THE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE HEADLINES l Toronto Transit plan reinstated

l Alstom looks to take Translohr stake

l Agreement reached on Budapest debt

: pioneer to modern light rail icon Pittsburgh Factfile: Expansion of the ‘T’

French lessons: End of an era: Tramway, metro, waves tram-train... Lyon’s a fond farewell 75 model for urban to the distinctive rail integration 803n tram JUNE 2012 No. 894 1937–2012 w w w. l r t a . o r g l w w w. t r a m n e w s . n e t £3.80 Pojazdy Szynowe PESA SA 85-082 Bydgoszcz, ul. Zygmunta Augusta 11 POLSKA - POLAND tel. (+48)52 33 91 100, (+48)52 33 91 104 fax (+48)52 3391 114 www.pesa.pl e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Contents The official journal of the Light Rail Transit Association 208 News 208 JUNE 2012 Vol. 75 No. 894 Bombardier opens Brazilian monorail production centre; www.tramnews.net Toronto Transit City plan reinstated; Alstom looks with EDITORIAL French Stategic Investment Fund at joint purchase of Editor: Simon Johnston Translohr; Edinburgh debates temporary terminus; Cincinatti Tel: +44 (0)1832 281131 E-mail: [email protected] Eaglethorpe Barns, Warmington, Peterborough PE8 6TJ, UK. chooses CAF; Agreement reached on Budapest debt. Associate Editor: Tony Streeter 214 Blackpool: New life for an icon E-mail: [email protected] Following a four-year renwal designed to support local Worldwide Editor: Michael Taplin regeneration, the ‘new’ has reopened Flat 1, 10 Hope Road, Shanklin, Isle of Wight PO37 6EA, UK. to the public. Neil Pulling reports. E-mail: [email protected] 214 News Editor: John Symons 223 Systems Factfile: Pittsburgh 17 Whitmore Avenue, Werrington, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs ST9 0LW, UK. After the successful recent opening of an extension E-mail: [email protected] under the Allegheny River, the ‘T’ light rail system Contributor: Neil Pulling serving Pennsylvania’s second city may grow further into Design: Debbie Nolan Allegheny County. Production: Carla Corrado 227 Lyon’s expanding light rail landscape Tel: +44 (0)1832 281134 E-mail: [email protected] Arguably France’s second city, Lyon has supported major Worldwide Contributors: Aare Olander, Nikolai metro and tramway developments in recent years – with Semyonov, Sergei Tarkhov (CIS), Mike Russell, Norman Bartlett, Thomas Wagner, Pedro Costa, Richard Felski, Jordi Ibanez (Europe), more still to come. 223 Yoshiri Nogi (Japan), Anthony Bailey, Ian Hammond, Paul Nicholson 231 Worldwide Review (Australia), Vic Simons, Charles Lietwiler, Steve Morgan, Tom Swinney, Julian Wolinsky (North America). Hong Kong approves Shatin – Central metro; New Wroclaw branches open for business; Los Angeles Expo LRTA Website and Diary: Brian Lomas E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] light rail line opens; Tallinn to introduce free travel; Commercial Manager: Vicky Binley Tyne & Wear Metro celebrates tenth anniversary of Tel: +44 (0)1832 281132 E-mail: [email protected] Sunderland and South Hylton. Advertising Manager: Andy Adams 238 Letters Tel: +44 (0)1832 281135 E-mail: [email protected] Onboard storage questions and the role of nanotechnology; Eaglethorpe Barns, Warmington, Peterborough PE8 6TJ, UK. resurrecting old tram tracks for new systems; An 240 Publisher: Howard Johnston Australian perspective on high-speed rail v light rail Tramways & Urban Transit is jointly published by the LRTA and LRTA investment; and is vehicle-mounted ‘catenary’ a solution to Publishing on the third Friday of each month preceding the cover date. power demand? LRTA MEMBERSHIP (with TAUT subscription) Tramways & Urban Transit is sent free to all paid-up members of the 240 Classic : Polish melody silenced Light Rail Transit Association. You are welcome to join the LRTA. Mike Russell reports from Poland on the demise of two subscriptions: LRTA Membership Secretary (Dept T06), independent operators and a classic design of long-lived 38 Wolseley Road, Sale M33 7AU, UK. articulated car. BACK ISSUES: Tel: +44 (0)1406 373070 PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION: Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391000. More urban transit choice than ever before LRTA REGISTERED OFFICE: c/o 138 Radnor Avenue, Welling, simon johnston, editor Kent DA16 2BY. Private company limited by guarantee, No. 5072319 in and Wales. Chairman: Andrew Braddock. Deputy Chairman: Vic Simons As we approach the 75th anniversary of means we can apply real vision to new LRTA PUBLISHING REGISTERED OFFICE: c/o 8 Berwick Place, Welwyn the Light Rail Transit Association (see TAUT transport solutions. One size definitely Garden City, Herts AL7 4TU. Private Limited Company, No. 06169422 895 for an in-depth piece from Chairman won’t fit all, but the myriad of realistic in England and Wales. Andrew Braddock) it is thought-provoking possibilities offers an exciting prospect © LRTA Publishing 2012. to think that light rail, trams, streetcars for the towns and cities of the future. Articles are submitted on the understanding they may also later be used and metros make even more sense today From monorails in developing nations on our websites or other media. A contribution is accepted on the basis that its author is responsible for the opinions expressed in it, and such opinions than they did when the LRTA was set up such as India and Brazil, street-running are not those of LRTA Publishing or the LRTA. All rights reserved. to fight for them back in the 1930s. light rail (including vintage trolleys) in No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form Far from now being an outmoded North America, urban maglevs in China, by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior technology as some detractors would have and rubber-tyred ‘trams’ across Europe – permission in writing from the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the you believe, the tramways created by our the issues being addressed are the same contents of the magazine without prior written approval is not permitted. Victorian and Edwardian forebears were, across the world, but the technologies in reality, way ahead of their time. being used to address them vary. The THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHT RAIL MAGAZINE HEADLINES l toronto transit city plan reinstated Open for business... l In the second decade of the 21st challenge is to enjoy the benefits of all alstom looks to take translohr stake

l agreement reached on budapest debt This is the UK’s Century, now is the time to demonstrate – without creating undue complexity or reconstructed a similar sense of imagination to that generating excessive cost. Blackpool Tramway on of the planners of the past, in adopting Mass transit in all forms seeks to 4 April, with Flexity electrically-powered urban transport to move people quickly, efficiently and 2 008 nearest the camera at St Chad’s solve mobility issues in the world’s attractively; no matter what modes are blackpool: tram pioneer ever-growing urban centres. chosen, the days for internal-combustion to modern light rail icon Road. The town’s Pittsburgh Factfile: Expansion of the ‘T’ As technology moves forward we now automobiles must surely be numbered French lessons: End of an era: famous tower is in the Tramway, metro, Poland waves tram-train... Lyon’s a fond farewell 75 model for urban to the distinctive have the ability to mix and match modes as we move towards fully-electric urban rail integration 803n tram JUNE background. 2012 No. 894 1937–2012 w w w. l r t a . o r g l w w w. t r a m n e w s . n e t £3.80 Neil Pulling in a way never seen before – and that centres. TAUT_May12_Cover.indd 1 30/4/12 17:33:43

www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org JUNE 2012 207 News Toronto Transit City re-instated ON 25 April the board of the provincial tran- tion is expected in 2020. Conversion of the “Some councillors down here, and obviously sit agency, Metrolinx, unanimously approved Scarborough RT to light rail will start in 2014, the province, are ignoring the people... the a plan to build four light rail lines across To- to open in 2019. LRT on Sheppard East will people want subways and they’re totally ig- ronto (Canada) by 2020. The vote effectively start in 2014, for completion in 2018. Finch noring them. So let’s wait until the election.” re-instates a modified version of the Transit West light rail will start to be built in 2015 for “When you want to St. Clairise the whole City development that was withdrawn after completion in 2019. The lines will be worked city, turn Sheppard into the disaster on St. Mayor Ford’s opposition, since by-passed by by the 182 LRVs on order from Bombardier. Clair, turn Eglinton into the disaster on St. the City Council and Toronto Transit Com- Following his defeat in the city council, Clair, that’s a war on the car,” he added, ref- mission (TTC). The CAD8.4bn (USD8.5bn) Mayor Ford has pledged to do everything erencing the right-of-way streetcar that runs commitment for these projects remains. in his power to thwart light rail construction along St. Clair Avenue West. The Eglinton – Scarborough cross-town line on Eglinton and Sheppard. Councillor Doug . Canadian National Railway (CN) has sold is already under construction and will now run Ford, the Mayor’s brother and a key council Metrolinx two sections of commuter rail line above ground east of Laird Avenue. Comple- ally, was quick to denounce the vote, saying: for GO Transit service for CAD310.5m. Paris sets PESA confirms first Romanian tram contract tougher A PROCUREMENT challenge by Astra Vagon has been rejected, operating enabling the Romanian tramway in Cluj-Napoca to place an order targets with PESA for four trams to its 30m Swing design. The contract PARIS transport operator RATP price is EUR1.48m per car and has been set new performance there is a framework permitting targets under a four-year con- the order to be expanded to 12 tract with STIF, the specifying cars. It is believed the vehicles and funding authority for Île de may be taken from the Warszawa France transport. The bonus/pen- production for speed of delivery. alty element for punctual and re- Each air-conditioned tram will liable RER and metro sertvices is be equipped for Wi-Fi and carry Above: The first Romanian order for PESA’sSwing has come from Cluj-Napoca. PESA 50% higher than in the previous a maximum of 296 passengers contract which expired in 2011. (40 seated). This is PESA’s first 13km (eight-mile) Cluj tramline ture will be renewed before de- The new contract also covers tram order from Romania. The opened in 1987; the infrastruc- livery of the low-floor trams. passenger information and the cleanliness of trains and stations, but in return STIF has undertak- Abu Dhabi scales back light rail, metro and BRT plans en to invest EUR6.5bn on mod- ernisation and extension of the Source: Department of Transport Saadiyat Island A map of the future network during transit system for the contract period. N Abu Dhabi. The opening date for the 4.2km Mina port (2.6-mile) extension of Paris’ Corniche Hospital tramline T2 from La Defense to Al Sowwah Island Bezons has been fixed for 8 De- Hamdan St cember, while on 11 April STIF Al Reem Island confirmed the route of the pro- posed 6km (3.7-mile) extension Electra St Al Falah St of tramline T4 from Gargan to Najda St Montfermeil. A public inquiry is Marina Mall Defence Rd due to open later this year. Another is programmed for the Airport Rd 20km (12.4-mile) Massy – Evry tram-train project. The target Eid Prayer Ground date for completion of the 19km 15th St Muroor Rd (11.8-mile) Tangentielle Ouest tram-train project has been Light Rail Tram line 2 (2018) moved back to 2018. Bus Rapid Transit loop (2016)

Mott MacDonald Light Rail Tram (2018) appointed for Bergen Metro (2020) phase 3 design work Zayed Sports City Multi-disciplinary consultant Mott MacDonald has been ABU DHABI has announced it is to scale back 40km (25-mile) LRT lines are expected to be opera- appointed to design the plans for a metro system, two light rail lines and tional by 2018, from Marina Mall to Reem Island, third stage of the Bybanen a BRT loop. Plans unveiled four years ago showed and from 15th St (Eid depot) to Saadiyat Island. tramway in Bergen, Norway, a 130km (80-mile) network, but this has now been By 2016 a BRT loop will be created serving Sow- 7.2km (4.5 miles) to Flesland reduced to 70km (43.5 miles). wah Island, the Central Market and the Municipal Airport. Construction is due The 18km (11.2-mile) metro, to open in 2020, Centre. By 2030 the network is expected to be for 2013-15. will run from Al Wahda to Zayed Sports City via carrying 823 000 passengers/day, half taken from Corniche and National Exhibition Centre. Two motor traffic.

208 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org Bombardier opens brazilian monorail production centre BOMBARDIER inaugurated a Canada. The remaining monorail new USD15m monorail manu- cars will be produced at the new facturing facility in Hortolân- site in Brazil. dia, near São Paulo, Brazil on Andre Navarri, President 13 April. The plant is now the & Chief Operating Officer of manufacturer’s global production Bombardier Transportation, centre for monorails, planned said: “The new high-capacity serve the fast-growing markets in Innovia Monorail 300 system Brazil, Latin America and India. we are building for São Paulo is The Hortolândia facility was game changing because it offers built in just 18 months and its a transportation capacity similar first order is for 54 seven-car In- to a metro, yet the light infra- novia monorail 300 trains (378 structure required reduces the cars) for the 14.9km (9.3 mile) construction price and the imple- Metro São Paulo line. The first mentation schedule by up to one completed Monorail cars should half, bringing quality of life ben- leave the new facility this year. efits to citizens sooner and more To ensure a successful and cost effectively. faster ramp-up of the project, one “We are certain that once serv- train (seven cars) will be pro- ice operation starts, it will be duced and tested by Bombardier acknowledged as one of the best at the Kingston testing facility in mass transit solutions ever built.” Left: This artist’s impression shows an Innovia Monorail 300 vehicle for Metro São Paulo, Brazil. The first vehicle is scheduled for completion at the new Hortolândia facility later in 2012. Bombardier

Blackpool opens… and eyes expansion Cairo Metro line 4 funding deal BLACKPOOL’S rebuilt tramway was officially in- On 19 March the Egyptian augurated by UK Transport Minister Norman Bak- government signed a er on 3 April – and attention is now turning to the loan agreement with the possibility of returning trams to North Station. Japan International Co- The GBP101.7m (EUR124m) project to replace operation Agency to provide 11km (6.8 miles) of track, create a new depot and JPY32.7bn (USD407.5m) to introduce 16 new trams has been funded by the De- finance the start of work on partment for Transport, , metro line 4, running 18km County Council and the INTERREG IVB Programme. (11.2 miles) from October 6 Turnouts for an extension from North Pier have City in the south-west suburbs been incorporated into the new layout and Black- to El-Malek El-Saleh on line 1 pool Council has now received funding to investi- in the city centre. Opening is gate the feasibility of constructing a short extension Above: Two days before the official opening on 2 April, targeted for 2020. to the resort’s main railway station. Introducing a Blackpool’s Flexity 2 004 is seen heading south at North A related project would tram link from to is Pier with the turnouts for the proposed branch to Blackpool see the creation of the also being looked into as a longer-term project. North station visible in the foreground. Mike Haddon tramway network in October . Regular services started on 4 April but the first 6 City. tram (006) derailed on the terminal loop at Below: Blackpool tram 013 disembarking from P&O ferry due to windy conditions blowing sand into the tracks. Pride of Hull on 26 April. Tony Stevenson Work begins on Services were forced to terminate at Ash Street until NET extension the tram, which was not damaged, was re-railed. The first part of the Phase Service intervals until late June are half hourly Two expansion of the UK’s in the early morning, evenings and Sundays with a Nottingham Express Transit 20-minute headway during the day on Monday tramway has begun, with to Saturday. The service was augmented over the the start of work to extend Easter period by modifiedBalloon trams as only 11 the line from the city’s Flexity 2 trams had been delivered by the opening, Station Street. although further deliveries have since been made. This forms part of the Only one tram at a time is able to proceed beyond Clifton extension and will Ash Street to Fleetwood Ferry until the new substa- involve three interconnecting tion at the Ferry is completed. bridges being built over Station Street, Nottingham Station, and Queens Road, so that trams will be able to Atlanta’s Clifton Corridor light rail plan approved travel between the current A USD1.16bn plan for light rail in the Clifton Cor- The next step towards funding comes with a vote NET Line One terminus, ridor in Atlanta, Georgia (US) – running between for a regional 1% sales tax for transportation on 31 over the railway station and Avondale and Lindbergh Center – has been approved July. If approved this could release up to USD700m onto Crocus Street in The by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. to kickstart construction of the first phase, and assist Meadows. The 14km (8.8-mile) line will have ten stations. chances of securing federal funding.

www.tramnews.net l www.Irta.org JUNE 2012 209 News

Private sector plan for Denver french state and alstom FasTracks project consider translohr bid ‘has merit’ Alstom and the French Stra- tegic Investment Fund are study- The Denver Regional Trans- ing the joint purchase of an 85% portation District (RTD) has interest in Translohr from Lohr decided the unsolicited bid by SA, the Alsace-based group that Kiewit Infrastructure on 8 March owns the company marketing to build the FasTracks light rail and producing the rubber-tyred extension along Interstate 225 tramway system, for EUR60m. (I-225) to Aurora has merit, but Lohr Group has seen a finan- that it will have to seek competi- cial downturn and is keen to sell- tive bids. off a majority interest in Trans- Kiewit’s proposal addresses lohr to raise funds to support its roughly 14.5km (nine miles) of core logistics and transportation the I-225 rail line, which cur- business. Translohr is the only rently has a 17km (10.5-mile) rubber-tyred guided tramway gap between South Parker Road system on the market since the and I-70 in Aurora. A light rail withdrawal of Bombardier’s line currently runs along I-225 TVR, and has sold 150 vehicles between I-25 and Parker Road, worldwide, including to Shang- another is planned along I-70. hai and Tianjin in China, Padova Over the past year, RTD has and Venezia-Mestre in Italy, and sought partners to complete the Clermont-Ferrand in France. FasTracks programme within Translohr lines are also under the next decade and reduce construction in Paris. operational costs. Alstom, which dominates the tramway sector in France, and Above: A Translohr guided vehicle on the Padova line. D. Revis has been successful in the ex- Bombardier preferred port market too, has the poten- ket through its extensive global management and industrial ex- bidder for NY subway tial to grow the Translohr mar- commercial network and project pertise. The New York MTA has announced that Bombardier is its preferred contractor for 300 new subway cars Canberra LRT could cost AUD860m costing USD600m, beating traditional suppliers Alstom The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Govern- the morning peak, while light rail would reduce the and Kawasaki – delivery will ment has released new cost estimates for the City delays to six minutes. start in late 2014. to Gungahlin Corridor project in Canberra, which Green party transport spokesperson, Amanda The New York state shows that an LRT line could cost AUD700-860m, Bresnan MLA, said: “Canberra’s population and government has agreed to while a BRT alternative could cost AUD300-360m. density can support mass public transport, and increase capital funding to Simon Corbell, Environment and Sustainable De- if we want to attract investment and interest in the MTA from USD9.1bn to velopment Minister for the ACT Government, said Canberra, then we need a public transport system USD13.1bn for 2012-14 in the costings are “initial estimates” and would require that moves people around the city in an efficient and order to permit projects such further investigation. A detailed business case is be- fast way.” as the 2nd Avenue subway ing prepared by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, based “Other cities in Australia and the world are years to proceed as planned. on the concept design prepared by URS Australia. ahead of Canberra in making public transport a Initial transport modelling suggests that BRT priority – it’s time this commitment was made to Dudley plans Midland would cut travel times from 16 minutes to eight in the people of Canberra.” Metro extension Dudley Metropolitan Council and Centro, the West Midlands Passenger Karlsruhe’s next-generation dual-voltage LRVs Transport Executive, are to push again for extension of Bombardier has started de- dual-voltage LRVs to provide the UK’s Midland Metro from livery of 30 dual-voltage (750V services on former DB electri- Wednesbury to Dudley and dc/15kV ac) LRVs to Karlsruhe’s fied railways and through on to beyond to Brierley Hill. Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft tram tracks in the city centre. The line through Dudley (AVG). The new cars, 923-52, The Karlsruhe system has is seen as integral to a are built at Bombardier’s Wien proved so successful in boosting GBP289m (EUR354m) plant and a total of 19 will ar- passenger numbers that a sub- blueprint for work on the rive in 2012, the remainder in Above: Delivery of the new dual- way is now under construction to town’s Castle Hill. It is hoped 2013. The contract value was boost capacity and relieve tram trams will serve a GBP20m EUR129m. voltage Flexity Swift cars from Wien congestion in the city centre. (EUR24.5m) supermarket in There is an option for a fur- to Karlsruhe can take place on the Before delivery the Flexity The Minories and run down ther 45 three-section 37m LRVs, LRVs own wheels. Swift cars were tested on tram Castle Hill, past a new which feature a 580mm step tracks at the Wiener Linien entrance for the Black Country height at the entrances and can Karlsruhe, and six by Landkreis workshops and in the climate Living Museum and Dudley accommodate 84 seated and 151 Germersheim, which will ben- chamber at Wien Arsenal. With Zoo. The scheme is being standing passengers. Each car is efit when they enter service on their special profile wheels, the formulated for submission to equipped with toilet facilites. the Worth – Germersheim line. LRVs can be delivered over the the UK Government. Eight of the new cars will be When delivery is complete Karl- ÖBB and DB networks as part of paid for by Verkehrsbetriebe sruhe and the AVG will have 152 freight trains.

210 june 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org breaks ground Mauritius considers LRT The island nation of Mauritius, off the south-east for coast of Africa, is proposing Following dismissal of a lawsuit brought by to build a 24.9km (15.5- pro-cycling organisations, the groundbreaking cer- mile) light rail line, to link the emony for the USD134m First Hill Streetcar project capital city of Port Louis with took place on 23 April. The ceremony was led by the second city Curepipe. Mayor Mike McGinn at the future stop. The cabinet endorsed Construction work will take two years on the the MUR25bn (EUR660m) 4.1km (2.5-mile) line, which is detached from ex- project on 27 April and the isting light rail and tramways in the city and will private sector will be invited be worked by six low-floor cars built in the Czech to participate in the financing Republic by Ekova Electric (formerly Inekon) at its of the project through a PPP. Ostrava workshops. It is understood that French The cars will carry battery packs to allow off- consultants are advising the wire operation on a downhill section that crosses a government. trolleybus line. It is hoped to offer an end-to-end journey time of 32 Right: Mayor of Seattle Mike McGinn is joined by city, minutes (a commercial speed county and federal representatives to break ground for of 43km/h, 27mph), and to the First Hill Streetcar project. R. Scheurman carry 93 000 passengers/ day, many of whom make the one-hour road journey at present; 28 cars would be Cincinnati chooses CAF Urbos 3 needed to provide 14 two-car The US city of Cincinnati has selected CAF USA The new trams will be based on the European trains from a fleet of 31. as preferred bidder to supply five low-floor trams for Urbos 3 design and the livery has still to be chosen, Mauritius had a its Streetcar Circulator (Banks – Findlay Market) although two simple designs have been revealed. government rail system until project for USD20m, with an option for up to 20 The first generation tramway in the city was closed 1964, though passenger more. The vehicles will be built at the US subsidi- in 1951 and the new line should open in 2014; services ceased in 1956. ary’s plant in Elmira, NY, in accordance with Buy a depot site has been identified at Henry St in America regulations that specify 60% local content. Over-the-Rhine. Gosport BRT opens The Bus Rapid Transit scheme between Gosport and Fareham (UK), which replaced proposals for the South Hampshire light rail line, opened on 22 April. As well as a dedicated busway along a former railway line, new bus-only lanes are being introduced on-street in Fareham. Nottingham parking levy introduced NOTTINGHAM City Council introduced the UK’s first Work- place Parking Levy (WPL) on 1 April as part of its transport Although CAF has built high-floor LRVs for US systems, the new order for Cincinnati will represent the first penetration of strategy to fund improvements, this competitive market by its Urbos 3 design. CAF including tram extensions. The WPL places a charge on employers in the city that provide 11 or more employee parking Agreement reached on Budapest operator debt spaces. Liable places cost em- ployers GBP288 (EUR353) per The immediate future of Budapest public transport but blocked HUF32bn (EUR108m) subsidy pack- space a year; first year income company BKV has been secured following a “stand age to BKV, on condition that the amount of state is about GBP8m (EUR9.8m) still” rescue package signed by Mayor István Tarlós support be matched by the city council. A long-term – around GBP2m less than origi- with nine banks. financing plan ensuring the sustainability of the nally estimated. The agreement, valid for three months, allows transport company is also to be drawn up. Together with the tram, train the refinancing of HUF63.1bn (EUR212.9m) of Under the agreement with the banks BKV will and bus improvements, the WPL debt expiring this year to allow BKV to continue only need to pay the interest in the coming months. is predicted to reduce traffic operating, with guarantees provided by city and However, BKV finances remain in a precarious po- growth from 15% to 8%, while state authorities. sition, with cutbacks to services, outsourcing bus reducing the number of car jour- The agreement, signed in early April, followed a lines and congestion taxes all under consideration neys by 2.5m by 2015. Public vote by the city council to also provide an immedi- by the city council, following an announcement in transport journeys in and out of ate further HUF5bn (EUR16.9m) in support while February to cut the budgets of city-operated schools the city centre are expected to Parliament voted to release a previously allocated by 10% to help finance BKV. increase by 20%.

www.tramnews.net l www.Irta.org june 2012 211 News

Private M-1 group Edinburgh stop design offers to subsidise Detroit operations The private sector group leaves room for growth backing the 4.8km (three- EDINBURGH’S under-con- mile) light rail line on Detroit’s struction tramline will see a dif- Woodward Avenue said in ferent-design stop to the remain- late April that not only has it der, at York Place, as the city’s raised all the money to build council argues it will be ‘tem- the US line, but has now porary’ pending extension of the also pledged to cover the UK line to Leith and Newhaven. costs for the first ten years of Under the original scheme, operation. the stop after St Andrew Square The M-1 Group outlined would have been Picardy Place the proposal in a report to but now trams will enter York the federal government, Place to turn back and the extra overcoming one of the main stop will facilitate these arrange- points of contention for a city ments. York Place stop would be struggling with financing its removed if the tramline is extend- current transport obligations. ed further, but opposition council- lors have suggested that it should Tributes to West remain even if that happens. Midlands’ ITA Chair Some 11 of Edinburgh’s 27 Angus Adams trams had been delivered to Tributes have been paid to Gogar depot by mid-April and Angus Adams, chairman of were undertaking commission- Above: The currently delivered CAF trams for the Edinburgh Tram Project line up the West Midlands Integrated ing trials on the short stretch of at the Gogar depot on Easter Monday, 9 April 2012. Paul Tetlaw Transport Authority (UK), who test track alongside the depot. died in April. More deliveries are expected at The manifesto for May’s coun- Walk and Little France once the Mark Dowd, who chairs about three- to four-weekly in- cil elections from Edinburgh’s existing line is completed. the Integrated Transport tervals. It is still hoped that alter- current ruling party, the Liberal The Liberal Democrats Authorities Special Interest native homes could be found for Democrats, includes a proposal argue that this could possibly Group, said Mr Adams surplus trams not required until for expansion of the tram network be achieved by attracting private had “a real commitment to the full line is built. beyond York Place to serve Leith finance. serving the interests of public transport, and the people of the West Midlands.” Geoff Inskip, Centro Mayoral candidates support expansion chief executive, said: “We are going to sorely miss THE two leading candidates for the post of Mayor said the extension would go ahead paid for by the the drive, experience and of London have both expressed support for expan- “sheer size” of surpluses at TfL. He also promised enthusiasm of Angus Adams. sion of the UK capital’s Tramlink system. to reinstate work on the project, He was a visionary who Incumbent mayor Boris Johnson (Conservative) cancelled in 2008. worked hard to deliver a has said he believes an extension to Crystal Palace In Wimbledon, Mr Johnson told electors that he world-class public transport will take place within five years, as Government was committed to the proposed Merton extension of system for the people of the funding will be made available due to his close man- Tramlink, but could offer no indication of funding West Midlands.” agement of cost reduction at Transport for London. or timescales. Former mayor Ken Livingstone (Labour) has The election was to take place on 3 May. Sydney monorail and light rail sold to government

A Sydney monorail train on the The New South Wales government has purchased one-way loop to Darling Harbour. the private company Metro Transit Sydney (MTS) M. R. Taplin that owns the Darling Harbour monorail loop and the existing light rail line from Central Station to Lilyfield. The sale price was AUD19.8m (EUR16m). The move will facilitate the closure and demoli- tion of the monorail in 2013-14, and the extension of the light rail line from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill (already under construction). The monorail opened in 1988, and its demoli- tion will make easier both the extension of light rail from the railway station to Circular Quay, and the construction of a rebuilt convention centre at Darling Harbour. The two lines in private ownership have never been integrated into the Sydney public transport system, and are operated by Veolia on behalf of MTS. The move has been welcomed by the City Council, which has long campaigned to get the monorail removed. It is reported that the Tasmanian city of Hobart has expressed an interest in taking the dismantled monorail.

212 june 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE Tailor-making tomorrow’s rail

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15629_Tata Steel Rail TramwaysUrban A4 AW.indd 1 25/04/2012 16:42 Blackpool New life for an icon Following a GBP101.7m four-year renewal designed to support local regeneration, the world-famous Blackpool Tramway opened in time for huge Easter crowds – TAUT reports.

REPORT BY NEIL PULLING, IMAGES BY NEIL PULLING AND TONY STEVENSON

and other modern systems helped make Blackpool’s tramway, reliant upon 1930s stock or later vehicles of patchy reliability, seem ever more anachronistic. By 1963 the tramway no longer served ‘inland’ Blackpool, with closures from the inter-war years prompted by Blackpool Corporation Transport introducing buses. Also reducing demand for the trams were long-distance coaches and later private cars, inherently less rooted to specific locations than fixed links for delivering or collecting the all-important visitors. Similar factors would also contribute to eroding Blackpool’s railway connections. If not for Blackpool’s emblematic association with trams and an extant infrastructure, it would not have been a strong candidate for a new light rail operation. Without history’s legacy, the population’s size and distribution would have placed it well down any UK pecking order for a new system. It was therefore far from inevitable that Blackpool would even keep the tramway that was literally part of the landscape and second only to the Tower as a symbol of the town. As part of the area’s public transport, accessibility shortcomings and aged equipment and infrastructure could ultimately only lead to enforced closure. Although historic trams retained a significant tourist and enthusiast appeal, they had little future for underpinning a reliable service for a year-round core market. The renewal project approved for funding in 2008 (and ratified in June 2009) was based on an operation already more inter-urban in nature than a traditional town tramway. Approximately 11 miles (18km) of track connect Starr Gate at the southern end of Blackpool’s promenade with Fleetwood to the north via a nearly unbroken string of smaller communities. The route is mainly on or very close to the Irish Sea shore of , a low-lying tongue of land between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries. Most of the largely twin-track route lies within reserved space, either paved alongside roadways or on fenced sleepered track. There are however a total of 14 road crossings. With the renewal project, some were closed off and the remainder are now protected by traffic lights, which have come under control of tram movements. The only substantial sharing of space with road vehicles is north of Fisherman’s Walk stop (previously Ash Street) in Fleetwood. From here the tracks are in the centre of the main shopping street before dividing to a single track uni-directional return loop containing Fleetwood Ferry terminus and the landmark lighthouse. Turning the tide lackpool, in the north-west of England, occupies a Above: Tram 008 A business case compiled by consultants Steer Davies particular place in the nation’s social history. It was with the return Gleave for Council and Lancashire not the first seaside resort, but a combination of rail working of the Council sought to retain the tramway, but not as the linksB with densely-populated industrial areas when leisure inaugural run on transport curiosity largely within the realm of tourist time was increasing helped make it an archetype of mass 3 April. Blackpool’s operation that it had gradually become. tourism destinations. iconic Tower is seen Some remedial and replacement work on the system had After decades of pre-eminence in British culture, many in the background. already been carried out to maintain operations early in factors have eroded visitor numbers and radically changed Neil Pulling the 21st Century, but this was more stop-gap than solution. the pattern of tourists seeking overnight stays, however it Services (BTS) staff were (and are), remains the country’s largest such attraction. Embedded however, highly proficient in turning out a passenger in Blackpool’s complex identity is a tram service opened service fleet from an extraordinary collection of vehicles to the public in September 1885. The oldest amongst subject to assorted re-building over the decades. Even so, first-generation UK electric tramways, it underwent many the forecast was that only major investment would stop changes on the way to becoming the last in normal service. the infrastructure becoming unusable even before the old The nation’s penultimate closure had been Sheffield in trams would become barred from daily operational use by 1962, but that city’s Supertram (which opened in 1994) accessibility legislation by 2020.

214 june 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org The case submitted to the UK’s in 2005 sought state funding that would, with other contributions, provide complete system modernisation. The bid outcome was far from certain, for populations of the main centres, Blackpool (around 142 000) and Fleetwood (27 000), are much lower than those served by other UK light rail projects like , Sheffield, the West Midlands or Nottingham. Tourism statistics fluctuate greatly, but the BBC reported that 2008’s 1.38 million overnight visitors represented a 26% fall from the figures from the previous year; day visitors remained substantial but are far more weather-sensitive and less valuable in spending terms. Blackpool’s holiday-based golden years seem long gone, but recent years have shown revival. Supporting tourism remains crucial for an economy that has taken many blows such as the decline of Fleetwood’s port and the closure of the Isle of Man ferry service in 2010. Rising unemployment has been accompanied by other social problems and evident deterioration of the building stock: overall the Fylde coast was struggling. Despite being regarded as favourite, in January 2007 Blackpool lost out to north-western neighbour Manchester Above: In need of attention: Centenary Class 642 descends over a paving patchwork on as the designated location of the UK’s first Las Vegas-style Queen’s Promenade on 10 October 2007. Neil Pulling ‘super casino’ complex. The blow of missing this economic lifeline was little softened when the whole project was dropped in the following year. However, January 2008 brought Government approval for funding the project for the tramway’s near-total renewal. Rebuilding for the future The total cost of the project is put at GBP101.7m (EUR124m): GBP68.285m from the UK Department for Transport, GBP17.735m from Blackpool Council, GBP15.25m from Lancashire County Council and GBP0.67m from the INTERREG IVB North West Europe Programme which relates to the EU TramStore21 scheme in which Blackpool participates. The tramway’s transformation ran in parallel with other projects aimed at restoring visitor appeal. A striking transition has been along much of the seafront promenade with many new multi-million pound attractions. The promenade is also the area’s main north-south road. The Irish Sea’s often placid appearance belies occasional ferocity and long-term erosion. Defence works were integrated with breaking up the strict lines of the old promenade to produce more interesting vistas. The tracks pass through a large area, the Tower Festival Headland, designed to encourage a freer flow of pedestrians, Above: Balloons 712 and 708 at Starr Gate terminus on 11 October 2004. This area was although such an outcome calls for even greater vigilance completely redeveloped, with the new depot created on land to the left of this view. Neil Pulling by tram drivers already versed in the errant behaviour of revellers, the unpredictable nature of small children and the generally distracted. But for the smart new 2 trams, the renewed Blackpool tramway would remain largely recognisable to someone who had not visited for many years, but the differences are substantial. A major change required for transition to modern low-floor trams was installing 32m-long, 280mm above rail-level platforms with ramp access. A total of 74 new platforms have been provided and this and other construction works were undertaken mainly by BAM Nuttall. The previous pavement-level boarding is now restricted to ‘Heritage Tram Tours’ whose stops are separate from the new platforms. Heritage stops are denoted by green signs between the Pleasure Beach loop and Bispham. The traditional look has been retained for overhead equipment and lineside barriers along the line, but the majority of this is also new. Opening the distinction between a parallel bus service run by the same operator, the Blackpool tramway now has markedly fewer stops, down from over 60 at one stage to 38. Combined with the new vehicles’ better acceleration and braking characteristics, this has contributed to cutting the scheduled journey time by 15 minutes between termini Above: Blackpool hit the opening target, but with little time for test running. Two days before to 50 minutes. the public opening, Flexity 2 007 curves past St Peter’s Church, Fleetwood. Neil Pulling

www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org june 2012 215 Blackpool

The rebuild and the new technology allow access from either direction into Talbot Square. Blackpool Transport Services’ headquarters and its tram An aspiration of the council is to extend tracks for depot which opened in 1935 is in Rigby Road. Just inland approximately 700 metres from here along Talbot Road to and connected to the service line by two spurs (one active Blackpool North station, the more central and much busier from near Manchester Square), Rigby Road was not only of the town’s two termini. unsuited to the new trams, it is also in an area that may Estimated in the 2011-16 LTP to cost GBP15m, the project be redeveloped. is not currently funded, although a determination of how The Bombardier trams use the new GBP20m Starr serious the council is should be seen by the fact that the fleet Gate facility constructed over 18 months by contractor of 16 new Flexity 2 trams is more than sufficient for current VolkerFitzpatrick, which also installed track on approach services and can also accommodate the additional link. to the site. Not the initial choice of location, and approved In the context of an 11-mile (18km) ‘main line’ the in January 2010, the development was once subject to short Talbot Road extension would seem to promise objections by some nearby residents. It is next to what Below left: At the disproportionate benefits. Increasing the appeal of wholly was Blackpool tramway’s latest extension (1926) on land system’s southern public transport journeys is particularly relevant as previously used for beach-front entertainments. end, Starr Gate the coastal strip is popular with commuters to Preston Most functions are housed in the large single building depot and track are and Manchester. With Talbot Road being in the main with seven storage tracks and three maintenance tracks, two under construction shopping area and the core of the Talbot Gateway building with maintenance pits. The Hegenscheidt wheel lathe can in October 2010. project, the extension would logically be more easily be used for both the Flexity 2 and heritage fleet and, like Tony Stevenson accommodated as part of the redevelopment. the Eurogamma mobile lifting jacks, exemplify a design for The other mooted extension is to the airport beyond Starr optimum speed and ease of maintenance. Below centre: Gate depot, although this is seen as secondary to the line to Vehicle storage is all under cover, due to the harsh Sharing the main Blackpool North. elemental forces in the town next to the sea, with each of roads with other the ten tracks able to hold two trams. A Zephir Crab 1500E traffic meant Organisation and services battery tractor is used for moving trams without overhead that rebuilding in The tramway, including that section extending into the power around the site. Fleetwood was the neighbouring Lancashire , belongs to Starr Gate is a participant in the EU-promoted most disruptive Blackpool Council, a unitary authority. TramStore21 project, one of four benchmark sites for the aspect of the With national bus deregulation enacted in October creation and operation of new tram depots. project: Lord Street 1986, tram and bus operations became the responsibility During the three years spanning the project delivery, in in August 2010. of Blackpool Council’s arms-length subsidiary Blackpool commercial terms it was Fleetwood that took the brunt of Tony Stevenson Transport Services which remains in that role. Although the rebuilding phase due to the works in the main streets not unique to Blackpool, public sector operation of local disrupting shop access. Suspending tram services also transport is nevertheless now unusual in the UK. removed a favoured way for Blackpool tourists extending Below right: Trams Identified as ‘LRT (Trams)’ at the rear of the ‘March 2012 their visit to Fleetwood, which has no direct passenger are unloaded until further notice’ timetable, the weekday service from railway access. For the route overall, BTS bus 1 almost outside the depot 4 April is mainly at 20-minute intervals, 30 minutes from exactly replicates the tramway’s coverage and served as the compound: 002 18.00. It begins with an 05.00 departure from Starr Gate, replacement: it remains in operation but may be reviewed meets Blackpool the 05.55 return being the earliest from Fleetwood. It ends with experience gained through 2012. rails on 16 with the 23.55 from Fleetwood, with Friday and Saturday An important preparation for the future are points December 2011. variations including a later service to reflect nightlife installed near the North Pier to create a delta junction to Tony Stevenson demand. Sundays, 07.00-23.55, are every 30 minutes.

Depot Rail are pleased to support Blackpool and have supplied depot equipment for the Blackpool Tram Project. Depot Rail Ltd – Supply and service of all types of depot equipment Telephone: +44 (0)1427 619512 | Email: [email protected] | Website: www.depotrail.co.uk

216DRail QPjune horiz.indd 2012 1 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org 25/4/12 14:06:25 Above: Mobile jacks add flexibility to the three tracks of the new depot’s maintenance area. Neil Pulling Below: Designed for the new fleet, Starr Gate can also be used for heritage tram maintenance. Neil Pulling

The new service joined BTS’ 15 scheduled bus routes Above: Bombardier’s Trams old and new and they share a common ticketing framework. Reaching world launch of the Blackpool Transport Services’ trams fall into three inland to Poulton-le-Fylde, buses extend to Lytham to the new Flexity 2 categories: Flexity 2, double-deck Balloons with modified south and north to Knott End, which also has a foot-ferry vehicle was held at doors and mixed types comprising the heritage fleet. link to near the new Fleetwood Ferry tram stop. This Starr Gate depot in Broad features of the are firmly was amended with the rebuilding, combining previously September 2011. in the modern European mainstream – five sections over separate departure and arrival functions at a single location. Tony Stevenson 32.2m and 2.65m wide, fully low-floor, level access and BTS is taking a low-key, conservative approach to with air conditioning – but they are strikingly different from re-introducing trams to the public: that there is a bus vehicles that have preceded them. Even their number series, shown on the front of the timetable covering the new 001-016, represents a break from the past. service launch seems a metaphor for the restraint. The Blackpool Council’s project manager for the upgrade, www.blackpooltransport.com website shows similar Paul Grocott, oversaw the 12-month procurement process. reluctance in portraying the new rail vehicles and, in With no tie to a delivery consortium, there was the contrast to common practice with such projects elsewhere in opportunity to acquire exactly the vehicles wanted and Mr Europe, saying little in advance about the service to come. Grocott visited many systems and manufacturers, placing Caution may have been prompted by a few acknowledged reliability, ease of maintenance and overall operating costs ‘gremlins’ with the new depot and system and incomplete high amongst the criteria for selection. works such as access to stops and installing metal sheets The 16 Flexity 2 trams are from a single GBP33m order, level with the railhead at stops on sleepered track. without options, placed with Bombardier in July 2009. The system ‘went metric’ with the renewal; speed There is seating for 74 in a total capacity of 224. This is a limits are 30km/h (19mph) in road/paved areas and location where the level entry and space for wheelchairs 50km/h (31mph) elsewhere where there is the potential and pushchairs is likely to very well received. for faster running over fenced track. It remains a request Carrying small Lancashire County Council and stop system and the new trams are fitted with a call and Blackpool Council logos, their metallic purple and white acknowledgement system. livery with wave lining is new to the tramway and draws Of the transformed operating conditions, Trevor Roberts, upon Blackpool Council’s corporate colours. Contrary to Managing Director of Blackpool Transport Services, said, the all-over advertising liveries often see a on the heritage “We want a summer’s experience of running the new trams trams, advertising is being sold for side panels above the – and we don’t yet know what can be done with running old window and the lower panel of the centre section only. and new together.” Blackpool was the launch customer for the new model, By the 4 April reopening there were 25 drivers approved of which Germar Wacker, Bombardier Transportation’s for the Flexity 2. Drawn from existing staff, most had President Light Rail Vehicles, says: “It builds on decades of been re-trained locally. A small group to cascade the experience in making trams. It has the latest technology in training gained experience of modern low-floor vehicles in aspects like comfort, ease of maintenance and crash and Nottingham, which operates Bombardier’s Incentro model. fire protection.”

www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org june 2012 217 Blackpool

As well as final vehicle assembly, Bombardier’s Bautzen production facility builds the bodies; electrical equipment is from Mannheim, bogies from Siegen and driver cabs, which include touchscreen controls, from Vienna. Routed via the Rotterdam – Hull ferry crossing and then transferred from the port via the motorway network, they are delivered to Starr Gate fully assembled and ready to run. The order should be complete by June 2012. Bombardier will maintain a depot presence for the two-year warranty period, integrating with the BTS team. Already much-modified over the years, severalBalloon trams built from 1934 by in nearby Preston have had substantial changes, notably passenger door extensions to make them compatible with the new infrastructure within the normal service. They are most likely to be used on the busiest section between Pleasure Beach – the vast amusement park which is one of Blackpool’s principal attractions – and . Like the Flexity 2 stock, the modifiedBalloons are within the operational fleet, although ordinarily will remain based at Rigby Road. One maintenance track at Starr Gate depot does not have overhead power lines to allow space for Above: Fleetwood lifting the bodies and the washer has a preset programme Ferry terminus is that takes account of their shape. on a single track BTS’ Bryan Lindop (also the voice of the Flexity 2’s loop and next to a on-board audio) now oversees the heritage operation that substation, awaiting began on the Easter weekend following the main opening. Many trams have been disposed of, some to preservation completion on 3 societies and working museums as reported in TAUT, but April. Neil Pulling Blackpool retains a substantial fleet. Lindop said that of the trams licensed for use, a maximum Top right: Pending of six would be needed at any one time. They will operate the opening of alongside the new stock but under a different regime. He the northern-most added: “Once the new system opens, [unmodified] vintage substation, drivers trams will no longer legally be able to operate in conventional used a token to stage carriage service and they will therefore become a ensure only one pleasure ride. The operation will be the direct equivalent of tram at a time running heritage rail tours on a main line railway.” was north of Special prices apply: GBP10 per adult and family tickets Fisherman’s Walk. at GBP30, which include that day’s travel on all BTS Neil Pulling services. Regarding (yet unfunded) dedicated storage for the Heritage fleet in space set aside at Starr Gate – which Below right: The could be necessitated if Rigby Road became unavailable – Mr Lindop acknowledges the advantages, but points out Flexity 2 driver’s that a new facility would allow fewer old vehicles to be cab. Neil Pulling retained than at present. Heritage services will initially operate at weekends Below: One of several and Bank Holidays. During the school summer holiday points installed for there will be daily operation. Blackpool’s peak tourist the future, those season is extended by the ever-popular autumn seafront at Talbot Square ‘Illuminations’ when trams tours will be bookable in are for extending advance and illuminated trams like 737 ‘Fleetwood to Blackpool North Trawler’ or 736 ‘HMS Blackpool’ will operate. station. Neil Pulling Opening Blackpool’s new show On a rainy and wind-lashed Tuesday 3 April the guests invited for the first passenger run were glad of the trip starting from inside Starr Gate depot. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Norman Baker MP met the project team and was shown around the facilities by Paul Grocott. The crew of tram 008 for the opening run was driver/trainer Adele Taylor and conductors (for once not having to collect any fares) Sophie Eccles and Phillip McGreavey. The first stop was to collect winners of a ‘Golden Tickets’ competition for local residents to be aboard for the return trip to Fleetwood and lunch. Councillor Fred Jackson, Blackpool’s Cabinet Member for Street and Transport, said: “The Golden Ticket competition gave residents a chance to be part of a historic event for the town. These new trams offer residents so many more opportunities in terms of speed and accessibility. It’s now a viable mode of transport for people travelling to work, school or shopping.” Mr Baker performed the ceremonial ribbon cutting across a double door of 008. In weather that might have made the Talbot Road extension to the station especially appealing,

218 june 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org “The new trams offer residents so many more opportunities in terms of speed and accessibility. It’s now a viable mode of transport for people travelling to work, school or shopping.” Blackpool Councillor Fred Jackson, Cabinet Member for Street and Transport he acknowledged that the pre-planning with the points Above: The Heritage service has its own pavement-level stops, as near Cabin. Neil Pulling installation and the line itself made sense, saying that the council would need to press for the project. Below left: Driver/Trainer Adele Taylor ‘trains’ Norman Baker MP on the Flexity 2. Neil Pulling Further on the opening trip, the tramway’s importance for communities north of Blackpool was apparent from the scale Below right: ‘Trawler’ 737 rejoins the service tracks at Little Bispham on 2 April. Neil Pulling of welcomes the tram received in Cleveleys and Fleetwood. The first day of revenue service, 4 April, brought unwanted headlines due to the derailment of the first service that had left Starr Gate at 05.00. Shortly after the 05.55 return started from Fleetwood Ferry, the leading bogie of tram 006 derailed. Strong winds overnight had blown sand from dunes on the nearby Wyre river bank which accumulated in the grooved rail. Passengers were transferred to a bus, but services continued by turning back from Fisherman’s Walk until mid-morning when the northern section was restored. As with some other British tramways, conductors are a feature on Blackpool trams, contributing to security and passenger information. Exercising their revenue control function has however been tested by the length and multiple doors of the Bombardier trams. This was apparent on the first public day, which although busy, did not take place with the type of crowds attracted by good weather. In previous peak times two conductors would be allocated to double- deck trams, but this clearly increases operating costs. Even with fewer transactions due to the rise in the use of passes or advance tickets, the checking process remains a challenge. Blackpool hit its target of restoring tram services in the week before Easter 2012, but project slippage in some areas ate into time planned for ghost running (as per the marche à blanc on French tramways). Work continued after the opening, but it proved necessary to temporarily close some stops. The renewed tramway’s debut was a well-received performance that, of necessity, was denied some rehearsal time. This may have contributed to early issues, but identifying that visitors were responding well to the changes, the head of the local accommodation trade body commented Above: Points installed at Thornton Gate give access to a former permanent way site, also that it was far better for the trams to be running even if some forwarded as a location for a tram museum. Neil Pulling tweaks were needed, rather than having no service at all. Swamped by greater-than-predicted Easter crowds, BTS Below: Blackpool Council’s Hire-a-Bike system introduced in 2009 is well represented near pressed two modified Balloon trams into passenger service, the tramway: 008 near Gynn Square. Neil Pulling the staff coping admirably with the conditions. Modernising Blackpool’s tramway – opening on time and to budget – while keeping the best and most recognisable features from the past is a metaphor for what the town itself is trying to do. As far as light rail is concerned, high quality ingredients are there and the signs are very promising. TAUT

blackpool tramway facts . 8km of track replaced . 5km of track fencing replaced . 38 DDA-compliant stops . 74 new platforms . 16 new Flexity 2 32m trams . 14 road crossings – tram priority . All substations refurbished . All equipment replaced

www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org june 2012 219 Wilcomatic Illuminating Blackpool’s trams Blackpool’s state-of-the-art tramwash can detect and service both the modern and heritage fleets.

he trainwash division of Wilcomatic, to by using Blackpool Transport Services’ tram the UK’s leading independent supplier detection system, which is normally used to of vehicle wash equipment, has just automatically operate level crossings and interact completedT a major installation for the most with signals. This means that energy and water famous tramline in the UK – Blackpool. can be conserved and wear reduced by only using The installation is part of a complete the higher vertical brushes and jets if the tram is a modernisation of the whole system, which double-deck vehicle. has also seen Blackpool Transport Services John Madigan, technical manager Wilcomatic purchasing 16 large, ultra-modern Flexity 2 Rail Division, said: “The trams need to be trams from Bombardier. These will supplement operated by a driver through the wash bay, guided the trams from the heritage fleet, some of which by signals in the bay. However, the tram detection date back to the 1930s, which are being kept saves them the responsibility of selecting the for viewing the famous illuminations and other correct cleaning program. attractions during peak holiday times. “The speed of the wash depends on the size Wilcomatic was brought in by main contractor and design of the tram; the 32m long Flexity 2 Volker Fitzpatrick, with the brief of designing types take around 12 minutes for a full wash, and building a wash that could accommodate the while a heritage tram takes roughly 15 minutes, different types of tram that Blackpool operates. but this is much faster than the hand washing that The installation is 6.2m high, to accommodate the new system replaces.” the 4.8m-high double-decker heritage trams, and Quicker wash programs are available for features eight brushes, a pre-rinse and a reverse cleaning the sides only. osmosis system, to produce a streak-free finish. Because the Blackpool tramway runs along the Approximately 90% of all the water used in the seafront, the equipment has been manufactured wash is recycled, with 10% lost to atmosphere. in stainless steel to protect it from excessive www.wilcomaticrailwash.co.uk The height, length and other specifications of detrimental corrosion from the often harsh [email protected] every tram on the fleet are identified and adapted environment. TAUT

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www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org JUNE 2012 221 Advertorial Next-generation rail-grinding Introducing Sersa Group’s GRail1, the revolutionary street-compatible bi-directional rail-grinder

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222 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org systems factfile No. 57 Pittsburgh, USA After the successful recent opening of a controversial USA pittsburgh USD523m extension under the Allegheny River, the ‘T’ light rail system in Pennsylvania’s second city may grow further into Allegheny County.

report and images by vic simons

ittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US State Above: Car 4207 in . The last PCC tramway, the Drake branch, of Pennsylvania, located approximately 640km pictured at the closed in 1999. One of the PCC cars is on permanent static (400 miles) west of Philadelphia and the Atlantic newly-opened display outside the South Hills maintenance facility. coast.P It is located at the junction of the Allegheny and Allegheny terminus The present system is run by the Port Authority of Monongahela rivers, which combine to form the Ohio. on the North Shore Allegheny County and is marketed as the ‘T’. There are Until the 1980s Pittsburgh was a steel-making city and Connector. In the effectively two routes operating from Downtown Pittsburgh a centre for heavy industry. Following the closure of the background Heinz to South Hills Junction and Library via either Beechview steelworks, the city reinvented itself as a commercial and Field – home to the (the Red line) or Overbrook (the Blue line). light industrial centre. Pittsburgh itself has a population in Pittsburgh Steelers Until March 2012 the Downtown terminus for both lines excess of 300 000 people with more than a million living in American Football was the underground Wood Street station. The previous the surrounding Allegheny County. Downtown underground terminus, Gateway, had closed in The current light rail system grew out of the remains of a team – and the 2009 to enable construction of the North Shore Connector. once extensive tramway that operated both within the city Allegheny River are From Wood Street, the line runs east to Steel Plaza Station and as an interurban running as far afield as Washington visible. before turning south and rising onto a viaduct to the last PA, close to the West Virginia state border. The remnant of downtown station, First Avenue. This is the last station in this interurban is now the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum the Downtown free ride zone. ➤

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the fleet The fleet comprises 55 SiemensSD-400 LRVs purchased 1984-86, plus a further 28 vehicles bought from CAF in 2003-04. The original fleet was refurbished at the same time. All cars are high-floor, double-ended and articulated, 25m long and 2.65m wide with a maximum speed of 50mph (80km/h), operating at 30mph (48km/h).

Map courtesy of the Port Authority of Allegheny County

224 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net l www.Irta.org Above: Street running but on reserved segregated track approaching Stevenson station. Right: Typical street running in the Dormont district near Shiras station. “Pittsburgh’s current light rail system grew out of the remains of Left: The simple yet functional cab interior of car 4228. a once extensive tramway” The whole of the Downtown section was completely From Overbrook Junction the combined lines have a rebuilt in 1980-87, and culminated in the opening of the further four stations before they diverge, with the Western Downtown subway. All the Downtown stations are well branch proceeding to the South Hill terminus. The long lit, and equipped with full information displays and ticket southern branch to Library terminus is much more of a vending machines. For visitors, Steel Plaza station is a little traditional streetcar operation, although running on old confusing with four platforms and no obvious delineation railroad right-of-way. Most stations are small wayside halts as to which service departs from which platform. with restricted boarding and alighting facilities, passenger Leaving the Downtown area both routes cross the information is not as plentiful as in the rebuilt or downtown Monongahela River on a former railroad bridge before stations. The distance from downtown to Library is 27.4km Below: The South entering the 1.1km (0.68-mile) Mount Washington , (17.3 miles). Hills maintenance emerging at South Hills Junction. Here the two branches The 4km (2.5-mile) Allentown branch (known as the facility and depot. split into the western arm (Beechview) and the eastern arm Brown line) to South Hills Junction but avoiding the Mount (Overbrook). The two branches come together again just Washington tunnel is temporarily out of service. There is no south of Overbrook Junction. The latter is normally the date yet for it to reopen. It is currently bus-operated. Red line terminus but peak hour and depot journeys The North Shore Connector, known as TPlus, opened continue on to South Hills Village. The Blue line continues for regular services on 25 March 2012. Planning for the to both the South Hill Village and Library termini at all 1.95km (1.2-mile) extension started in the 1990s, with operational times. federal funding agreed in 2004. This USD523m project An unusual feature of both lines is that the stations are has turned Gateway into a through station – and added a either high platform or low platform depending on station distinctive glass domed roof that floods the platform with configuration. The other complicating factor for visiting light creating an inviting public space soon to become a passengers is that fares can be paid at either entrance or iconic city landmark – and added two further stations; the exit depending on route and direction of travel. Outside the Port Authority estimates that around 4000 jobs were created free fare zone there are two payment zones, inner and outer, during the design and construction phases, which included encircling the downtown area. the boring of twin tunnels under the Allegheny River. From South Hills Junction the Blue line takes the eastern, The new line runs underground at first, passing under Overbrook route. The 8.4km (5.1-mile) route is hilly and the river to its first new station at North Side, which serves mostly on private right of way. Only two of the eight facilities including the Andy Warhol Museum. On leaving stations have low platforms. From 2000-04 this line was North Side the line rises to an elevated right of way, ending completely rebuilt with mainly full platforms, all equipped at Allegheny station (park-and-ride), which is near to the with information and ticket machines. baseball and American football stadiums. The Red line takes the western branch from South Also serving the Community College of Allegheny Hills Junction. This branch has more traditional streetcar County and many of the city’s most important tourist characteristics, with street running and low platform halts. attractions, the line’s purpose of providing a fixed physical Between Dormont Junction and Mount Lebanon stations link to residential and entertainment centres areas is seen as the line passes through the approximately 1km (0.63-mile) key to the further development of light rail into other parts Mount Lebanon Tunnel. of Allegheny County. ➤

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network facts . Opened: 1984 . Lines: Two (Red and Blue, which splits into two branches) . Length: 26.2 miles (42.2km) . Approximate weekday hours: 04.30-01.30 . Main frequency: Blue line 30 mins; Red line 15 mins: with an enhanced service at peak times and reduced on Sundays . Gauge: 1588mm . Power: 650dc overhead supply . Fleet: 83 . Depots: One (South Hills Village Rail Center) . Operator: Port Authority of Allegheny County INFORMATION . Transport network: www.portauthority.org . Civic information: www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us . Tourist information: www.visitpittsburgh.com

Supporting almost USD400m in new economic Above: Car 4223 development and USD750m in existing development, the laying over at Castle TPlus service should transform the transit landscape of the Shannon having north side of the city. It will also reduce parking within the completed a journey Downtown area by locating the North Side Station under a from Allegheny new car park, increasing transit options for those residents station, just north of on the North side of the city. Average ridership is predicted the junction where at over 14 000 passengers per day, with over four million the Red and Blue annually, taking into account fans travelling to and from lines converge. sporting events. Further extensions have been proposed, to Pittsburgh Right: PCC 4001 sits International Airport, the Parkway West/Airport Corridor and the North Hills. on display outside Best of all for passengers, travel on the North Shore the South Hills Connector is free for three years under a sponsorship deal maintenance facility. pittsburgh: essential FACTS with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rivers Casino, ALCO Parking Local travel Corp and Pittsburgh Stadium Authority. Below: The extensively There is a free fare zone in the Downtown area. The light rail The system’s main maintenance facility and workshop route between Downtown and Washington Junction is in Zone is located immediately beyond the South Hills terminus remodelled 1, with the remainder in Zone 2. Fares can be purchased opposite a major shopping mall. TAUT Gateway station. from ticket machines or by paying the driver; ticket checking and payment is as you board when riding towards Downtown but on leaving the train on outbound journeys. Some stations are manned (particularly at peak times), so that checking takes place either before boarding or after leaving the train. During peak times ‘T’ passengers pay a premium fare, and there are weekly, monthly and annual passes, and a ten-ride ticket, all available for one or two zones. There are discounted fares for students and senior citizens. There are also three busways that operate as bus only rapid transit with dedicated rights of way.

What is there to see? Pittsburgh has a thriving Downtown, but there are also out of town retail and entertainment complexes. Major Pittsburgh museums include the Carnegie museums covering art, natural history and science, as well as the work of Andy Warhol. There are two inclines located on Mount Washington to the south that afford spectacular views across the city and the confluence of the rivers. Opened in 1870, the 192m (635ft) long Monongahela incline rises 120m (367ft) on a 35° gradient. There are two parallel tracks on which two cars operate at 11km/h (6mph). Each car can carry 23 passengers. The Duquesne incline is slighter longer at 241m (794ft) and rises to 121m (400ft) on a 30° gradient. There are two parallel tracks on which two cars operate at 6km/h (3.6mph). Both inclines use the standard Port Authority fare system.

226 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net l www.Irta.org Lyon

Lyon’s expanding light rail landscape

Arguably France’s second city, Lyon has supported major metro and tramway developments in recent years – with much more still to come. Report and images by Eric Stuart

yon in central-eastern France is an ancient city, Above: The operator in charge of the doors and despatch. Line D has two- dating back beyond Roman times. Nowadays, it is triangular junction car trains and is fully automatic, but without platform doors. arguably France’s second largest city after Paris, at Bron. T2 trams The fourth line, C, uses two-car trains and ingeniously Lbeing generally accepted to have overtaken Marseilles. It is are on their route to contrives – in its comparatively short length – to include new also said – after Paris – to be the most congested. and from the depot tunnels, a former funicular (now using a rack section) and the The city’s transport is now run by a syndicate of local at St Priest and the inner end of a closed SNCF line. Line C uses conventional authorities called SYTRAL (Syndicat Mixte des Transports terminus at St Priest steel wheel on steel rail, and has recently been refurbished. pour le Rhône et l’Agglomération Lyonnaise), using the Bel Air. Note the The Metro lines use left-hand running, as does most of SNCF. brand TCL (Transports en Commun Lyonnaise). Operation interlaced points. Metro security includes a device to detect people on the is through a contractor, Keolis. track at stations, halting trains. There is an increasing use of SNCF (state railway) local Lines A, B and D were built to take trains longer than services to commute, as the cost of city living escalates currently operate, as the platforms could take four-car and people move back to the countryside. Services and trains. Cars on line D have been converted from transverse facilities are being improved to cater for this; a new inner- to inward-facing seating and those for lines A and B are city station, Jean Macé, was opened in 2009 and there is a now being similarly converted – this is perceived as a proposal to re-open a closed local line. cheaper solution to overcrowding than lengthening trains. Some three years ago, Lyon embarked on a project to With the increased cost of metros and an original virtually double its trolleybus system, partly as a cheaper overestimate of the growth that would be experienced in alternative to trams. One trolleybus route is actually busier Lyon, the network seems unlikely to reach its originally than any tram route, but the municipality’s wish to convert planned size; it has now probably almost reached its limit. it is hampered by narrow streets. A one-stop extension of line A (to interchange with tram route T3) opened on 2 October 2007 and a cross-river A sizeable metro system extension of Metro B to the south of the city is well on the In the 1970s, a sizeable standard-gauge metro network was way to completion, with opening promised for 2013. This planned and now comprises three main routes (A, B and D). will greatly ease movement from a large catchment area Opening in 1978, the vehicles are rubber-tyred, à la Paris. to the Central Business District (CBD). There is talk of a Lines A and B use three-car trains, with an operator seated further short southern extension of this line, but no dates at the front, although operation is normally automatic, with the have yet been given.

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A proposed metro extension to the northwest has also been quietly dropped; no other metro lines are programmed. Trams make a comeback Operation of two new standard-gauge tram routes began in January 2001, when T1 and T2 were opened by the then President, Jacques Chirac. Both routes have been extended in the last few years and some previously proposed metro extensions are now, or will be, covered by parts of tram routes. Some lines feature turn-back facilities, allowing trams from the outer termini to reverse at a metro station, where considerable interchange of passengers takes place. A closed rail line through the eastern suburbs was converted to tramway route T3, opening on 4 December 2006. Trams on T3 run at higher speeds of up to 70km/h (43mph), due to a higher degree of segregated running; vehicles also have extra front and rear crash protection. Much of the route sees the rails laid in grass. The first (southern) phase of a new route (T4) opened on 20 April 2009. Trees had to be felled to make way for the line, but others have been planted as replacements and, together with the grassed track, these make the route very green. No fewer than three extensions are under construction. Above: A tram should open in December. Normal service will be limited When T1 was opened, it terminated at Perrache, one of reversing, having to the built-up area before the airport, with services to the two main SNCF stations. It was later extended a few stops just crossed from terminus restricted to times when expositions are taking place. south to a residential and business area, toward the site of the the other track Ligne T2+ will replace a shuttle bus from a metro station. erstwhile wholesale market. At this time, a single-line, single- over a ‘californien’ The extension of T4 into the CBD and to a university stop extension was built to serve the planned new science and temporary crossover campus started late in 2010, with opening planned for 2013. society-focused Musée des Confluences; both controversy during T2/T2+ This involves running at low level adjacent to the SNCF and delays have been associated with this building. junction work. main line, with a short tunnel under an historic building, Trams have never run regularly on the extension and no Note the tram after which it will run over parts of T3 and T1. platforms exist at the terminus. Events have overtaken this, If the local soccer team moves to a newly built, bigger however, as work has now begun on a tram/pedestrian/cycle replacement buses stadium as has been mooted, a tram branch off T3 may bridge over the river and T1 is to be further extended to in the background. serve that. However, there are qualms as to how such heavy the site of an exhibition hall and on to a stop adjacent to a traffic – often only just coped with by Metro B – would be station on Metro B. This extension should open in 2014. Below: A Rhônexpress handled by trams on an already busy route. A branch from T2 is being built to serve the Expo Tango on the After delays in building the outer section of LESLYS, an exhibition site at Bron Airport (no longer used by large extension between express tram service to Lyon’s airport via T3, the line opened aircraft). The branch is currently called ‘Ligne T2+’ and T3 and the airport. in August 2010, called Rhônexpress. Stadler Tango trams run

‘There is a wish to extend T3 or Rhônexpress around 25km over the Departmental boundary into Isère, yet there are many practical and political issues’

228 june 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org Above: A Lyon tram being shunted in the depot by another. Note the emergency coupler.

Far left: The single line extension of T1 to the Musée des Confluences, never used in service and, from the condition of the track, hardly used at all. The intention is to double-track this section, causing trees to be felled, although it is promised that they will be replaced.

Left: An Alsthom-manufactured MPL75 Line C metro train at the surface terminus – the only place the Metro is above ground in service. at up to 100km/h (62mph) on the outer section. Rhônexpress replaced the previous airport – city centre bus shuttle. Lyon’s urban transport There is a wish to extend T3 or Rhônexpress around Urban transport in Lyon has much the same history as in many continental cities. 25km (15 miles) over the Departmental boundary into Isère. Public transport was originally provided by a number of private concerns. Yet there are practical and political issues: the present line Urban tram routes on a variety of gauges and using a mix of power grew up in is already very busy, with stopping and express trams. Also, the second half of the 19th Century. Some trams were double-deck, as in Paris. There Lyon is a municipality and is in the Rhône Département; to were also rural steam (later diesel) and electric lines with tramway character. cross into Isère would involve three distinct authorities. Subsequently, motor and trolleybuses were introduced, the former at the end of There has been a strong desire to relay and open the World War One and the latter in the 1930s. Some tram routes were converted to former Vaugneray tramway (see History panel), at least in trolleybus operation. A suburban tramline and a lengthy rural electric one lasted until the mid-1950s and part. However, the current plan is to incrementally open the latter may well have been the first tram-train. It started as a metre-gauge steam parts of the trackbed as a busway; there is still the prospect railway, on which the operators wished to open more intermediate stops without of this being converted to tram route in the future. increasing journey times. This was achieved by converting passenger stock to electric operation and later by using urban trams that could haul coaches and non-passenger Lyon’s operations vehicles. Conversion to electric traction coincided with an on-street extension up a hill Signalling for most lines is by traffic-light control and into a town at the end of the line. The line came to be known as the Vaugneray tram. junction protection signals; on T3 these are supplemented by Two other lines were rural extensions of urban lines. These were technically signals interworked with barrier-protected crossings to control advanced, using low voltage dc in town and high voltage ac current in the trams on T3 and Rhônexpress. Right-hand operation applies. countryside. Lyon’s current trams are five-section Urban trams ran on both metre and standard gauge until virtually the end of 302s; the latest order is for seven-section trams to cope operations. What were expected to be the last trams ran in 1958. with the heavy traffic on T3. Lyon has decided that, in the

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short/medium term, coping with increasing traffic will involve ‘stretching’ at least some of the current fleet by two sections. Recent estimates of passengers carried per day are as follows: T1 80 000; T2 76 000; T3 24 000; T4 35 000. SNCF is taking delivery of tram-trains for its West Lyon suburban lines to Brignais, St Bel and Lozanne. However, the new vehicles will not operate into the streets, as happens in Mulhouse. The in-town terminus of the Ouest Lyon network (for more detail see TAUT 890) is St Paul station, an attractive building, but positioned on the extreme northeast corner of the city centre. Onward travel must therefore be made using the frequent articulated trolleybus route C3, although passengers can interchange with Metro D at the penultimate station. Tram services tend to be peaked. Off–peak services on T3 and T4 include intervals as long as 15-20 minutes. Many bus services have recently been intensified and there is pressure to similarly increase the tram service. There is a late-evening ‘Lignes de nuit’ service after about 21.00. This includes all tram, metro, funicular and trolleybus routes, plus some bus routes. There is Above: In summer also a limited nocturnal bus service. Services operate on 2011 a TGV passes Christmas Day, but not 1 May. One feature of French urban the formation of the transport is the significant reduction of services in school T4 extension. This holidays and especially in July/August. is where the line As the local population reduces considerably around follows (for about August, the opportunity is often taken to carry out road a mile) the east repairs that would cause chaos at other times. TCL affects side of the old SNCF its own works at these times: overhead line works are Ligne Imperial. undertaken, as is major trackwork. Motor buses provide tram- replacement services at times and short-term tram reversal at Above right: A some work sites involves the use of portable sets of points. tunnel under the The standard tram stop consists of a platform around Maison du Tabac; 25cm high, with a canopy along around three-quarters of its great care had length, plus seating and one or two ticket machines. There to be taken with is a departure indicator detailing the next two trams and a timetable listing departure times, usually with maps, a route the tunnelling diagram and estimated journey times. underneath this A problem encountered on some sections is conflict with monument so as road vehicles at crossings. Trams have priority, but closures not to damage the to the road have become frequent and trams occasionally building’s structure. have to wait. Only the outer sections of T3/Rhônexpress have crossings with barriers. Below right: A view Extension of T4 will bring a large increase in tram across the Rhône traffic over the in-town sections of T3, Rhônexpress and at Gerland. The T1. Observers have queried the ability of key nodes of the unused terminus of network to cope without further revisions. T1 at the Musée du A feature of the city is the number of large hubs in the Confluence is behind inner suburbs, known as Parcs relais; these are normally the hoardings, to at tram or metro stations. Many include a bus station and a the left of the road large car park and usage of such is free if one uses a valid bridge. TCL ticket when exiting by car. This encourages public A range of ticketing options is in place. Various security transport usage by motorists (thus reducing congestion and fraud-prevention methods are used, including gates at in the city centre), as well as assisting transfer between metro station exits. suburban buses and the tram/metro network. A few shops, Below: Original and Some tram stations are now also likely to receive gates, a bar and TCL sales point exist at most. Many T3 tram new interiors of the although how this will work is unclear. Anti-fraud squads stations also have parking. metro. are used and these are becoming more common. TAUT further information Lyon transport has an active group of followers – Lyon en Ligne – whose comprehensive website includes a TCL fleet list. The group conducts a number of communal activities, including trips around the system. There are also a number of well-illustrated French language books on past and present services in and around Lyon – probably the best being Sur les rails du Lyonnais: Volume 2, by José Banaudo – plus a number of websites, including the Sytral (www.sytral.fr), TCL (www.tcl.fr) and Lyon en Ligne (www.lyon-en-lignes.org) websites. Lyon was covered in a Systems Factfile (TAUT 843, 2008) and an article on the Rhônexpress appeared in TAUT 875 (2010).

230 june 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org Worldwide review

ARGENTINA

BUENOS AIRES. Ten new metro cars are being delivered by the China CNR Corporation for use on the Subte Line A. RGI

AUSTRALIA

MELBOURNE. Public Transport Victoria was launched on 2 April to provide a one-stop shop for public transport information. The 14km (8.7-mile) route 96 from East Brunswick to St Kilda Beach is to be upgraded to receive the first of the new Bombardier trams in 2013. Restaurant tram 937 has been withdrawn to store, and replaced by the newly-converted 964. A. Bailey

Austria

WIEN (Vienna). The southern terminus of extended U-Bahn line U1 will be Oberlaa rather than Rothneusiedel as originally planned; the EUR600m project should be completed in 2017 (work on the common section started in 2010). ‘Comeback of the year’: The first totally refurbished B car for the German city of Bonn is displayed The refitting of 120 E2 trams with chopper for the press in the undertaking’s workshops in March. SWB control by Bombardier has been completed, and will bring energy savings of 9000 MW/year. BULGARIA The 30.5km (18.9-mile) line is due to open in E1 4719 has been withdrawn for scrapping after 2014. A. Bailey an accident. RGI, EB SOFIA. The metro was extended from Mladost 1 to Tsarigradsko Shosse with effect from 25 COSTA RICA BELARUS April. urbanrail.net SAN JOSE. Consultant Systra has undertaken a MINSK. Planned for 7 July is the re-introduction CANADA study to show that a city tramline would be viable. of the tram service on Ulitsa Yakubova in The final report is expected in July. E. B. Havens Serebryanka following the completion of MISSISSAUGA. The first public information renovation work. V. Varaksin session has been held to launch a project for a DOMINICAN REPUBLIC north–south light rail line in this suburban city BELGIUM west of Toronto. E. B. Havens SANTO DOMINGO. The first two metro trains MONTRÉAL. Plans for a new tramway that for line 2 left the Alstom factory near Barcelona ANTWERPEN. The extension of line 15 from have been progressing since the 2009 elections in mid-April, and all 13 should be delivered by Mortsel to Boechout will open on 1 September. have been put on hold for at least the next five later this summer. A. Bailey Changes to the network from that date will be: years because of the need to introduce an austerity 2, Merksem – Harmonie – Hoboken; 4, Silsburg budget. Provincial funding for metro extensions ESTONIA – Groenplaatz – Hoboken; 9, Linkeroever has also been postponed until 2019. E. B. Havens – Eksterlaar; 11, Melkmarkt – Berchem Station; TALLINN. Free tram and bus travel will be 12, Sportpaleis – Bolivarplaat – Groenplaatss; CHINA introduced in 2013 after the idea was backed 15, Linkeroever – Harmonie – Boechout. Route by 75% of those voting in a referendum. 8 will be withdrawn. Routes 3, 5, 6, 7 10 and 24 BEIJING. Bombardier is to supply Mitrac The mayor has said this will make Tallinn remain unchanged. OR propulsion equipment for 63 six-car metro trains the flagship of the green movement in Europe. CHARLEROI. Last month’s photograph ordered from CNR Changchun for line 14, which The subsidy requirement will increase by was taken at the new Solellmont station, not is to open in 2013/14. A. Bailey EUR20m/year. E. B. Havens Charleroi-Sud. This is the terminus of line M4; HONG KONG. Alstom has been awarded the Gosselies line (still to open) will be M3. contracts valued at EUR71m for signalling, track ETHIOPIA The last tram to carry orange Vicinal livery was and electrification on the 7.1km (4.4 mile) South 6104, which was withdrawn after service on Island (East) extension and the 2.6km (1.6-mile) ADDIS ABEBA. The China Railway Eryuam 22 February. However 7404/26/8/48/53/4 Kwung line extension, the first metro Group has taken over the Meshualekia military still have the old colour scheme underneath the contracts that Alstom has won in Hong Kong. camp to set up the light rail project office. The vinyls applied for the inauguration of the new The Executive Council has formally 16.9km (10.5-mile) line from Torhayloch to network. Two other orange trams, 6103/41, are approved the 17km (10.5-mile) Shatin – Central Ayat will be 60% financed by the Chinese being repainted. R. Birgen, T-2000 HKD4.9bn (EUR478m) metro project, with government. A. Bailey OOSTENDE. Crash-damaged TRAM 6030 is work starting later this year for completion in being broken up at Knokke for spares. T-2000 2018-20. The proposed 9km (5.5-mile) monorail FRANCE linking MTR Kowloon Bay station with Kai Tek BRAZIL Development Station Square will not be extended AVIGNON. The tramway project will feature to older areas of Kowloon. An engineering study two lines: A Gare Pontet – St Lazare Hospital – RIO DE JANEIRO. The first of 30 four-car for the Legislative Council cites concerns over Parking Île Plôt (distance 9.6km/5.9 miles), and EMUs from CNR Changchun for suburban rail noise and visual implications, intrusion of privacy, B Gare Centrale – Roummanille – St - Chamant - services was launched on 20 March. These are the financial burden, and technical difficulties. If La Barbiere (5.1km). The EUR250m project will the first Chinese built rapid transit cars in South there is a public consensus, the monorail could receive EUR70m from the versement transport America, but Rip metro has ordered 19 six-car be commissioned by 2023. A. Bailey tax and EUR50m from the state. A. Senut trains from CNR Changchun, to enter service in WUXI. A fleet of 23 six-car metro trains has BORDEAUX. The Declaration of Public Utility time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. A. Bailey been ordered from CSR Zhuzhou to run on line 1. for the Tram-Train du Médoc was issued on 23

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March, covering a 7.1km (4.4-mile) extension of line C to Gare Blanquefort. Despite its title, this is an urban tramway extension, and whether there is a subsequent link to SNCF tracks is still undecided. Work will start towards the end of 2012 and take two years to complete. A. Senut CAEN. This is another city to receive a visit from the Stadler sales team offering its Ecotango product as a low-cost tramway to replace the guided buses for EUR8m/km. A. Senut DIJON. Three Alstom Citadis trams will be borrowed from Brest so that sufficient cars are available for driver training to meet the September opening date. A. Senut NANTES. The first of the 12 new CAF trams was delivered on 13 April. They are being built in Spain, but assembled at CFD de Bagneres de Bigorre. They cost EUR2.5m each. A. Senut

GEORGIA

TBILISI. Systra presented its study for a tramway system on 6 April. The 14km (8.6-mile) line would link the university in the The car chosen for the inauguration of the extension of tramline 1 on 23 March was one of the latest city centre and Ortachaia; the estimated cost Bombardier units. C. Kathmann is EUR150m. Funding will now be sought from international institutions. A. Bailey GREECE been invited for investment in an integrated rolling stock and systems company being ATHINA. Siemens has been awarded the developed as part of the 160km (100-mile) EUR41m contract for signalling the 16km metro project. Attention is focussed on the 54km . GT8 trams 801-4/8-10/2/3 were (ten-mile) extension of metro lines 2 and 3 by (33.5 mile) phase 1, with 28 stations, 30% of sent to Iasi in Romania in mid-April, joining autumn 2013. Siemens them underground. A preferred bidder should be 805. Car 807 remains in Augsburg as a museum appointed by the end of 2012. A. Bailey piece, and 806 is a works car. DS INDIA BREMEN. With the opening of the extension to LATVIA tramline 1 on 26 March, a limited stop service BANGALORE. Consultant Capita Symonds 15 has been introduced inbound to the city in has recommended that light rail is used to provide RIGA. A further six Skoda 15T trams have been the morning peak, with seven departures from metro feeder service rather than monorail. ordered for delivery this year. A. Prescott Tenever-Zentrum. BSAG E. B. Havens CHEMNITZ. The Praha Skoda 15T tram INDUSTRY. Malaysian monorail company MALAYSIA demonstrated in April/May was 9238. It was Scomi is considering a joint venture to set up a numbered 638 in Chemnitz and ran on route 5 manufacturing plant in India, where it envisages KUALA LUMPUR. CSR Zhuzhou Electric has from 16 April to 23 May. DS a sizeable market for the monorail business. won a USD172.7m contract to supply 20 six-car DARMSTADT. Ex-Augsburg M8C trams JAIPUR. Alstom has won the contract for a train 750V dc third-rail metro trains for the Ampang 8010/1 have been acquired, one for conversion to control system for the planned metro. Alstom line extension. Delivery is scheduled for 33- a works car and the other for spares. The centre KOLKATA (Calcutta). Four trams are to 51 months time, and some of the order will be sections will be removed, and possibly sold to be rebodied with air conditioning and cafeterias assembled in Malaysia at Batu Gajah. A. Bailey Kraków in Poland. DS for use on a tourist service linking Victoria GOTHA. The last day of operation of classic Memorial and the Race Course. New tracks will NETHERLANDS Düwag car 396 on the Thüringerwaldbahn was be needed if the project is approved. A. Bailey 21 April, and it will now be scrapped. Car 442 MUMBAI (Bombay). Scomi has tested its AMSTERDAM. Alstom has been awarded a still runs occasionally pending the entry into monorail train up to speeds of 80km/h (50mph) EUR100m contract to re-signal the current 43km service of the former Mannheim cars with low- and all 15 trains should be delivered before the (26.7 mile) metro network in 2015-17, and also floor centre sections. DS end of the year, when the 9km (5.5-mile) first provide signalling for the North–South line under HANNOVER. The 120th anniversary of phase opens. A. Bailey construction. RGI tramways will be marked by an open day at DEN HAAG. Use of RandstadRail LRVs on Glocksee depot on 24 June. DS INDONESIA line 2 finally began on 23 April. digitaletram.nl KARLSRUHE. Plans to extend line S2 from GENERAL. In a decision that was announced Stutensee-Spöck to Wäghausen have been JAKARTA. Preparation work for the Mass before the fall of the Dutch government, the seven dropped for financial reasons. Transit project started on 26 April, with city regional governments will be abolished KASSEL. The first new Bombardier Flexity construction to follow in June. It is due to be on 1 January next year. Arnhem-Nijmegen, tram entered passenger service on 1 April. completed in November 2016. ‘Jakarta Globe’ Eindhoven, Twente and Utrecht will pass to the MÜNCHEN (). The saga of obtaining respective provincial governments. Haaglanden authorisation for the new ISRAEL and Rijnmond will go to Randstad Zuid, and trams took a new twist on 26 March when TAB Amsterdam and Almere to Randstad Noord. OR withdrew its existing permission and consigned JERUSALEM. The transport ministry has ROTTERDAM. Scrapping of 700-series trams all the trams to the depot. The problem is reprimanded light rail concessionaire CityPass has seen the demise of 708/19/30/3/47. OR understood to be cracks developing in the rubber for operating for a month without an operations sandwiches of the resilient wheels. director in charge of safety, after the previous post NEW ZEALAND NORDHAUSEN. Withdrawn GT4 trams 79-81 holder left in late December. The consortium is have been sold to Iasi in Romania. DS threatened with the loss of its operating licence, AUCKLAND. After a preview day on 14 April, SCHÖNEICHE. A farewell trip for the last and could incur criminal sanctions. A. Bailey passenger service on the Manukau suburban line Tatra KT4D tram took place on 1 April. DS was inaugurated on 15 April; it is the city’s first SCHWERIN. Last month’s news listed KUWAIT new rail line for 82 years. The 2km (1.2-mile) under Rostock should have appeared under branch has an hourly service for most of the day, Schwerin. J. Carpenter KUWAIT CITY. Expressions of interest have increasing to three trains/hour at peaks. TA

232 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org WARSZAWA. The northernmost Vistula bridge, Most im Marii Sklodowskiej-Curie, was officially opened on 25 March, but only for road traffic. The section being built to carry a tramway has been delayed until the summer. Following delivery of 180 single-ended trams, the last six will be delivered as double- ended cars to give added operational flexibility. Subsequently, a further batch of 30 double-ended trams will be ordered to enable new routes to open before the completion of turning circles. This will be the first time for more than 50 years that double-ended trams are built for the capital. L. Pohoryles WROCLAW. The new tramway branches covering 4.2km (2.6 miles) to Stadion Wroclaw (route 31 Plus) and Dokerska (route 32 plus) opened on 30 March. The new routes run over existing tracks from Kwiska to Gaj. A EUR1.7m contract has been awarded to Spanish IT company Indra for an integrated fleet management and passenger information system, along with a brand new control centre. urbanrail.net, A. Bailey The visit of the Skoda 15T low-floor tram to the German city of Chemnitz presented the opportunity for pictures with previous generations of rolling stock (LOWA 801, middle, and Tatra 401, right). V. Dornheim RUSSIA

CHRISTCHURCH. The NZ government has Chocianowice-IKEA) is completely withdrawn KRASNODAR. The circular tram route between told Christchurch City Council that plans for and replaced by reinforcements to urban line 15 the eastern depot and Ulitsa Dimitrova has been new tramways should be shelved in favour of as 15A (Telefoniczna – Chocianowice – IKEA). designated route 12 since 20 December 2011. commuter rail service. A. Bailey Interurban routes 43 and 46 are now worked S. Vasil’ev from Telefoniczna depot. Brus and Helenowek MOSKVA. The first of 640 new81-760/1 metro NIGERIA have been closed to operational use, though the cars built by Metrovagonmash at its Mytishchi former at least is expected to be retained as a factory was delivered in April. ONITSHA. The Anambra State Government store and perhaps to house museum cars. The site has signed an agreement with the GLOBIM at Helenowek may be sold. SOUTH AFRICA Corporation for the delivery of a monorail line MPK Lodz has taken over some of the linking the city with Nkpor and Obosi. A. Bailey second-hand German rolling stock from former KIMBERLEY. The heritage tramway resumed LAGOS. With work in progress on the 60km operators. From TP have come ex-Bielefeld 42 operation in April and has been granted a (37.2-mile) Blue line light metro, investors are (the only acquired car which is actually return- long-term safety certificate. Service is provided being invited to apply for the concession for the ing to MPK, which owned it from 1990-93), daily 09.00-16.30 from the Big Hole museum. second, Red, line. The announcement was made ex-Grudziadz ex-Mannheim 71 and 72, and Z. Luphahla during a visit by a British business delegation. ex-Grudziadz ex-Wurzburg ex-Hagen 74, 75, The government has indicated that it will transfer 77 and 78, now with their fifth owner. These SPAIN rail alignments in Lagos to the Lagos state cars have been renumbered by adding 1000 to government for light rail purposes. C. Lietwiler their fleet numbers and have resumed operation, BARCELONA. From 20 February Trambesós mainly on line 43. Ex-Bielefeld 47 was not taken line T6 was modified to run from Sant Adria POLAND into stock as it was defective at the time of the station to Glories, becoming a duplication of ownership change. From MKT have come 12 line T5 for much of its length. There was public LODZ. The long-awaited transfer of ownership cars – the six ex-Bochum-Gelsenkirchen consultation in March on new options for linking and operation of the two surviving interurban Stadbahn M cars only acquired in 2011, and the Trambesós and Trambaix , this time along Via lines, 43 to Lutomiersk and 46 to Ozorkow, six ex-Mannheim Düwags with low-floor centre Carrer or Gran Via. On 21 March the Catalan took place at midnight on 31 March, when the sections. The three serviceable ex-Freiburg-im- government confirmed that metro line 9 would independent operators MKT and TP ceased to Breisgau three-section Düwags were not accept- open between Zona Universitaria and airport exist. MPK Lodz (municipal) trams took over ed. The acquired cars were in use on line 46 again terminal T1 in 2014 (19.8km, 12.3 miles, with from 1 April and the route network was revised from 1 April but, unlike those acquired from 18 stations). R. Felski from that date. Route 43 has been curtailed TP, had not at that stage been renumbered. All, VALENCIA. The prototype 32m Tramlink within Lodz from Stoki to Telefoniczna; service however, carried new ownership vinyls. To sup- metre-gauge low-floor car from Vossloh-Kiepe frequency remains approximately hourly, plement the acquired German stock operated on is now undergoing trials. SV requiring three cars. Its short-working 43bis from line 46, one or two sold MPK 805Na bogie cars ZARAGOZA. Phase 1 of the new tramway Stoki to Konstantynow has been withdrawn and are used and these also operate the night service. carried 11.5m passengers in its first year, 20% replaced by an extension of Lodz urban line 9 There has already been a limited amount of stock more than was expected. Phase 2 through the old from Zdrowie to Konstantynow – workings that interchange, but 1075 was damaged in a city, including wire-free operation, is planned to continue to terminate at Zdrowie are now 9A. collision with ex-Bochum 328 at Ozorków on 2 open on 12 October. J. P. Gonzalvo This route follows a different inner city April and subsequently derailed during the re- routeing to 43, via ul. Zielona, and does not serve covery process. It struck a traction pole, and is SWEDEN plac Wolnosci. Service is hourly at weekends and unlikely to be repaired. evenings and two per hour on Monday to Friday One positive benefit for passengers has STOCKHOLM. The first trials on the light daytimes. Line 46 (Ozorkow) has lost its southern been the introduction of a unified and ration- rail extension north of Alvik took place on 29 prolongation to Chocianowice-IKEA and is now alised fare structure across the network. In ad- February with A32 car 436 (acquired from rerouted at plac Wolnosci to travel to Zdrowie, dition to the usual time-based single tickets the Netherlands). Norrköping 34 remains in following a common route with 43. Service and 24-hour ticket for the former MPK area Stockholm to boost capacity on line 7. MfSS level remains unchanged at every 20 minutes at PLN11, there is now a 24-hour ticket Mondays to Fridays and 30 minutes at weekends, covering the entire agglomeration, including SWITZERLAND the shortened routeing reducing maximum car the full length of both interurban tramways, for requirement to 12. Former Monday-Friday PLN13.20. System-wide tickets for longer peri- AARAU (ASM/WSB). The Swiss government urban short-working line 46A (Helenowek – ods are also available. M. J. Russell has approved ASM’s application to formally

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Above: Ownership changes of 1 April in the Polish city of Lodz have resulted in trams of the city operator MPK Lodz being seen in Konstantynow for the first time since 1994. On the first morning of operation, rebuilt 805Na-class bogie cars 1702+1703 from Telefoniczna depot run along the centre-of-the- road single-track in the main street of Konstantynow on newly-extended route 9. M. J. Russell

Left: The private monorail in Moskva between VDNKh and Timiryazevskaya has been declared a failure after just eight years operation, and the an- nouncement was made on 23 April that it is to close and be dismantled. The six-station system has only been carrying 10 000 passengers/day, and done lit- tle to attract passengers away from more convenient trams and the congested road system, as evidenced on 22 May 2011. Howard Johnston close the St Urban – Melchnau line, which has continuing, with the North Eastern Electrical MANCHESTER (METROLINK). No not seen a train for many years. The planned Traction Trust acquiring Balloon 721, Centenary definite date has yet been announced for services scrapping of heritage car 115 did not take place; 647 and twin set 674+684. Car 721 has already to start over the former railway to Oldham it is now in use as an office at the Reinach left Rigby Road depot for storage and the others Mumps; the extension had been due to open last breaker’s yard. A. Moglestue are expected to follow. year. The revised date was envisioned as March, BERN. The public inquiry for Tram Region The trust already owns Graz 210 and but this has now been put back until summer. Bern (lines to Kleinwabern, Schliern and Budapest 2576+2577, which came from the Transport for blames Ostermunigen) has revealed a generally positive former Transperience attraction near ; ‘technical complexities’ for the delay. Some 18 reaction to the proposals. A. Moglestue it has launched an appeal for funds to construct of the new trams have been commissioned under a museum building at the North East Aircraft the existing control system with over 30 only able TURKEY Museum site in Sunderland. to operate under the new computer-controlled GLASGOW. The Scottish Government Tram Management System. They remain in store IZMIR. The extension of light metro line 1 has confirmed its contribution of GBP246m at depot. from Bornova to Evka 3, 2.5km (1.5 miles) was (EUR300m) towards the ’s A recent report to TfGM has indicated a delay opened on 20 March. GBP296m (EUR361m) refurbishment that will of between three and six months to open the line provide a new fleet of driverless trains, new beyond Oldham to Rochdale, with a three-month UNITED ARAB EMIRATES signalling, revamped stations and a new smart delay to the East Manchester line to Droylsden, card. Money will also come from Strathclyde putting this back to autumn at the earliest. DUBAI. With growing passenger numbers, Partnership for Transport’s capital budget. Trams could however operate to Etihad the RTA expects the metro to achieve financial SPT has already started refurbishing Hill- Stadium for football matches before the full viability in operating costs by 2017. The modal head station and will replace escalators at ten of opening to Droylsden. split for public transport has increased from 6% to the Subway’s 15 stations by the 2014 Formal Department for Transport approval 10% since the metro opened. ’Kalheej Times’ Commonwealth Games. Work at Hillhead will has been received for the revised alignment at be finished by the end of the summer when Mumps in Oldham and roadworks started almost refurbishment of Partick, Kelvinhall and Ibrox immediately. stations will begin. It is expected that the TfGM is also to consider tram-train technolo- BLACKPOOL. Disposal of surplus trams is overall programme will be completed in 2020. gy for some lighter used railway lines in Greater

234 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org completed in 2015. E. B. Havens MINNEAPOLIS – ST PAUL, MN. The 27-car Hiawatha line LRV fleet will be boosted by 2014 by 12 new cars from the order placed with Siemens for the Central Corridor line, permitting three-car trains at peaks. Some 31 LRVs will serve the Central Corridor, giving a total Siemens fleet of 43. Republicans in the Minnesota legislature have turned down state bond funding for preliminary engineering work on the proposed South West Corridor light rail line. Minnesota’s share of the USD1.2bn project is USD125m. E. B. Havens NEW HAVEN, CT. The Board of Aldermen rejected applying for funding for a city tramway circulator at their 2 April meeting. E. B. Havens PHILADELPHIA, PA (SEPTA). The rebuilt PCCs were to return to service on most of route 15 (Girard Ave) on 29 April, including the new loop at Sugar House Casino. Replacement bus services still operate east of Frankford Ave. A USD97.8m contract for a positive train control system on the regional rail network was signed This 26 March view shows construction progress along the median strip of Lord Sheldon Way, on the with Ansaldo STS on 3 April. E. B. Havens approach to ’s new East Manchester line terminus at Ashton-under-Lyne. Mike Haddon PHOENIX, AR. The 5km (3.1-mile) light rail extension to Mesa could open a year early in 2015 Manchester and will investigate the possibility in 15km (9.3-mile) extension of the CATS light as the three contractors involved in the USD200m more depth over the next 12 months. rail line from Uptown to the University, due project have agreed to accelerate construction TYNE & WEAR. The Metro celebrated the for completion in spring 2017 (subject to work. The Valley Transit Contractors consortium tenth birthday of the Sunderland and South confirmation of federal grant). The state will pay includes Kiewit, Mass Electric Construction and Hylton line on 31 March. It has carried more 25% of the costs. The light rail fare increases to Parsons Transportation Group. E. B. Havens than 40 million passengers since 2002, when USD2 from 1 July. E. B. Havens PORTLAND, OR. On 11 April, the TriMet it added 12 stations to the network. The line DETROIT, MI. A decision on federal support board approved the award of a USD73.8m remains unique in the UK, with local light rail for the proposed private light rail line on contract to Siemens for 18 LRVs for the Orange and national heavy rail sharing the same tracks. Woodward Avenue has been postponed to line (or Milwaukie line). Of the two other builders Work to restore Tynemouth station is now al- give promoters M-1 Rail 90 days to prove the to reach the final stages of bidding, CAF offered most complete. The station is a classic Victorian feasibility of their plans. E. B. Havens a lower price (USD69.7m) but received the seaside edifice, designed by William Bell in 1882 DURHAM, NC. A cost-sharing plan between lowest ‘technical’ score, while Siemens received for the North Eastern Railway. It has been re- Durham and Orange counties has been devised the highest, giving it the edge overall. stored with a GBP2m (EUR2.44m) government for the future USD316.2m, 28km (17.3-mile) Stadler’s bid received a technical score grant, as part of a wider regeneration project. light rail line, on the assumption that a federal between the other two but carried the highest grant will be received for 50% of the cost. Public price (USD76.2m). The cars will be the S70 UKRAINE hearings were to be held in April. E. B. Havens model and the same variant that has, thus far, FORT WORTH, TX. The FTA has approved been purchased only by Portland: a design with LVIV. Major drainage works at the junction of preliminary engineering for a proposed 59km only one cab per car but doors on both sides, to Chernivets’ka and Horodots’ka have closed the (37-mile) commuter rail line linking the be operated in coupled-back-to-back pairs. junction to any traffic, cut off access to tram medical university in Fort Worth and DFW Although they will not have any substantial depot 1 and caused the suspension of routes 1, 6, International Airport, which could open in differences from TriMet’s Type 4 LRVs, 9 and 9A. A. Whitlam 2016. E. B. Havens they will be designated Type 5. As TriMet’s MIKOLAIV. The first partly low-floor tram GENERAL. There were 104bn rides on Gomaco-built vintage-tram replica cars are was KTM-23 1111, which arrived last public transit in the US in 2011, the highest figure numbered 511-4 (a continuation of the number November. N. Semyonov since 1957. The FTA has announced plans to series of their 1904 ancestors), the new LRVs are cut red tape for transit projects in order to speed to be numbered 521-38. The first car is expected USA completion through a streamlined National to arrive in 2014. S. J. Morgan Environmental Policy. This would reduce PROVIDENCE, RI. The Public Transit AUSTIN, TX. Weekend service on the diesel existing processes by one year. APTA Authority has approved plans for a 4km light rail line to Leander was introduced from HONOLULU, HI. The city council has (2.45-mile) urban circulator tramway linking 23 March, with Friday and Saturday service agreed a USD22.8m operating budget for Rhode Island Hospital and College Hill via extending to midnight. E. B. Havens the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit, the city centre, estimated to cost USD126.7m. BALTIMORE, MD. Light rail service north of and a grant of USD491.6m towards the Subject to funding, construction should last from Timonium to Hunt Valley was suspended from USD5.27bn capital cost, to be financed by a 2015-17. E. B. Havens 5 May for two months to permit infrastructure sale of bonds. Construction work started on ST LOUIS, MO. Construction of the street - reconstruction. The line has been operating 23 April. E. B. Havens running tramway should start this autumn, for since 1997. E. B. Havens LOS ANGELES, CA. The 13.8km (8.5-mile) completion in 2013. The 3.5km (two-mile) BOSTON, MA. An austerity budget Expo light rail line was opened as far as Jefferson Delmar to Forest Park loop will use conventional proposed by MBTA would see the Green Blvd in La Cienga on 28 April, with two days overhead supply and be operated by restored line E to Heath St cut back to Brigham Circle of free rides; a further stop at the Culver City trams (two ex-Milano Peter Witt cars are to at weekends from 1 July, reduced commuter terminus will open later in the summer. The hand) and replica heritage cars. USD25m of rail service at weekends and a 23% fares USD932m project is two years behind schedule the USD43m cost will come as Federal Urban increase. The USD190m contract signed with and USD292m over budget. A legal challenge Circulator grant. E. B. Havens Hyundai-Rotem in 2008 for 75 commuter rail to further extension to Santa Monica has been SAN DIEGO, CA. MTS has exercised its cars is running more than a year late, and the thrown out by the court of appeal. contract option with Siemens and ordered first are unlikely to reach the city until the end of LACMTA has given the Kiewit-Parsons joint seven more S70 LRVs for delivery in 2014, 2012. E. B. Havens venture notice to proceed on the construction of bringing the total order to 64. This will CHARLOTTE, NC. A cost estimate of the Gold line light rail extension from Pasadena enable every train to feature at least two low- USD1.16bn has been given for the planned to Azusa. The USD735m project should be floor cars. E. B. Havens

www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org JUNE 2012 235 Worldwide Review

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (BART). The ground-breaking ceremony for the San Jose extension took place on 4 April, attended by FTA administrator Pete Rogoff. E. B. Havens SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Caltrain). The California High Speed Rail Authority has reached agreement with local agencies to fully fund modernisation and electrification of the Caltrain commuter line to San Jose by 2020. J. W. Vigrass SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Muni). The return of 1912 heritage car 1 to the fleet after a USD1.8m overhaul by Brookville Equipment Corporation was marked by a ceremony on 5 April. (The car last ran in 2006.) The ceremony marked the centenary of municipal operation. E. B. Havens SEATTLE. The second of the two boring machines broke through on the northbound University Link tunnel on 2 April, following the first machine breakthrough on 21 March. The line is expected to open in 2016. C. Lietwiler TUCSON, AR. Construction work on the 6.2km (3.8-mile) modern city tramway started on 12 April with a ground-breaking ceremony attended by US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The line will be marketed as Sun Link and should open in late 2013. The USD197m project has USD63m in federal support from TIGER economic recovery funds. E. B. Havens WASHINGTON, DC. The city budget for fiscal year 2013 includes USD2.8m towards opening the H St NE tramline. E. B. Havens Brookville has produced replica Pacific Electric interurbans for the new tramway opening at Disneyland, California, on 15 June. P. Hiffmeyer MUSEUM NEWS sporting the 1969 cream and black livery and its Contributors BEAMISH (UK). The Great North Steam ‘computer’ number 223 006-4 instead of the later Fair in April featured three loaned trams – orange and white with fleet number 3006. UK and Ireland items are welcomed by the Home 20 (), 6 from SYDNEY (AU). The centenary of O class News Editor, John Symons, at 17 Whitmore and Blackpool Boat 233 (latterly toast rack tram 1111 will be marked by special Avenue, Werrington, Stoke-on-Trent, ST9 0LW, 605) from the Lancastrian Transport Trust events on 28-29 July at the Loftus museum. UK. E-mail [email protected] collection. P. Nicholson Contributors include Graham Feakins, COVENTRY (UK). The Electric Railway LUZERN (CH). New arrivals at the Mike Haddon and Martin Thorne. Museum at Baginton, Coventry, is to hold three Verkehrshaus der Schweiz are RhB locomotive Acknowledgements are also due to APTA Amer- free open weekends this year on 9-10 June, 602 with panorama car 2092. EA ican Public Transportation Association, Bir- 21-22 July and 8-9 September. The museum is FREIBURG-IM-BREISGAU (DE). The mingham Mail, BS Blickpunkt Strassenbahn; not otherwise generally open to the public. museum group has obtained GT4 tram 107 from Centro, digitaletram.net; DLR, DS Dreh- CRICH (UK). Opening for the 2012 season was a Salzgitter dealer, and will break it for spares for scheibe Strassenbahn; Edinburgh Evening again delayed due to heavy snow in March but its 109. A. Moglestue News, EA Eisenbahn Amateur; Fylde Tramway resumed a week late and over the Easter period. SKJOLDENAESHOLM (DK). Flensburg Society, GMPTE, LTT, Manchester Evening Blackpool Boat 236, which had been repainted metre-gauge two-axle tram 36 made its first trials News, Nottingham Evening Post, OR Op De and overhauled at Rigby Road, has been on the Gera tramway (Germany) on 27 March Rails; Nexus, pteg, RGI Railway Gazette Inter- prepared for service at Crich and successfully after completion of restoration work in the national; The Scotsman, TA Transit Australia; completed test runs in April. The overhaul of the tramway workshops. It returned to the Danish T-2000 Tram 2000, TfL, TMS, urbanrail.net ex-Berlin ‘access tram’ is complete, with it now museum in April. SHS and Wolverhampton Express & Star. In your next issue of Track improvements through inspection techniques Non-intrusive track inspection promises multiple benefits – increasing lifespan, lowering life-cycle costs, and improving availability and safety. Dr Jay Jaiswal and Dr Rob Carroll explain the aims and achievements of the European PM’n’IDEA research project. Systems Factfile: Dortmund Operating as DSW21, Dortmund’s transport network includes an integrated Stadtbahn and tram system plus a suspended peoplemover. Neil Pulling reports from the Ruhr city. LRTA: 75 years on and as relevant as ever In the Light Rail Transit Association’s 75th year, the ideas that led to its creation are as powerful as ever. Chairman Andrew Braddock explains the LRTA’s role in the 21st Century. worldwide news and review All the biggest stories from the light and urban rail sectors around the world.

236 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org SUPPORTED BY

Vinopolis, London 3 October 2012

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Onboard storage questions and nanotechnology I wish to comment on the articles in the April edition of TAUT (892) by Bill Kleppinger and Dr Alex Luvishis. Both refer to hybrid and energy storage technology for trams and while I am in favour of using energy storage, we must make claims that are valid. Bill Kleppinger makes a reference to “higher energy costs associated with electrification”. Where is the validity of this claim? He then goes on to state that “a battery-powered streetcar consumes less electricity”. Like for like, a battery vehicle will consume more energy; not only does the battery introduce extra losses, the extra weight has to be transported, incurring more energy consumption. Next to Dr Luvishis. He states that a tram uses about 2KWh/Km, without Do hybrid vehicles such as the AmeriTram really offer a cost-effective solution to OHLE? Kinkisharyo specifying what size of tram or passenger loading. My aim with squared, that in the second case will be I told him that is was because of the wheel-motor technology is for around ten times larger, given the same wheel-motor efficiency. Ideally, the dc 0.5KWh/100 passenger capacity/km. A electrical infrastructure. current at starting would be zero until conventional tram with its extra weight In this way, the amount of “copper the motor starts to rotate and produce and lower efficiency drive will probably in the sky” could be seriously reduced, mechanical power. be over 1KWh on the same basis. and more regenerated energy recovered. The problem with batteries using He goes on to say that a tram This simpler, lower cross-section, all present technologies is that life is powered by a hydroelectric power overhead would be much less visible, and limited to around 1 000 deep discharge station will emit about 80g/km of lighter poles could be used. The energy cycles. This is because it involves harmful emissions. Where do these storage would be via ultracapacitors; a reversible chemical reaction, but emissions come from? He adds that these have a much longer life than this does not necessarily happen in a tram driven by a “micro turbine” batteries, and can handle large current the same places, causing eventual will only emit 1.4g/KWh. Unless this surges. Some off-line running would be plate failure. Hopefully, this will be micro turbine is hydrogen-fuelled, the possible, but this is not the main aim. overcome some day; nanotechnology emission will be much higher than this. This is in effect doing what already may come to the rescue. If it is hydrogen-fuelled, where does happens in inverters, but on a longer Ultracapacitors on the other hand the hydrogen come from? On planet timeframe. In inverters, the motor do not have this inbuilt defect, but Earth, hydrogen does not exist in a free current on starting may be 200A, but at present they have a lower energy state, and needs energy to release it. the DC input may only be 10A. The capacity per unit volume. However, I am in favour of using onboard 200A circulates in the inductance of nanotechnology looks as if this may energy storage to smooth out the the motor windings, and is topped up be considerably improved upon, as demand so a low, continuous current in short bursts from a capacitor bank, the surface area could be very much is taken, rather than a very high peak which is charged from the supply. increased for the same volume. on acceleration, followed by another Even some engineers find this hard Systems using intermittent supply, reverse peak on braking (if the line to grasp. I was working with a young say re-charging at stops, will involve is receptive). Whilst the AVERAGE engineer who was creating software high currents for short periods, and current will be the same in both cases, for the inverters on the Blackpool 636 this is not good for the economics of the RMS or heating effect current is trials who was measuring 200A in the the power supply. Much better to go very much larger in the second case. motor windings, but was mystified for a low, continuous current. As loss is proportional to current why the dc current was less than 10A. David Gibson, Derby, UK Is a solution to power demand vehicle-mounted ‘catenary’? One way to make battery or ultra- wayside facilities, I suggest that articulated vehicles – the longer the better. cacpacitor trams more practical might ‘catenary’ is erected on the vehicles’ On steep hills, contacts could be be to provide a means of taking a major roof, with an unobtrusive bracket placed slightly less than a vehicle-length load off the storage device by providing carrying shore power so that it contacts apart to provide continuous power, or outside assistance at appropriate times, the collector bar when it is at a stop. space could be provided on the roof for such as when leaving a stop or climbing This would charge the battery while a conventional for use with a steep or long hill. the vehicle was at rest, and provide the traditional OHLE, which would have to Since the whole idea behind the self- heavy accelerating current as it left the be higher than the roof collector. contained power source is to minimise stop. Such a system would work best on Arthur Ellis, by e-mail

238 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net l www.Irta.org Resurrecting old tram tracks An Australian perspective I have always taken a keen interest in the I read your editorial on the debate over the Westminster Watch proposals and I think there costs of high-speed rail investment and Paul Rowen, former MP for Rochdale and first Chair of is still a good prospect of Leeds getting a whether it is the wisest use of public capital in the All-Party Parliamentary new tram system in the future; to this end, Tramways & Urban Transit 891: Spot on. Light Rail Group I have come up with an idea that may be Working in the rail industry, I’m torn a blueprint for the reinstatement of tram between the positives of rail investment and Earlier this year, the UK’s Transport routes throughout the UK (and anywhere that my concerns about the bang-for-your-buck Secretary, Justine Greening MP, launched abandoned its first-generation tramways). offered with the white elephants currently a consultation on devolving local transport Few realise that many first-generation tram being promoted. They have enormous price schemes costing over GBP5m (EUR6m). routes already exist, but are buried beneath tags and a questionable ability to address In her statement she said: “The previous road asphatt in our cities. This came about in key infrastructure concerns in the timescales Government’s… allocation process failed the 1950s when the trams were abandoned demanded by ever expanding urban centres. to give local people and communities and the tracks covered over. Here in Australia the situation is exacerbated Now let’s look again at the Leeds Supertram by successive governments looking to impress proper transparency…investment decisions project, rejected in 2004 by the UK’s Labour by promoting the next mega-project. The were taken centrally …it was a bureaucratic Government. The Headingley Road route trend is for hugely expensive schemes that and inefficient system which hampered already had tram tracks down for the full get canned after wasting millions in taxpayer local enterprise and delivery.” length of the proposed route, a leftover from money on studies and designs – and millions Ask any of the successful UK light rail the original which closed in March 1956. from the contractors bidding for these projects schemes and they will readily agree with When comparing a new-build route against that then get the chop at the last minute. those sentiments. Better still, find out the one for a renewal project, the Leeds proposal For example, the topography of Sydney and costs associated from unsuccessful schemes came in at GBP48m (EUR58m) per route mile Brisbane significantly ramps up high-speed like or Leeds Supertram – tens against GBP12m (EUR14m) for the Blackpool rail costs; we’re surrounded by mountains of millions of pounds and huge amounts of renewal scheme. It is easy to see therefore and rivers. The sustainability of investing time were wasted on both these schemes why the then Government rejected it. AUD100bn (EUR78bn) on a link to Brisbane, with little or nothing to show for either. My idea is as follows: Embarking on work with its meagre 1.5million metropolitan Over the last two years under the current to unearth the original tracks in Headingley population, must also surely be questionable. bidding process, the Coalition Government Road would allow them to be replaced without Light rail is beginning to appear on the has done much to reduce costs and give disturbing the utilities already in place. This is agenda in Sydney as it finally wakes up to the better value for money. The ridiculous where the huge cost savings are to be made. opportunities. City-changing schemes such formula used to evaluate LRT schemes, Replacing old tram tracks is relatively easy. as George Street light rail through the heart which counted loss of Vehicle Excise Duty to Scraping/grinding machines are available of the Central Business District have a lot of the Treasury as people abandoned cars for that can remove asphatt at a fast rate. I have vested interest/motorist lobby propaganda trams, has, for example, been scrapped. reliably been informed that over a distance of to battle before they get off the ground. However will ‘going local’ be the four miles (7kmh, the length of the proposed Regardless, even at a paltry (by comparison) panacea suggested? Proposals set out in Headlingley route) this could easily be done AUD180m such city-defining schemes are the consultation paper include using a within 20-30 days from start to finish. being sidelined in preference to an AUD8bn population-based formula to allocate funding; The waste could even then be transported scheme into the suburbs (NWRL). to Stourton and stored for use as hardcore for How much more viable would a city-wide this is similar to the scheme operated in the new park and ride park area! light rail network become – truly transforming Germany which allocates transport funds to During the work it may be necessary to raise the livability of the city within a decade – if individual Länder for them to determine. the new tracks with reinforced concrete to that money was retargeted to LRT investment? However, what’s to stop transport maintain the levels with the curls and existing Name and address supplied authorities from spending that money on new road surfaces. The road would then be roads or buses rather than trams? We have resurfaced to finish the job off. The length of Toronto: Made for the movies seen trade-offs in some transport authorities reinstatement/renewal against new-build work The debate over LRT in Toronto will one day in which light rail has lost out. In addressing could come in at 25% of the cost. make an excellent movie! With so much back this, the consultation paper proposes a With a quick and simple overhead wiring and forth, it is astonishing to see elected officials major role for Local Enterprise Partnerships job, Leeds could soon have a new tram and civil servants going to war so publicly. to ensure that transport investment is system up and running. It would also show The subway ambitions of Mayor Ford fully aligned with plans for economic a way forward for other UK cities to explore simply don’t make sense financially when the development. In Preston, for example, whether they had first-generation tram routes established Transit City plan is already well TramPower is promoting the privately- that could be cost-effectively reinstated. underway in terms of planning, vehicle orders financed Guild line with the support of the The ball is now in the hands of Metro and and contracts; to waste further millions in local Chamber of Commerce and developers. the Leeds councillors. If they show leadership cancelling these contracts is utter madness. I welcome these proposals and look and resolve, trams could soon be providing an I am looking forward to seeing how this all forward to seeing the Government’s efficient transport system for the city. plays out. Popcorn at the ready… response before the summer recess. Ivan C Peirson, Rotherham, UK Name and address supplied

The full list of the year’s meetings and meeting places can also be MEETINGS & EVENTS found at www.lrta.org

May . Saturday 26. Beeston 14.00. . Friday 8. Leeds 19.00. Ian Dougill: Crich Edward Dawes: London Tramways. (TLRS) Tramway Village: Why, How and What Next? . Saturday 19. Bristol. . Saturday 26. 14.00. . Tuesday 12. Thames Valley 19.30. Cancelled – to be rescheduled for January. Vernon Linden: Vernon Linden Electrics. (TLRS) Video and models evening with the ‘Len . Monday 21. 19.30. Ron . Thursday 31. Manchester 19.00. Hodges Trophy’ competition. (TLRS) Phillips: Tramways of the Wirral. (TLRS) Tony Williams: Manchester Metrolink Today . Wednesday 13. (Southwick) . Monday 21. Sheffield 19.30. Tony June 19.40. Bob Howse: Newcastle tramways. Williams: The new Manchester Metrolink lines. (TLRS) . Monday 21. Wickham 19.30. . Tuesday 5. Southampton 19.30. . Saturday 16. Taunton 14.00. Robert Group: Models and videos. (TLRS) Members’ slides. (LRTA/SEG) Manders: Recent travels in Europe. (TLRS)

www.tramnews.net l www.Irta.org JUNE 2012 239 Classic Trams: Łódz Polish melody silenced

The end of March witnessed the 1 demise of a classic design of Polish articulated car. Mike Russell reports. fter months of acrimonious wrangling, the end for the two independent operators of the surviving Łódź (Poland) interurban tramlines came on 31 March 2012. ATramway system closures are now thankfully rare, but even less common are changes of operator. This saga has been covered in detail in TAUT in recent months, and the only thing that can be said in support of the protracted inter-municipal negotiations is that they eventually resulted in retention of both lines as tramways, albeit henceforth served by cars of the Łódź municipal undertaking. The demise of the two independent operators – MKT (Międzygminną Komunikację Tramwajową), operator of the long line 46 between Ozorków and the Łódź suburb of Chocianowice, and TP (Tramwaje Podmiejskie), which operated the east-west line 43 between Stoki and Lutomiersk and its short-working service 43bis to Konstantynów – had models followed in 1973. Initially designated 102NaW (the 1 The last been foreshadowed for several months. However, it was W signifying wąskotory, or narrow-gauge), the design was non-rebuilt 803N delayed by lengthy negotiations, especially with MKT. rechristened 803N from August 1973 deliveries onwards. in service was Eventually, it was agreed that the changeover to MPK Production of the 803N and its precursors was programmed to be operation for both lines would take effect from 1 April, the concentrated over a relatively short period, the last deliveries TP car 1, the oldest two independents operating for the last time the day before. being made in September 1974; as by far the largest metre- surviving member The terms of the agreements between MPK, MKT and TP gauge tramway, Łódź took the lion’s share (166 of total of the class, dating include the takeover of depot premises and selected rolling production), with Toruń receiving ten and Bydgoszcz 20 in from 1973. Here it stock. MPK, however, made it clear that it has no wish to addition to two 802N transferred from Łódź. is at a snowbound inherit certain older vehicles still in use and this included The appearance of the 803N its more numerous standard- Stoki terminus about the last surviving examples in regular service in Poland of gauge cousin the 102Na was very similar, but there were to work the final Konstal-built 803N articulated tramcars, of which several detail differences, most obviously the door arrangement, departure at 23.18 non-rebuilt examples were still in daily service with TP and where all four openings on the 102N/102Na were furnished on 31 March to Brus four heavily-reconstructed examples with MKT. with four-leaf jack-knife doors, as also fitted to the initial depot, with special 102NaW Łódź cars. With the 803N, the two narrower centre commemorative A Polish classic doorways were changed to three-leaf configuration. board. The metre-gauge 803N articulated tramcar was developed These cars were a common sight on Polish tramways 2 A sad sight and built at the Chorzów works of Konstal during the early of both gauges until the early years of this century, by outside Brus depot 1970s. A standard-gauge prototype had been built as type 15N which time their ranks were in steep decline. Wrocław as early as 1963 and was eventually destined for Katowice, was the last operator of substantial numbers of standard- on 1 April, with followed by two further prototypes for the same undertaking, gauge cars, with some 45 still in operation in 2008; a small two 803N tramcars type 102N, in 1967/8. A further 40 cars were built as a short number were reinstated and kept in reserve until late 2011. (former TP 1 and production run in late 1969; all 42 were of a distinctive design Examples of the 803N continued in operation with TP on 10) unwanted by incorporating windscreens with reversed rake, which did not Łódź interurban lines 43 and 43bis until March 2012. the new operator find ultimate favour (the two examples delivered to Wrocław After MKT took over operation of the Ozorków line to and a depot non- were eventually modified with conventional screens). the north of Łódź in 1993, attempts were made at rolling operational for the Subsequent deliveries were designated type 102Na and stock improvement, using 803N cars inherited from MPK first time in over supplied to eight of the nine standard-gauge tramways in Łódź as part of the transfer agreement. MKT began a 101 years. Poland (the capital, Warszawa, being the exception). A need programme of reconstruction in its Helenówek depot 3 Until 31 March, was perceived for a variant suitable for the metre-gauge workshops. What emerged was a starkly angular body that a 500m section systems and after an initial five were produced for Łódź clearly reflected its Konstal ancestry. These rebuilds served of Łódź’s ul. in June 1970 under designation 802N with the otherwise- for many years but could only be seen as an interim solution Legionów was the superseded reversed-rake windscreen, 191 production and, though functional, were widely derided as inelegant. only place in the world where the 2 3 tramcars of three operators could be seen sharing the same tracks. In this view, TP 803N car 10 is proceeding eastbound over the junction with Zachodnia, crossing rebuilt MKT 803N car 14 in the opposite direction.

240 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org 4 4 The old and 5 the new at Chocianowice circle in Łódź on 15 September 1974, with 803N articulated car 991 (only a few months old) presenting a significant advance on the traditional set of two-axle N-class stock, here represented by 392 6 hauling trailer 526. 7 5 With just one day left to live, on 30 March 2012 TP car 2 passes its home of many years, the historic Brus depot opened in 1910 for the interurban line to Konstantynów. This car has now been acquired for preservation by the local tramway After a while, MKT discovered that the costs of Freiburg-im-Breisgau and Ludwigshafen cars also serving reconstruction exceeded those of purchasing and transporting enthusiasts’ club. out their last hours. good quality second-hand trams from Germany and Austria; 6 The rear aspect the rebuilding programme ceased and fleet modernisation of the 803N design, Further changes took on a much more varied form. The last non-rebuilt showing the three- The ownership change of the two interurban lines has brought MKT 803N cars were withdrawn in late 2008, with one leaf configuration in its wake a series of far-reaching changes. MPK has acquired specimen (23, formerly Łódź 5963) being donated to Klubu of the two centre seven German cars on the TP inventory (ex-Bielefeld 42, Miłośników Starych Tramwajów (KMST, the local tramway doorways and the ex-Mannheim 71/72, and ex-Hagen 74/75/77/78) and 12 enthusiasts’ club) for its collection, leaving a handful of four-leaf version from the MKT fleet (the six ex-BochumStadtbahn M cars reconstructed cars in MKT service. This left TP as the last fore and aft. This is only bought in early 2011, and the six ex-Mannheim Düwag operator of the non-rebuilt metre-gauge 803N; of the 12 cars car 7 outside the TP articulated cars fitted with low-floor centre sections). These transferred to TP in 1994, several were withdrawn late in depot at Brus on 30 now operate from Telefoniczna depot on their traditional 2010 after displacement by six Düwag cars acquired from March 2012. routes, with already some limited interchange between the Grudziądz, leaving just seven serviceable at the end. 7 The contrast lines. For 31 March, KMST members produced display boards between bodywork Route 43bis has been discontinued and replaced by an and posters announcing that after 39 years it was the last day designs of rebuilt extended MPK Łódź urban line 9, bringing rebodied MPK of operation for type 803N. Given the gruelling conditions and non-rebuilt 805N bogie cars onto the tracks to Konstantynów for the first on Polish tramways, these trams have served remarkably 803N cars in the time; line 43 has been curtailed from Stoki to Telefoniczna. well and remain robust and generally reliable even if in MKT fleet is shown The Ozorków line, 46, is diverted to Zdrowie, the section recent years their outward condition has deteriorated. in this view at south to Chocianowice having been taken over by new urban For the last day, service on lines 43 and 43bis was route 15A, whilst the former supplementary MKT Monday- operated exclusively by 803N cars, seven German cars the ul. Zgierska Friday route 46A (Helenówek – Chocianowice) has been having been moved overnight on 30-31 March to the MPK passing-loop at discontinued. Brus depot, latterly home of the TP fleet, is no Łódź Telefoniczna depot ready for operation by their new Ozorków Laz on longer operational but has been acquired by MPK and will owners on 1 April. It was arranged that the last car of all 23 May 2007, be used for storage; there are hopes that it may be used to would be car 1, originally Łódź 914 (later 5162 and 4162), with rebuilt car 5 house the growing heritage fleet. Helenówek depot has also delivered in September 1973 and the oldest surviving heading outbound ceased to be a regular operational depot and may be sold. example. Car 2, originally MPK Łódź 947, has been and non-rebuilt car Thus, within the space of 14 months, Łódź has reduced its purchased by KMST for preservation. 18 proceeding south operational depots from five to two, including the big former On the MKT, where the reconstructed 803N type was towards Łódź. urban premises at Dąbrowskiego. latterly not normally operated at weekends, by special 8 With just one Several Konstal articulated tramcars survive as museum arrangement car 4 (originally Łódź 492 of 1974) was made day of life left in vehicles on Polish tramways, some of them in serviceable serviceable for last day operation amongst ex-Innsbruck, both the car and the condition, and although no 803N is now in regular use, one depot, rebuilt 803N example of type 102Na remains in regular heritage service in 8 car 37 in the MKT Poznań, an operation that will be featured in this series later. fleet stands ready With a total of 696 prototype and production articulated for a final call of cars for both gauges built at Chorzów between 1969-74, the duty in Helenówek 102Na and 803N types and their variations were a familiar depot. sight on most Polish tramways for over three decades. Their fast acceleration was a notable characteristic, but most distinctive of all was the high-pitched whine resulting from the high stresses in the gears through the driveshaft during electric braking. This melodious sound, a feature that came to encapsulate the national tramway scene of the late 20th Century, regularly permeated Poland’s city streets. All photographs by To paraphrase a remark often made on such occasions, Mike Russell. we shall not hear their like again. TAUT

www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org JUNE 2012 241 Order any of these four titles securely on-line from www.lrta.org or by post: LRTA PUBLICATIONS 35 High Street, Moulton, classified Spalding, PE12 6QB (Please note new address) To place an advertisement contact Andy Adams The full range of tram/light rail books and DVDs can be Telephone: +44 (0)1832 281135 found on our website. Trade terms available on request. Email: [email protected]

Next issue: LEEDS TRAMS 1871–1959 Copy deadline: 21 May By Richard Buckley On sale: 15 June Most readers will Please don’t forget to mention TAUT recognise the name of this title’s author, Richard being when responding to advertisements! the Editor of our sister publication Tramway Review. His comprehensive FESTIVAL new work covers horse, OF steam and electric MODEL operation from the early TRAMWAYS

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io n By Robert Schwandl 2012 The latest Schwandl title 10am -5pm 21/22 July Adult £7 Senior £6 explains the history of the three urban rail Museum of Transport TAUT June 2012:Classified A4 4cms xBoyle 2 column Street, 17/4/12 Cheetham 15:23 Hill Pagesystems 1 serving Berlin, Manchester, M8 8UW. and their current operations. Website: www.tramwayinfo.com The Berlin tram system, largely (but not entirely) in the DVD OF THE MONTH eastern part of the city, Trams Without Wires ~ the APS System in Bordeaux has expanded since 50 mins • DVD • £20.59 postpaid in the UK re-unification and is The tramway revival in France has led to innovative solutions to various problems, notably that of overhead wires in areas of architectural merit. Bordeaux now ranked among the uses the APS (alimentation par sol) system in such areas; this has two live feed rails just proud of the road surface - these are energised in short sections by the cars world’s top three. English/German text, 128 pages, themselves, the system proving very reliable. This good film shows the APS fitted parts of Bordeaux’s routes and how they are operated, as well as the remaining sections where system maps and around 200 photos. conventional overhead is fitted, as well as the five and seven section Citadis cars used. Price £12.50. Postage/packing extra: CAMDEN MINIATURE STEAM SERVICES Barrow Farm Rode Frome Somerset BA11 6PS Tel: 01373-830151 UK orders, add 10%; Overseas/ROI add 20%. Secure on-line ordering: www.camdenmin.co.uk

242 JUNE 2012 www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org New Trams to the Tower Riding the Sheffield Lines By Steve Palmer By Bernard Mettam Just published by the well-known Blackpool A nostalgic book of specialist. Timed to New Trams photographic memories mark the entry of the to the from the declining era first Flexity 2 trams into of the Sheffield tram service (Easter 2012), Tower network. From 1952 to the closure of the so seeing the start of the by Steve Palmer new light rail system, system Bernard Mettam all the recent lovingly recorded every government-funded route in operation. improvements This book features are covered, with dozens of photos from summaries of his personal collection, noteworthy events from approximately two per page. the past. Laminated Half of the 96 pages (A4 size) are in black and white cover, B5 size, 72 pages, mostly colour pictures. with the remainder in colour. Price: £8.99. Postage/packing extra: UK orders, add Price: £12.99. Postage/packing extra: UK orders, 10%; Overseas/ROI add 20%. add 10%; Overseas/ROI add 20%.

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l Alstom demonstrates Citadis in moscow Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms...... Forename...... Surname...... : rolling stock orders who... what... how much? blackpool: tram pioneer Address...... Ukrainian tramways undersiemens the microscope BOLsTeRs GLOBAL Mixed fleets: to modern light rail icon US streetcar trends: URBAn RAiL CAPABiLiTies Lessons from ...... How technology over a century Pittsburgh Factfile: Expansion of the ‘T’ is helping change of experienceLondon Tramlink: Special 20-page review America’s attitude 75 in Budapest APRIL French lessons: End of an era: to urban rail 2012 No. 892 Tramway, metro, Poland waves The end£3.80 for paper? n e t l . a fond farewell . o r g w w w . t r a m n e w s Driver safety: tram-train... Lyon’s ...... 2 w w w . l r t a Easier for riders, 1937–201 75 better for operators: Latest75 research model for urban to the distinctive 803n tram Smart ticketing28/2/12 09:20:59 on managing rail integration JUNE 2012 systems explained driver risk for No. 894 TAUT_April12_Cover.indd 1 safer systems l w w w t r a m n e w s . n e t £3.80 1937–2012 1937–2012 w w w . l r t a . o r g . MAY ...... Postcode...... w w w . l r t a . o r g l 2012 w w w t r a m n e w s . . n e t No. 893 £3.80 30/4/12 17:33:43 TAUT_April12_Cover.indd 1 TAUT_May12_Cover.indd 1

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www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org JUNE 2012 243 Transport The Future of Urban Second line Headline www.transportation.bombardier.com in many countries around the world. The The FLEXITY 2 revitalise the town’s tram system. Council and Lancashire Council have placed their trust in its latest development to features in one single tram. Bombardier Transportation is proudvery that Blackpool successful BOMBARDIER* FLEXITY* FLEXITY Tram for Blackpool trams and has been created to incorporate outstanding, proven family has become the benchmark for urban mobility FLEXITY 2 tram is based on Bombardier’s

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