RATB V3A-93 055Bucharest Bucharest

New livery?

Old livery... in 2002, they wanted the modernised line 41 to have a new livery, but the trams were already built (some of them were refurbished V3A-93, other were new) and they add a red sticker on them. They also had different head-lights and Schunk pantograph with graphite. Now there are very few trams like this (after general repairs and repaints, the red sticker was not available anymore). A... and, starting 2008, the V3A-93 trams with round head-lights (like this one) started to be used on all routes of Bucureşti-Noi Yard, not only on 41. The graphite pantograph-element was used until 1st of December 2010 (only trams with graphite were allowed on line 41... on 1 Dec 2010 the wires frozen and many graphite elements were damaged... it was a metter of days until all the graphite was removed from the wires by the aluminium pantographs and the remaining graphite-elements destroyed quicly... after all the stock was used, they placed aluminium elemens on all pantographs). Now, any tram can come here (wich is bad for the wires) and graphite elements are no longer available (they are not on RATB's stock...). They preffer to grease the wires by applying grease with graphite on the pantograph. This "operation" is made by hand inside the yard.