THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHT RAIL MAGAZINE www.lrta.org www.tramnews.net NOVEMBER 2014 NO. 923 LRT GROWTH IN THE GRAND CANYON STATE Light Rail Awards: Winners’ special supplement New Tube for London design shown Sunshine Coast needs LRT ‘spine’ Kaohsiung welcomes first CAF tram ISSN 1460-8324 £4.10 Heilbronn InnoTrans 11 Co-operation for The world’s largest Karlsruhe expansion light rail showcase 9 771460 832036 strategic marketing • market research • PR • event management • publishing Make your connection. The old adage ‘people do business with Solving this is vital to achieving your business people’ has never been more relevant. But objectives. Mainspring helps you seek out, knowing where to find the right people at target and connect with the key people and the right time – and projecting the right identify new opportunities. Based on our message – in an increasingly global extensive industry knowledge and network of environment can be daunting. Where are connections, our range of strategic marketing they and where are the opportunities? services connects you with success. Connect with us to find out more. Bringing people together. [email protected] • +44 (0)1733 367600 • www.mainspring.co.uk UKLRC14Del book_SJ.indd Mainspring 29 ad.indd 1 05/06/201405/06/2014 16:36 21:18 452 CONTENTS The official journal of the Light Rail Transit Association November 2014 Vol. 77 No. 923 www.tramnews.net EDITORIAL 458 EDITOR Simon Johnston Tel: +44 (0)1733 367601 E-mail: [email protected] 13 Orton Enterprise Centre, Bakewell Road, Peterborough PE2 6XU, UK ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tony Streeter E-mail: [email protected] WORLDWIDE EDITOR 462 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, Richard Felski, Ed Havens, Bill Vigrass, Andrew Moglestue, Mike Russell, Nikolai Semyonov, Vic Simons, NEWS 452 PHOENIX SPREADS ITS WINGS 472 Alain Senut, Thomas Wagner. New Tube for London revealed; Sunshine Phoenix opened its first line in 2008; two PRODUCTION Lanna Blyth Coast pushes for LRT ‘spine’; Alstom trains for extensions are underway, with more to come. Tel: +44 (0)1733 367604 E-mail: [email protected] new Brazil factory; Taipei ground-breaking; DESIGN Innsbruck begins phase 2 expansion. SYSTEMS FACTFILE: ST. ÉTIENNE 473 Debbie Nolan The French city’s tramway has grown from ADVERTISING INNOTRANS: THE GLOBAL MARKET 458 a surviving fragment as part of the city’s COMMERCIAL MANAGER Over 140 000 visitors descended on Berlin much-needed economic revival. Geoff Butler for the bi-annual InnoTrans fair, with LRT Tel: +44 (0)1733 367610 E-mail: [email protected] playing a wider part than ever before. WORLDWIDE REVIEW 478 PUBLISHER Bordeaux’s latest transport projects; Howard Johnston WATCHING THE SUN LINK RISE 462 Solaris Tramino to enter service in Tramways & Urban Transit is jointly published by the Tucson’s modern streetcar already boasts Braunschweig; Kenosha approves LRTA and LRTA Publishing on the third Friday of each month preceding the cover date. impressive ridership and is driving urban north-south route; Roma metro opens LRTA WEBSITE AND DIARY renewal. Vic Simons explains. to Monet Compatri/Pantano; Trieste’s Brian Lomas Opicina tramway resumes service. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] MOSCOW: PART TWO 465 LRTA MEMBERSHIP (with TAUT subscription) Mike Russell updates the story of one of the MAILBOX 482 Tramways & Urban Transit is sent free to all paid-up world’s most complex tramway systems and UITP on ‘reinventing the wheel’; why members of the Light Rail Transit Association. its fascinating fleet. deregulation doesn’t work; and Hannover SUBSCRIPTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES as an inspiration for cross-mode transport. LRTA Membership Secretary (Dept T06), 38 Wolseley Road, Sale M33 7AU, UK. HEILBRONN TRAM-TRAIN 469 Tel: +44 (0)117 9517785 Günter Koch explains how close co-operation CLASSIC TRAMS: LISBON – PART 2 485 BACK ISSUES achieved an optimum design for the latest The concluding part of TAUT’s look at the Tel: +44 (0)1406 373070 expansion of Karlsruhe’s tram-train network. enviable Portuguese tramway museum. PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391000. LRTA REGISTERED OFFICE Are we brave enough to start thinking big again? c/o 138 Radnor Avenue, Welling, Kent DA16 2BY, UK. Private company limited by guarantee, No. 5072319 Thinking big. It’s something we’re all encouraged to do, but how often do we in England and Wales. actually do it when faced with everyday pressures that force us to think small? LRTA CHAIRMAN This month Tramways & Urban Transit has had the chance to place itself Andrew Braddock at the heart of the light rail debate in the company of some the industry’s E-mail: [email protected] biggest organisations at both the Light Rail Awards (see the supplement with LRTA DEPUTY CHAIRMAN this issue) and also the gigantic InnoTrans in Berlin. Many people we spoke to at both Paul Rowen these important events had a positive outlook for our mode and are starting to think big. LRTA PUBLISHING REGISTERED OFFICE: Yet the difference between thinking big and acting big takes bravery and vision. c/o 8 Berwick Place, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 4TU, UK. Private Limited Company, No. 06169422 I’ll admit that I’m relatively impatient by nature, but that is just because the in England and Wales. arguments for light rail make such sense. Political and economic angles will be debated © LRTA Publishing 2014. long and hard, but bravery and vision often take a leap of faith from all sectors of society Articles are submitted on the understanding they may also without making excuses – are we brave enough? later be used on our websites or other media. A contribution One thing that particularly impressed us from Berlin is that many of the world's is accepted on the basis that its author is responsible for the opinions expressed in it, and such opinions are not those of nations are starting to think big – really BIG. As an example, with 100 cities in China LRTA Publishing or the LRTA. All rights reserved. having a population of over one million, at least half are considering urban rail solutions No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in as they look to what they want their cities to look like in 2050. I’d wager that many will any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and have some application of LRT within 25 years, let alone 35 years. There is a similar buzz retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from currently in North America, one of the most car-dominant societies on the planet. the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the contents of the As the world climbs out of a devastating recessionary era, we should all start to think magazine without prior written approval is not permitted. positively again about those grand proposals we had before 2008 but were forced to shelve. It’s time to dust those plans off and think big again. Simon Johnston, Editor COVER: Tucson Sun Link car 105 at Helen Street terminus on 9 August 2014. Vic Simons www.tramnews.net . www.lrta.org NOVEMBER 2014 / 451 News Alstom trains for new Brazil factory New Franco-Brazilian joint venture sets up the first tramway production facility in Latin America lstom has established a joint venture to build and operate a new tram factory in Taubaté, ABrazil. Opening in 2015, it will be the first tramway factory in Latin America. Now the company has launched a new training programme for the tramway Project Maravilha, in partnership ABOVE: Alstom’s first new tram with the National Service for for Brazil is under construction in Industrial Training (SENAI) Europe, but subsequent deliveries and the Steelworkers Union of will come from the new plant in Taubaté. Developed specifically Taubaté, Brazil. Alstom for Alstom, the training will LEFT: The new tramway in Rio de prepare candidates for Alstom Janeiro will be operated by 32 Alstom positions in the Taubaté factory. Citadis featuring wire-free operation. Trainees will learn basic skills A prototype was presented to the for tramway assembly. Some mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo 130 vacancies will be provided Paes, in July. VLT with class workload of 88 hours; at the end of this phase, Alstom approximately EUR15m, will delivered between early 2015 and Michel Boccaccio, Senior Vice- will select the best trainees for a cover an area of 16 000m², mid-2016 in time for the summer President of Alstom Transport in position in the new unit. next to Alstom’s existing hydro Olympics. Latin America. When the factory is fully manufacturing site. It is likely “Alstom supports educational “The tramway is gaining operational, the expectation to build 32 catenary-free Citadis actions and partnerships like momentum as one of the is that it will employ about for the VLT Carioca consortium this one worldwide. Our greatest solutions for urban mobility 150 people. The unit, which for the city of Rio de Janeiro; recognition is to open doors for issues in Brazilian and Latin represents an investment of the trams are expected to be future new professionals”, said America cities.” Boston USD20m Rebuild of Ruggles transit station Ottawa LRT is Federal grants Richmond USD24.9m Bus Rapid Transit line Detroit USD12.2m Woodward Avenue tramway election issue support transit Los Angeles USD11.8m Regional Connector light rail Los Angeles USD10.2m Blue line LRT upgrade St Louis USD10.3m New light rail station projects Philadelphia USD2.5m Roosevelt Blvd transit study The US Department of Transportation Providence USD13m City tramway circulator announced USD600m in TIGER 6 Baton Rouge USD1.7m Modern tramway study economic recovery grants on 12 Phoenix USD1.6m South Phoenix light rail study September, for 72 projects in 46 states.