 m)
- Car height
- 11 ft 7 in (3.535 m)
- Car width
- 8 ft 8 in (2.65 m)
- Profile
- tram
- Walk-through
- Yes
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Seats per train
- 72
- Total capacity
- 72 seats and 134 standing at 4 per m²
- Status
- In service, all 12. TfL's 2024 tender for 24 new trams to replace the oldest, the CR4000s, includes an option for more that could later replace the Variobahns.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| M7 | Module 7: cab, over a powered bogie | 1 single | |
| M6 | Module 6: suspended between modules 7 and 3 | 1 double | |
| M3 | Module 3: centre, over the trailer bogie, with the pantograph | ||
| M2 | Module 2: suspended between modules 3 and 1 | 1 wide single-leaf | |
| M1 | Module 1: cab, over a powered bogie | 1 double |
Module bodies, measured off Stadler's sheet: 19 ft 11 in (6.08 m; modules 7 and 1), 22 ft 2 in (6.76 m; 6), 8 ft 11 in (2.73 m; 3) and 22 ft 1 in (6.72 m; 2).
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 22 sources from Stadler Pankow; Transport for London, Wikimedia Commons, Transport for London and 4 more
- Variobahn low-floor tram for London Tramlink (spec sheet VCRO0812e), released under FOI-4043-2324 Stadler Pankow; Transport for Londondimensions, sections, doors, floor, weight, capacity, speed, power; running gear (eight powered and four trailer wheels; Fw3, LW2 and Fw1 on the p. 2 side view, drawn alike)
- Tramlink to aid regeneration of Croydon Transport for London (press release), 18 August 2011first order of six
- London Tramlink orders additional Variobahn trams from Stadler Pankow Railway-News, 21 August 2013built in Berlin
- London Tramlink orders four new trams for Wimbledon branch Transport for London (press release), 30 August 2013four more
- Two more Variobahns for London Trams British Trams Online, 2 June 2016two more, making 12
- London Trams fleet list British Trams Online, July 2026fleet numbers; first in service March 2012; built 2011-12 (2554-2559) and 2015-16 (2560-2565); 2561 out of service from a derailment on 30 January 2022, back between March and August 2024; all 12 in the fleet, July 2026 (built, summary, status)
- London Trams invites manufacturers to bid to design and build new fleet of trams Transport for London, 10 September 2024the tender for 24 new trams to replace the oldest, with an option for more that could replace the trams introduced from 2012 (status)
- 2556 Croydon Tramlink - Therapia Lane (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (train_photos), 3 May 2014layout only: the skirts down over the running gear, dark below them; livery and colour: the silver-white bodyside, green front edge and roof edge, the green line and blue skirt's heights
- Stadler Rail Variobahn Tram in Addiscombe Road, Croydon (geograph 2919165).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (Peter Trimming, via Geograph), 27 April 2012livery and colour only: the green front edge and roof edge, silver-white bodyside, green line and blue skirt (in sun)
- The Highway Code: road works, level crossings and tramways (rules 288 to 307), rule 307 Department for Transport (GOV.UK), accessed 10 October 2026, p. rule 307the "In operation" drawing's contact wire: 19 ft 0 in (5.8 m), the normal height of tramway wires over a carriageway
- Variobahn low-floor tram for London Tramlink (spec sheet VCRO0812e), released under FOI-4043-2324 Stadler Pankow; Transport for London, p. 2the pantograph: which module, its end, length and which way it folds (measured off the part-raised side view); the folded height at the printed 11 ft 7 in (3,535 mm)
- Variobahn low-floor tram for London Tramlink (spec sheet VCRO0812e), released under FOI-4043-2324 Stadler Pankow; Transport for Londonair-conditioned passenger and driver compartments
- More trams, more often in massive upgrade of Croydon tram services Transport for London (press release), 25 June 2012the Stadler trams: 8 ft 2 in (2.5 m) longer, air conditioned and 100 per cent low floor
- Variobahn low-floor tram for London Tramlink (spec sheet VCRO0812e), released under FOI-4043-2324 Stadler Pankow; Transport for Londonfive modules with a fixed articulation covering for the passage, 100% low floor
- Variobahn and CR4000 at Sandilands.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Hammersfan), 28 July 2019the cab ends' couplers: their state (hidden, drawn or none fitted) checked on photographs (set BC11, 20 October 2026; layout only)
- Coupling trams (CR4000) croydon-tramlink.co.uk (S.J. Parascandolo), 1999-2007the emergency coupler stowed behind the lower front skirt, wound out by hand for a rescue (set BC11, 20 October 2026; layout only)
- Stadler Website Croydon Variobahn Spec Sheet (released under FOI-4043-2324) Transport for Londonthe length over the vehicle, 106 ft (32,370 mm; set BC11, 20 October 2026)
- Variobahn low-floor tram for London Tramlink (spec sheet VCRO0812e), released under FOI-4043-2324 Stadler Pankow; Transport for London, p. 2the door leaves' lower panes on modules 7, 6 and 1, and the roof grille on modules 6 and 2 (set T13; measured off the side view)
- Variobahn low-floor tram for London Tramlink (spec sheet VCRO0812e), released under FOI-4043-2324 Stadler Pankow; Transport for London, p. 12555 photographed: the door leaves glazed low, the roof grille (set T13; layout only)
- 2556 Croydon Tramlink - Therapia Lane (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (train_photos), 3 May 2014the door leaves glazed nearly to the foot; the roof grille on the module next to the cab module (set T13; layout only)
- Variobahn and CR4000 at Sandilands.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Hammersfan), 28 July 20192564 with a door open: the leaf glazed down to near the sill (set T13; layout only)
- 2556 Croydon Tramlink - Therapia Lane (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (train_photos), 3 May 2014the underframe check: the skirts down to about 240 mm, only the running gears' lower parts below (set T13; layout only)
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- Height: Stadler's 11 ft 7 in (3,535 mm) is over the roof equipment
- Door types: read from Stadler's side view of one side; module 2's wide door is drawn without its leaves
- Livery: the green line and blue skirt's heights are read off 2556's cab module scaled by its door (to about 5%); the green on the cab side along the front edge is estimated about 170 mm wide
- The door leaves' lower panes and the roof grille (set T13): placed off Stadler's side view (about +/-25 mm and +/-60 mm) and checked on photographs taken from low down (2556, 2555, 2564); the grille is drawn as one dark panel, not the sheet's four openings
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