Less than 15% of Skoda's tram sales in the last decade have been fixed
bogie trams and there's only one current model of that type, the Forcity
Classic which is a standard, modern five-module tram. Here's one of those
in Chemnitz, Germany:

https://www.skodagroup.com/admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Chemnitz-1024x725.jpg

We don't yet know what the new Prague tram will look like. It has been
given the working title of Forcity Plus, which to date has been supplied
for narrow gauge systems, which is why they have high floor over the
swivelling bgoies at the ends. A standard gauge version for Prague would be
very different. We can't even guess that it would look like the Bratsilava
trams because here is the same model for FCB in Germany:

https://www.skodagroup.com/admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ForCity-Plus-FCB_1-1024x682.jpg

Early next year all should be revealed.

If the layout of a tram includes a short module, it's quite common to put a
fixed bogie under the short module, because it's in the centre of the tram
and not subject to the forces on curves that the end bogies are. The
Melbourne G class is an example:

http://www.tautonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Melbourne-NGT-Alstom-768x530.jpg

Tony P

On Sunday 24 December 2023 at 14:22:15 UTC+11 Matthew Geier wrote:

> However, this model hasn't exactly taken the world by storm, Škoda has

> only managed to sell it to two cities - or one other than Prague for which

> the model was effectively custom-designed for. Most of Škoda output has

> been more 'conventional' fixed bogie trams.

> Not that many of the Chinese CSR Sifang versions have been built either.

> The Chinese were just trying everything out attempting to license Western

> technology wherever they could, reverse engineering it where they couldn't.

>

>

> The 15T might technically be a good tram (I've visited the factory where

> they were built and saw several of Prague's 2nd series under construction

> but I've never actually ridden on one!), but it has gone nowhere in the

> market. I presume the jacobs articulation makes them too expensive.

> Even their run in Prague has finished - after 250 cars were delivered.

> Škoda has won the next order, but the concept is for a ForCity Plus tram -

> which has fixed bogies under the middle of the car and a 'suspended'

> middle module. It only retains pivoting bogies at the car ends, so even

> Prague has abandoned the jacobs concept for their next series of trams.

>

> And the ForCity Plus works around the problem with space for the end bogie

> to pivot by putting them far forward under the drivers cab, which is raised

> to accomdate it. I assume the non driving end of the single-enders has a

> step to a 'raised rear lounge' area.

>