THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHT RAIL MAGAZINE www.lrta.org www.tramnews.net JULY 2014 NO. 919 EDINBURGH TRAMWAY OPENS... LEITH NEXT? Operational simulation on the Munich S-Bahn Major manufacturers to merge? Luxemburg tramway approved Tram society triumphs in Stockholm ISSN 1460-8324 £4.10 Tampa Bern 07 Streetcar service Respecting a city, but with community supporting growth 9 771460 832036 London, 1 October 2014 ENTRIES OPEN NOW Best Customer Initiative Best Environmental and Sustainability Initiative Employee/Team of the Year Manufacturer of the Year Most Improved System Operator of the Year Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award Project of the Year <EUR50m Project of the Year >EUR50m Significant Safety Initiative Supplier of the Year <EUR10m Supplier of the Year >EUR10m Technical Innovation of the Year Judges’ Special Award Vision of the Year For advanced booking and sponsorship details contact: Geoff Butler – t: +44 (0)1733 367610 – @ [email protected] www.lightrailawards.com CONTENTS The official journal of the Light Rail Transit Association July 2014 Vol. 77 No. 919 www.tramnews.net EDITORIAL 277 EDITOR Simon Johnston Tel: +44 (0)1733 367601 E-mail: [email protected] 13 Orton Enterprise Centre, Bakewell Road, 294 Peterborough PE2 6XU, UK ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tony Streeter E-mail: [email protected] 308 WORLDWIDE EDITOR Michael Taplin Flat 1, 10 Hope Road, Shanklin, Isle of Wight PO37 6EA, UK. E-mail: [email protected] NEWS EDITOR John Symons 17 Whitmore Avenue, Werrington, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs ST9 0LW, UK. E-mail: [email protected] SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR Neil Pulling WORLDWIDE CONTRIBUTORS Tony Bailey, James Chuang, Paul Nicholson NEWS 276 COMMENT 293 (Australia), Richard Felski (Spain), Ed Havens, Bill Alstom and AnsaldoBreda takeover talks; Why the Edinburgh Tramway is the most Vigrass (USA), Andrew Moglestue (Switzerland), Edinburgh tramway opens; Inekon to import significant UK industry project in a decade. Mike Russell, Nikolai Semyonov (Russia), Vic Simons, Alain Senut (France), Thomas Wagner (Germany). Chinese-built trams; Swedish Tramway PRODUCTION Society wins Stockholm operating contract. SYSTEMS FACTFILE: BERN 294 Lanna Blyth Neil Pulling examines how the Swiss Tel: +44 (0)1733 367604 E-mail: [email protected] COMMENT 281 capital’s public transport concentration DESIGN David Gibson invites debate on reducing helps retain historic charm, yet also Debbie Nolan light rail construction costs. supports modernisation and expansion. ADVERTISING COMMERCIAL MANAGER TAMPA AND THE TECO STREETCAR 283 WORLDWIDE REVIEW 300 Geoff Butler Tel: +44 (0)1733 367610 E-mail: [email protected] Vic Simons reports on a heritage-style Tramway construction begins in Setif; streetcar with modern funding arrangements. Santos LRT announces August testing dates; PUBLISHER Edmonton chooses PPP for Valley line LRT. Howard Johnston TRAM PASSENGER SURVEY 287 Tramways & Urban Transit is jointly published by the LRTA and LRTA Publishing on the third Friday of each English passengers have spoken – the MAILBOX 306 month preceding the cover date. evidence is overwhelming for trams. Can anyone find a home for theT68s ? LRTA WEBSITE AND DIARY Brian Lomas MANAGING THE MUNICH S-BAHN 289 CLASSIC TRAMS: SEASHORE PART 2 308 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] DB International shares its operational Herbert Pence concludes his overview of LRTA MEMBERSHIP (with TAUT subscription) simulation lessons on the Munich S-Bahn. operations at the Seashore Trolley Museum. Tramways & Urban Transit is sent free to all paid-up members of the Light Rail Transit Association. SUBSCRIPTIONS LRTA Membership Secretary (Dept T06), Driverless urban transport – a great new idea 38 Wolseley Road, Sale M33 7AU, UK. BACK ISSUES Firstly, we are delighted to finally welcome Edinburgh to the modern Tel: +44 (0)1406 373070 tramway club. It’s been a long and painful path to get to the opening, PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION but having experienced it first-hand we’re impressed at the quality of the Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, system and believe it has been worth the wait (see pages 277 and 293). Lincs PE10 9PH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391000. In other news, I’ve heard nervous mutterings this month about the LRTA REGISTERED OFFICE emergence of Google’s latest driverless electric automobile. A company c/o 138 Radnor Avenue, Welling, Kent DA16 2BY, UK. Private company limited by guarantee, No. 5072319 with such vast resources and reach could well be onto something with its view of in England and Wales. ‘personal urban mobility’, but there are some serious issues that need to be addressed first. LRTA CHAIRMAN They say car ownership is a thing of the past. I respect the argument that cars should be a Andrew Braddock service and not a possession, and a service that can be ‘hailed’ from a smartphone. But until LRTA DEPUTY CHAIRMAN the electric infrastructure is there and we have space to accommodate thousands of these Vic Simons automated cars (not likely anytime soon), they still aren’t the answer for urban transport. LRTA PUBLISHING REGISTERED OFFICE: I’d like to see how they work in rural areas where the wi-fi or GPS signal is poor, too. c/o 8 Berwick Place, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 4TU, It’s a question of efficiency, and, simply put, cars aren’t the most efficient way of UK. Private Limited Company, No. 06169422 in England and Wales. moving people in the confined environments of (ever more crowded) cities. They aren’t © LRTA Publishing 2014. even close. Running a transport system efficiently is one of the subjects dealt with in Articles are submitted on the understanding they may also this issue with DB International giving lessons from one of the most intensively-used later be used on our websites or other media. A contribution rail corridors in Europe (page 289). Some may argue that this doesn’t fit the urban transit is accepted on the basis that its author is responsible for the category of our masthead – but as all transit operators will face similar issues as demand opinions expressed in it, and such opinions are not those of increases as more people move away from the roads, we think the lessons are valuable. LRTA Publishing or the LRTA. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in Further, look at the common themes hailed as the ‘future’ for the automotive any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including industry: electrification, automation and travel on-demand. Haven’t we all been photocopying, recording or by any information storage and arguing these points, and delivering solutions, for decades? retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the contents of the Removing fossil fuels and the random actions of human control from the equation have magazine without prior written approval is not permitted. to be the right answer for clean, efficient transport, and the technology to move thousands of people per hour down any given corridor has been around for well over a century – it runs on rails. We need to go back to the future – again. Simon Johnston, Editor COVER: Edinburgh Trams 267 at the Edinburgh Airport stop on opening day – 31 May. Vic Simons www.tramnews.net . www.lrta.org JULY 2014 / 275 News Takeover talks could see a new era of rolling stock conglomerates Alstom and AnsaldoBreda both in the spotlight as the subject of high-level takeover discussions ollowing the EUR12.4bn “Alstom Transport would have Alstom’s nuclear, wind energy, catenary-free technology, recent General Electric bid the size, technology and financial transmission and distribution years have seen significant for Alstom’s energy strength to measure up to rivals activities from the deal. reputational damage due to high- division (TAUT 918), such as Bombardier, Ansaldo and De Maistre also noted that profile delays and legal disputes Fthat prompted the French Siemens,” Immelt said. GE has a transport tie-up between over its high-speed trains. Government to lay out its own extended its bid until 23 June. Alstom and Siemens would give Rumours of a takeover have terms and approach Siemens to Meanwhile, Christophe de the business the ‘critical mass’ circulated since 2012 and make a rival offer, the CEOs of Maistre, the Chairman of Siemens Alstom needed to compete Finmeccanica CEO Alessandro both GE and Siemens appeared in France, said the German group with emerging Chinese Pansa – which is 30% owned by front of a French parliamentary hoped to submit a formal asset manufacturers such as CNR and the Italian state – announced committee on 24 May. swap and cash offer by CSR as well as Bombardier, with publicly that the company’s As the French authorities fear 16 June, creating two ‘national many seeing this as its trump rail assets were available for sale Alstom’s rail business is too weak champions’ with a German- card at the negotiating table. in an effort to cut debts and to compete in global markets as based energy giant in return Industry commentators have allow the group to focus on its suggested that a GE deal is more core defence, aerospace and “Alstom Transport would have the size, likely to go forward, as a Siemens technology activities. deal would be more likely to The group then took the step technology and financial strength to face EU antitrust hurdles due to of packaging AnsaldoBreda the greater overlap between the with the profitable Ansaldo STS measure up to rivals such as Siemens and Alstom businesses. signalling, communications and Meanwhile, Italian control systems arm to attract Bombardier, Ansaldo and Siemens.” industrial giant Finmeccanica buyers, with Pansa announcing GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt is still seeking a buyer for its in November 2013: “We believe rail rolling stock business, that it is necessary to act firmly a standalone entity, both bidders for the transfer of its rail AnsaldoBreda, following two and promptly to minimise travelled to Paris to explain how interests to Alstom, creating a years of substantial losses and the the absorption of cash by Alstom’s prized national assets more powerful transport group negative impact this has had on AnsaldoBreda by the group.” would emerge “strengthened”.