{{Short description|Company in the Czech Republic}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox company | name = Inekon Trams, a.s. | type = Joint-stock company | founded = 2001 | defunct = 2018 | hq_location_city = Ostrava | hq_location_country = Czech Republic | industry = Transportation | products = Trams | services = Tram refurbishment and repair, track rebuilding | parent = Inekon Group, a.s. | num_employees = | website = [http://www.inekon-trams.com/ Official website] }}
'''Inekon Trams, a.s.''' was a manufacturer of trams, or streetcars, located in the Czech Republic, and had supplied new trams to several cities in the Czech Republic and the United States.<ref name="janes2009">Webb, Mary (ed.) (2009). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2009–2010'', p. 526. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. {{ISBN|978-0-7106-2903-6}}.</ref> The company also carries out modernisation and repair of trams, as well as track reconstruction.<ref name="profile">{{cite web|title=Profile, Inekon Trams|year=2006|publisher=Inekon Group, a.s|url=http://www.inekon-systems.com/en/group/inekon-trams/profile/|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713030153/http://www.inekon-systems.com/en/group/inekon-trams/profile/|archive-date=13 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is a joint-stock company (Czech: ''Akciová společnost'', or a.s.).
==History== [[File:Tram 01 Trio Ostrava.jpg|thumb|left|An Inekon 01-Trio in Ostrava]] [[File:Portland Streetcar green.JPG|thumb|left|Portland car 008 is a 2006-built Inekon 12-Trio]] Formed in 2001, the company was originally a joint venture of Inekon Group and the Ostrava Public Transport Agency (Dopravní Podnik Ostrava, or DPO), and was named '''DPO Inekon'''.<ref name="profile"/> The name was changed to '''Inekon Trams''' in 2005, after Inekon Group purchased the shares of DPO and became sole owner, but DPO's Ostrava facilities continue to be used for most production and assembly.<ref name="T&UT-Jan07">''Tramways & Urban Transit'' magazine, January 2007, p. 23. Light Rail Transit Association (UK). ISSN 1460-8324.</ref>
In the early 1990s Inekon Group tried to gain control of ČKD, which was one of the largest engineering companies in the country at the time, and which had produced almost 20,000 trams, including 14,000 Tatra T3. While the effort to acquire the company failed, some of ČKD's employees were dissatisfied with the new owners and decided to come over to Inekon. Thus, Inekon Group acquired engineers from one of the world's largest producer of trams.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cementárny v ohrožení|date=2 January 2011|publisher=Ekonom newspaper |url=http://ekonom.ihned.cz/c1-49720770-cementarny-v-ohrozeni|access-date=2010-07-04}}</ref>
From 1996<ref name="LR&MT-Oct96">"Tatra's new Czech rival launches its new low-floor ASTRA tram" (October 1996). ''Light Rail and Modern Tramway'', p. 374. Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association (UK).</ref> until 2001/2, parent company Inekon Group had participated in a joint venture with Škoda Transportation Systems, known as Škoda-Inekon, for the construction of trams.<ref>{{cite web|title=Life is Better in the World than in Czechia|date=26 April 2006|publisher=Mladá fronta Dnes, archived (and probably translated) by Inekon Group|url=http://www.inekon.cz/en/press-center/news-list/life-is-better-in-the-world-than-in-czechia.html|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718173247/http://www.inekon.cz/en/press-center/news-list/life-is-better-in-the-world-than-in-czechia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most of the mechanical design work was undertaken by Inekon Group subsidiary Kolejová Doprava (in Prague), while the production was carried out by Škoda (in Plzeň), and the electrical propulsion equipment was made by Škoda and the Austrian company Elin EBG Traction.<ref name="T&UT-01">{{Cite journal|last=Taplin|first=M. R.|title=Return of the (modern) streetcar: Portland leads the way|journal=Tramways & Urban Transit|publisher=Ian Allan Publishing Ltd|location=Hersham, Surrey, UK|date=October 2001|url=http://www.lrta.org/mag/articles/art0110.html|issn=1460-8324|access-date=2013-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927202015/http://www.lrta.org/mag/articles/art0110.html|archive-date=27 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Marketing was also handled by Inekon Group.<ref name="LR&MT-Oct96"/> The Škoda-Inekon partnership built the ''Astra'' model, of which the unidirectional version, model 03T, was supplied to several Czech cities and the bi-directional version, model 10T, was supplied to two U.S. cities (Portland and Tacoma).
The partnership collapsed in 2001, and strong disagreements resulted in both companies filing lawsuits against the other.<ref name="cooperate">{{cite web|title=Škoda and Inekon About to Cooperate|year=2006|publisher=Inekon Group, a.s.|url=http://www.inekon.cz/en/press-center/news-list/skoda-and-inekon-about-to-cooperate.html|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-date=23 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823053607/http://www.inekon.cz/en/press-center/news-list/skoda-and-inekon-about-to-cooperate.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Škoda continued producing some of the same models on its own, and retaining the same model designations (such as 03T) as had originally been adopted under Škoda-Inekon, but with Inekon no longer involved.<ref name="T&UT-Mar02">''Tramways & Urban Transit'' magazine, March 2002, p. 103. Light Rail Transit Association (UK).</ref> Inekon formed a new joint venture with DPO for production,<ref name="railvolution2002">{{cite web|title=Archive (2002 news)|year=2002|publisher=Railvolution|url=http://www.railvolution.net/railvolution/r.php?cislo=4|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-date=21 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121234008/http://www.railvolution.net/railvolution/r.php?cislo=4|url-status=dead}}</ref> using DPO's workshops at Martinov,<ref name="T&UT-Sep03">''Tramways & Urban Transit'' magazine, September 2003, p. 347. Light Rail Transit Association (UK).</ref><ref name="HN-2006">{{cite web|title=Czechs want to introduce trams to Dakar|date=13 September 2006|publisher=Hospodářské noviny newspaper|url=http://www.ceb.cz/content/view/206/95/|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718170355/http://www.ceb.cz/content/view/206/95/|archive-date=18 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> but the design and development of new trams continued to be carried out by Kolejová Doprava, which remains a subsidiary of Inekon Group.<ref name="aboutInekon">{{cite web|title=Facts, Inekon Group|year=2006|publisher=Inekon Group|url=http://www.inekon-systems.com/en/about-our-group/facts.html|access-date=2010-07-04}}</ref> For this reason, Inekon's 01-Trio is nearly identical to the Škoda 03T in most respects, while the same is the case for the Inekon 12-Trio and Škoda 10T, respectively. One transport operator, the Portland Streetcar, has a fleet that includes seven Škoda-Inekon 10T cars (built in 2001–2), three Inekon 12-Trio cars and one newer 10T built by United Streetcar under licence from Škoda, and all eleven have identical overall dimensions, configuration, and other technical specifications, and use mostly the same parts. Škoda and Inekon Group settled their differences in 2006, and even forged a new alliance specifically for the purpose of winning a large contract for new trams for Toronto,<ref name="cooperate"/> but that contract was awarded to a different manufacturer, and since then the two companies have continued to work separately.
[[File:Т8М-700IT Inekon Sofia.JPG|thumb|right|upright|An Inekon-refurbished tram in Sofia, Bulgaria]] The first tramcar completed by DPO-Inekon was Ostrava tram system's car 1251, a Trio delivered in 2002.<ref name="railvolution2002"/><ref name="T&UT-Sep03"/> Renamed Inekon Trams in 2005, the company developed additional tramcar designs and expanded into other types of work, in particular overhaul and modernization of older trams<ref name="modernization">{{cite web|title=Modernization and Repairs of Trams|publisher=Inekon Group|url=http://www.inekon.cz/en/group/inekon-trams/products-and-services/modernization-and-repairs-of-trams/|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-date=3 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203170204/http://www.inekon.cz/en/group/inekon-trams/products-and-services/modernization-and-repairs-of-trams/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and reconstruction and upgrading of tracks.<ref name="tracks">{{cite web|title=Construction and Maintenance of Rail Tracks|publisher=Inekon Group|url=http://www.inekon.cz/en/group/inekon-trams/products-and-services/construction-and-maintenance-of-rail-tracks/|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-date=4 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204054225/http://www.inekon.cz/en/group/inekon-trams/products-and-services/construction-and-maintenance-of-rail-tracks/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The tram system in Izhevsk, Russia, awarded Inekon a 1 million-euro contract for track repair in 2006,<ref name="rgi-aug2006">{{cite news|title=News, Metros|magazine=Railway Gazette International|date=1 August 2006|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/metros-august-2006.html|access-date=2010-10-16|archive-date=15 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615175051/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/metros-august-2006.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the city of Ufa also contracted with Inekon for tramway upgrading.<ref name="rgi-sep2007">{{cite news|title=Ufa tramway rehabilitation|magazine=Railway Gazette International|date=11 September 2007|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/ufa-tramway-rehabilitation.html|access-date=2010-10-16|archive-date=15 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615175258/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/ufa-tramway-rehabilitation.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Trams have been modernized for Sofia, Bulgaria,<ref>{{cite news|title=Inekon Group supplies Sofia tram|date=14 April 2008|newspaper=Czech Business Weekly|url=http://www.cbw.cz/article/inekon-group-supplies-sofia-tram-.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110719141102/http://www.cbw.cz/article/inekon-group-supplies-sofia-tram-.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 July 2011|access-date=2010-07-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Refurbished tram back in Sofia|date=19 June 2008|magazine=Railway Gazette International|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/refurbished-tram-back-in-sofia.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918113000/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/refurbished-tram-back-in-sofia.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 September 2012|access-date=2010-07-04}}</ref> and other cities.
In 2007, the Portland Streetcar and Seattle Streetcar systems both took delivery of three Inekon 12-Trio cars each, all six built and assembled in the Czech Republic.
In 2011, Inekon won a tender for 6 new tramcars for the Seattle Streetcar system's "First Hill" line. The Czech company partnered with Seattle-based Pacifica Marine, a transport vehicles refurbisher, in order to meet the requirement of 60% of U.S. content, which is needed for the project to be eligible for Federal funding. While the manufacturing of the major parts would still take place in the Czech Republic, assembly, painting and testing was to be carried by the American company for this order. At the time, Inekon and Pacifica planned to bid also for streetcar projects in other U.S. cities, with plans to eventually start building streetcars completely in the U.S., similar to United Streetcar's partnership with Škoda.<ref>{{cite web| title=Mayor says First Hill streetcar means Seattle jobs – Construction starts in January |date=2011-10-07|publisher=CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog|url=http://capitolhillseattle.com/2011/10/27/mayor-says-first-hill-streetcar-means-seattle-jobs-construction-starts-in-january|access-date=2011-10-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Local firm wins bid to assemble streetcars |date=27 October 2011|newspaper=Seattle Times|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016617047_streetcars27m.html|access-date=2011-10-27}}</ref><ref name=p-i-2011oct>{{cite web|last=Gutierrez|first=Scott|title=McGinn: Streetcars to be built in Seattle |date=26 October 2011|work=Seattle P-I|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/McGinn-Streetcars-to-be-built-in-Seattle-2237844.php|access-date=2015-01-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Local manufacturer will help build Seattle's second streetcar line|date=2011-10-27|publisher=NPR News|url=http://www.kplu.org/post/local-manufacturer-will-help-build-seattles-second-streetcar-line|access-date=2011-10-27|archive-date=28 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028203659/http://www.kplu.org/post/local-manufacturer-will-help-build-seattles-second-streetcar-line|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Seattle order was later expanded by one car, to seven cars, but after production fell behind schedule, the plans for U.S. assembly were scaled back. Three of the new Seattle cars were assembled in the Czech Republic, and only four by Pacifica Marine in Seattle. The three Inekon trams purchased by Seattle earlier, in 2007, were model 12-Trio, whereas the new cars purchased by Seattle in 2013–15 are a variant called 121-Trio, which is capable of operating on batteries only (without power from overhead wires) part of the time.<ref name=Inekon-2013-01>{{cite web|title=Inekon Group zahájil výrobu tramvají pro USA|url=http://www.inekon.cz/cz/press-centrum/aktuality/inekon-group-zahajil-vyrobu-tramvaji-pro-usa.html|language=cs|trans-title=Inekon Group starts production of trams for USA|publisher=Inekon Group|access-date=2016-01-25|date=29 January 2013|archive-date=14 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914150205/http://www.inekon.cz/cz/press-centrum/aktuality/inekon-group-zahajil-vyrobu-tramvaji-pro-usa.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Due to low figures of production, Inekon's manufacture of trams has been loss-making and the parent company has to subsidise the tram division from its other activities, such as constructing large cement mills (currently planned or under construction in Egypt, Morocco, Syria and Vietnam), modernisations of trains as well as train corridors and construction of large sewage plants (in Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Latvia, etc.). Nevertheless, Inekon maintains capacities for production of trams as well as for their development, aiming to sell them especially in the American, Russian and Chinese tramway markets.<ref>{{cite web| title=RJosef Hušek: S tramvajemi už jsme dobyli Washington a Moskvu, na řadě je Peking |date=2011-01-12|publisher=e15.cz|url=http://zpravy.e15.cz/nazory/rozhovory/josef-husek-s-tramvajemi-uz-jsme-dobyli-washington-a-moskvu-na-rade-je-peking|access-date=2011-01-20|language=cs}}</ref>
Insolvency proceedings were initiated in 2018 at the request of the creditor.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hinčica|first=Libor|title=Výrobce tramvají Inekon v insolvenčním řízení|lang=cs|trans-title=Tram manufacturer Inekon in insolvency proceedings|date=31 August 2018|publisher=Československý Dopravák [online]|url=https://www.cs-dopravak.cz/2018-8-31-vrobce-tramvaj-inekon-v-insolvennm-zen/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418203702/https://www.cs-dopravak.cz/2018-8-31-vrobce-tramvaj-inekon-v-insolvennm-zen/|archive-date=18 April 2021|url-status=live|issn=0411-6178}}</ref>
==Tramcar models== Models of new trams currently available include the ''Trio'' series, ''Superior'' and ''Pento''. All are low-floor models, either partially or fully, and are articulated.<ref name="types">{{cite web|title=Production of New Trams|publisher=Inekon Group|url=http://www.inekon.cz/en/group/inekon-trams/products-and-services/production-of-new-trams/|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-date=4 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204054230/http://www.inekon.cz/en/group/inekon-trams/products-and-services/production-of-new-trams/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Trio=== The ''Trio'' is a three-carbody-section, four-axle (two-bogie) design, in which the low-floor area represents 50% of the entire vehicle floor area. The overall length is {{convert|20.13|m|ft}}.
The 01-Trio is a single-ended (uni-directional) version, buyers of which have included (as of 2008) the transport agencies in Olomouc and Ostrava.<ref name="janes2009"/><ref name="HN-2006"/> The first car was built in 2002, for Ostrava's tram system (DPO).
The 12-Trio is a double-ended (bi-directional) model designed for export. The standard model is designated as 12-Trio, but in 2012–13 Inekon introduced a variant that is capable of limited operation on batteries only, and this is designated 121-Trio. As of 2016, the 121 model has only been purchased by Seattle.
Trams of this type have been purchased by three U.S. cities,<ref name="janes2009"/> as follows: * Portland Streetcar: 3 cars (nos. 008–010), built in 2006 and delivered in 2007<ref name="janes2009"/> * Seattle Streetcar: 10 cars by 2016. First order was for 3 cars, delivered in 2007.<ref name="janes2009"/> Another six cars were ordered in late 2011 for use on a planned second line,<ref name=p-i-2011oct/> and these are model 121-Trio, capable of "off-wire" operation part of the time. A seventh car was added to the order in late 2012. Delivery began in 2015.<ref name=taut-2015may>{{cite news|author=<!--(no byline; staff report)-->|title=Seattle's Inekon battery tram arrives|magazine=Tramways & Urban Transit|date=May 2015|page=172}}</ref> * The Department of Transportation of Washington, D.C. for the D.C. Streetcar line: 3 cars, completed in 2007<ref name="T&UT-Jul07">"Czechs trial Washington trams". ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' magazine, July 2007, p. 278. Light Rail Transit Association (UK).</ref> but not shipped to the USA until late 2009, due to delays in construction of the tram line and carhouse (storage and maintenance building) in Washington.
All nine of the standard 12-Trio cars manufactured to date (in 2006–07) were equipped with propulsion control systems made by Elin EBG. thumb|The inside of a Inekon 121 in Seattle
===Other models=== * Inekon 04, the ''Superior'', is a three-section, {{convert|32.6|m|ft|adj=on}} unidirectional car with at least 50% low-floor area.<ref name="superior data">{{cite web|title=Superior – Low-Floor Tram|publisher=Inekon Trams|url=http://www.inekon-trams.com/superior_low-floor_tram_tech_specs.html| access-date=2010-07-04}}</ref> No trams of this design have been constructed thus far. * Inekon 11, the ''Pento'', is essentially a longer version of the ''Trio''.<ref name="11-pento">{{cite web|title=Inekon 11 Pento|publisher=Inekon Group|url=http://www.inekon.cz/en/group/inekon-trams/products-and-services/production-of-new-trams/inekon-11-pento.html|access-date=2010-07-04|archive-date=4 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204054515/http://www.inekon.cz/en/group/inekon-trams/products-and-services/production-of-new-trams/inekon-11-pento.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is a five-section, {{convert|30.2|m|ft|adj=on}} unidirectional car with 64% low-floor area.<ref name="pento data">{{cite web|title=PENTO Low-Floor Tram Technical Data|publisher=Inekon Trams|url=http://www.inekon-trams.com/pento_low-floor_tram_tech_specs.html | access-date=2010-07-04}}</ref> * Inekon ''Superior Plus'' was a design developed together with Škoda in 2008 for the Toronto Transit Commission's bid for 204 new streetcars. It is a 100% low-floor tram designed in order to meet specific requirements of the Toronto tramway tracks, especially its unusually small {{convert|36|ft|m|3|adj=on}}-radius curves.<ref>[http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4503.shtml CLRVS]</ref> The tram's appearance was created by designer Patrik Kotas, who is also responsible for the look of Škoda's newest ForCity tram.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.inekon-trams.com/toronto/superior-plus-100percent-low-floor-tram.html|title=Superior Plus 100% Low Floor Tram!|author=inekon-trams.com}}</ref> The Škoda-Inekon consortium was not permitted to take part in the bidding process, which was in the end won by Bombardier, for its Flexity Outlook, which met the commission's Canadian content requirement.<ref name="www.thestar.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/623916|title=TTC picks Bombardier to supply streetcars|author=thestar.com|date=24 April 2009 | work=Toronto Star | location=Toronto}}</ref>
==See also== * List of tram builders
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Inekon trams}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110713030153/http://www.inekon-systems.com/en/group/inekon-trams/profile/ Inekon Trams page] at Inekon Group website (see infobox, above, for main Inekon Trams website) * [http://www.inekon-systems.com/en/group/inekon-group/ Inekon Group] (parent company) website
{{InekonTram}}
Category:Tram manufacturers Category:Electric vehicle manufacturers of the Czech Republic Category:Streetcars of the United States Category:Manufacturing companies established in 2001 Category:Czech brands Category:Czech companies established in 2001