GREEN ARROW POINTS to a MODERN MISKOLC Poland’S Euro 2012 Revival: the South
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THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHT RAIL MAGAZINE HEADLINES l ‘EcoTram’ aims for 10% energy savings l Croydon welcomes first newVariobahn l Moscow reveals light rail masterplan GREEN ARROW POINTS TO A MODERN MISKOLC Poland’s Euro 2012 revival: The South Lille Systems Factfile: Perfect harmony: Unique tramway How Stockholm operations and has integrated 75 pioneering VAL heritage and metro examined modern systems MARCH 2012 No. 891 1937–2012 WWW . LRTA . ORG l WWW . TRAMNEWS . NET £3.80 Contents The official journal of the Light Rail Transit Association 88 News 93 MARCH 2012 Vol. 75 No. 891 Moscow announces major metro and tramway plans; www.tramnews.net London Tramlink welcomes first Stadler Variobahn; EDITORIAL Munich’s EUR135m investment for 2012. Editor: Simon Johnston Tel: +44 (0)1832 281131 E-mail: [email protected] 93 Poland prepares for Euro 2012 – Part Two Eaglethorpe Barns, Warmington, Peterborough PE8 6TJ, UK. In the second instalment of his examination of Polish light Associate Editor: Tony Streeter rail investment, Mike Russell considers the situation in E-mail: [email protected] Kraków, Poznań, Łódź, Częstochowa, Wrocław and on Worldwide Editor: Michael Taplin the Tramwaje Śląskie. 99 Flat 1, 10 Hope Road, Shanklin, Isle of Wight PO37 6EA, UK. E-mail: [email protected] 99 Miskolc Green Arrow News Editor: John Symons Ágnes Csontos from Miskolc transport operator MVK 17 Whitmore Avenue, Werrington, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs ST9 0LW, UK. Zrt updates TAUT on the city’s ‘Green Arrow’ project to E-mail: [email protected] revitalise public transport in the Hungarian city. Contributor: Neil Pulling 103 Systems Factfile: Lille Design: Debbie Nolan Rebuilding Lille’s historic tramway followed the Production: Carla Corrado introduction of the world’s first fully automatic metro 103 Tel: +44 (0)1832 281134 E-mail: [email protected] system. Neil Pulling reports from French Flanders. Worldwide Contributors: Aare Olander, Nikolai Semyonov, Sergei Tarkhov (CIS), Mike Russell, Norman Bartlett, 110 Worldwide Review Thomas Wagner, Pedro Costa, Richard Felski, Jordi Ibanez (Europe), Yoshiri Nogi (Japan), Anthony Bailey, Ian Hammond, Paul Nicholson Addis Ababa awards 37km LRT contract and sets two-year (Australia), Vic Simons, Charles Lietwiler, Steve Morgan, Tom Swinney, schedule; DB Regio wins Frankfurt-am-Main S-Bahn Julian Wolinsky (North America). contract; Dholera plans three-line tramway; tender LRTA Website and Diary: Brian Lomas released for 11km Tel Aviv tramway tunnel. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 116 Letters 120 Commercial Manager: Vicky Binley Less intrusive overhead wires; trams, not trolleybuses for Tel: +44 (0)1832 281132 E-mail: [email protected] Leeds; and the debate over light rail costs rages on. Advertising Manager: Andy Adams Tel: +44 (0)1832 281135 E-mail: [email protected] 120 Classic Trams: Stockholm Eaglethorpe Barns, Warmington, Peterborough PE8 6TJ, UK. Mike Russell visits Stockholm’s Djurgårdslinjen, its Publisher: Howard Johnston remarkable operations meshing heritage tramway interests Tramways & Urban Transit is jointly published by the LRTA and LRTA with those of the regional transport authority. Publishing on the third Friday of each month preceding the cover date. LRTA MEMBERSHIP (with TAUT subscription) Tramways & Urban Transit is sent free to all paid-up members of the Light Rail Transit Association. You are welcome to join the LRTA. High-speed rail versus light rail SUBSCRIPTIONS: LRTA Membership Secretary (Dept T06), SIMON JOHNSTON, EDITOR 38 Wolseley Road, Sale M33 7AU, UK. BACK ISSUES: Tel: +44 (0)1406 373070 There has been much debate about high- if they are done indiscriminately. Even PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION: Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, speed rail since I penned the last editorial, taking conservative cost representations, West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391000. with the UK approving its controversial the USD65bn investment proposed for the LRTA REGISTERED OFFICE: c/o 138 Radnor Avenue, Welling, GBP32bn High Speed 2 (HS2) project first leg of the California High Speed Rail Kent DA16 2BY. Private company limited by guarantee, No. 5072319 in England and Wales. and US high speed rail projects looking project could build state-of-the-art light Chairman: Andrew Braddock. Deputy Chairman: Vic Simons all but dead and buried as individual rail or streetcar systems in every city in LRTA PUBLISHING REGISTERED OFFICE: c/o 8 Berwick Place, Welwyn states weigh up the massive costs. California with a population over Garden City, Herts AL7 4TU. Private Limited Company, No. 06169422 Business plans for massive infrastructure 100 000 – with plenty of change. in England and Wales. investments are being seriously questioned In the UK, the costs of HS2 could put © LRTA Publishing 2012. for lacking credibility and vague and a tramway in every city and town with Articles are submitted on the understanding they may also later be used on our websites or other media. A contribution is accepted on the basis that dubious foundations, and similar new a population over 140 000 – over 35 in its author is responsible for the opinions expressed in it, and such opinions high-speed lines in the Netherlands and total – and again with change to spare. are not those of LRTA Publishing or the LRTA. All rights reserved. Spain are running half empty and losing Given the coverage of HS2, I am sure if No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording millions of Euros each week. you asked people in Glasgow, Liverpool, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior The numerous arguments against such Bristol, Leicester, Cardiff, Derby, Belfast permission in writing from the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the investment in times of austerity fall at the or Plymouth if they would like a new contents of the magazine without prior written approval is not permitted. fringes of our remit, but certainly many tramway to transform their cities – and I have spoken to in the past weeks have within the next ten years – they would bite raised the same hypothetical question: your hand off. Or just imagine a network think of what you could do with GBP32bn. of surface tramways criss-crossing London Miskolc’s Green Arrow In terms of creating jobs, cleaning up (like we ditched 60 years ago) and all project is delivering a joined up with the London Underground! revitalised tramway the environment to meet climate change for Hungary’s targets, delivering a ‘quick’ return on Given the huge sums that will ultimately fourth-largest city. investment and getting cars off the roads, land a large bill on each and every Tatra 205 waits at the light rail is a far more obvious answer. taxpayer, should we have national reconstructed Selymrét National economies in the doldrums referenda on high-speed rail vs. light tram in August 2011. undoubtedly reap the benefits of large rail investment? I am keen to know your Fehér Péter/MVK Zrt. injections of capital investment, but not thoughts – as always, [email protected] www.tramnews.net . www.Irta.org MARCH 2012 87 News MOSCOW PLANS EXTENSIVE NEW TRAM AND METRO DEVELOPMENT PLaNS for an extensive 214km (133-mile) Institute for light rail transit that will bring sino on line 8, alma-atinskaya on line 2 and light rail network to serve the expanding in foreign expertise for professional training. Pyatnitskoe Shosse on line 3. southern Moscow suburbs and connecting the The public-private partnership project aims to The top priority for 2013 is completing the Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports to the attract a major ‘European manufacturer’ as a 5.2km (3.2-mile) extension of line 7 from city’s metro were unveiled on 13 December technical partner. Vykhino to Zhulibino and Lermontovsky Pros- by JSc Domodedovo TransDevelopment. Following this, in January Moscow’s city pect, to serve the city’s southeastern suburbs. The ‘South Chord’ network has been two government revealed plans to expand its met- In related news, city transport boss Max- years in the planning and is proposed for ro network by 98km (61 miles) and add 44 im Liksutov has also announced plans for a construction in four phases, with a financ- stations by 2021. an estimated rUr344bn Wi-Fi trial on a small number of Moscow ing package in place by 2013 to permit the (EUr8.6bn) will be spent, including adding metro cars later in the year. first line to open in late 2015. This would be 75km (46.6 miles) and 36 stations by 2015. “Going on the results of the trial, we’ll a 27km (16.7-mile) radial link from Domod- a 4.5km (2.8-mile) southern extension of decide whether to expand internet provision edovo airport to the Moskva metro at either Line 10 opened on 2 December, serving three on the metro,” Liksutov commented, but did Krasnogvardeiska or Zyablikovo. It would be stations at Borisovo, Shipilovskaya and Zy- not say how many cars would be featured in followed by a 102km (63.4-mile) line from ablikovo, where interchange is provided to the trial, or on which lines they would run. ramenskoye to Skolkovo via the airports. Krasnogvardeyskaya station on line 2. an- Three network providers are believed to JSc Domodedovo TransDevelopment is other 8km (five miles) is expected to open be interested in supplying the technology setting up a Scientific research and Design this year, together with stations at Novoko- required for the metro. Leeds trolleybus decision deferred Protram tests Poland’s longest tram The UK’s Department for WrocłaW’S Protram has created Poland’s long- carrying 300 passengers (but only 64 seated), it Transport (DfT) has again est tram on behalf of its customer MP Kraków. On will be tested on route 14 in Kraków.