ULF, the Ultra Low Floor tram built by Siemens, will soon be able to show off its advantages outside Austria. The west Romanian city of Oradea has just placed an initial order with the Mobility Division of Siemens' Industry Sector for ten of these trams, which have the world's lowest entry height of only 19 centimeters. It is the first export order ever received for the Vienna-built ULF tram, is worth EUR 27.5 million and also includes vehicle maintenance for a period of four years.

The trams are identical to the ones already in service in Vienna. They are scheduled to be handed over to OTL, the urban transit operator in Oradea, between May 2008 and June 2009. This Romanian city, which is located close to the Hungarian border, has three tram lines covering a total of 44 track kilometers. The ultra-low-floor trams weigh about 30 metric tons and are designed for a top speed of 70 km/h. 150 first-generation ULF trams are currently operating in the Austrian capital. Recently, Siemens started to deliver another 150 trams of the second generation.

The ultra low entry height of the ULF tram is the result of the adopted design principle that uses so-called portal frame running gear instead of conventional bogies. In this case, vertically arranged electric motors drive each wheel individually and are capable of recovering the energy generated during braking and ensuring for a high degree of running smoothness. Thanks to the low step height and extra wide doors, considerable time savings can be achieved during passenger exchanges at stops and therefore overall travel times kept as short as possible.