THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHT RAIL MAGAZINE www.lrta.org www.tautonline.com APRIL 2020 NO. 988 THE WORLD TRAM MARKET IN 2O2O Alstom bids for Bombardier’s rail arm Transport operators combat COVID-19 SUBSCRIBE HERE Tram crossings Den Haag Delivering a safe Light rail variety in £4.60 public environment the Netherlands 2020 ENTRIES OPEN NOW! SUPPORTED BY ColTram www.lightrailawards.com CONTENTS The official journal of the Light Rail Transit Association APRIL 2020 Vol. 83 No. 988 www.tautonline.com EDITORIAL EDITOR – Simon Johnston [email protected] 136 ASSOCIATE EDITOr – Tony Streeter [email protected] WORLDWIDE EDITOR – Michael Taplin 156 [email protected] NewS EDITOr – John Symons [email protected] SenIOR CONTRIBUTOR – Neil Pulling WORLDWIDE CONTRIBUTORS Richard Felski, Ed Havens, Andrew Moglestue, Paul Nicholson, Herbert Pence, Mike Russell, Nikolai Semyonov, Alain Senut, Vic Simons, Witold Urbanowicz, Bill Vigrass, Francis Wagner, Thomas Wagner, Philip Webb, Rick Wilson PRODUCTION – Lanna Blyth 145 Tel: +44 (0)1733 367604 [email protected] NEWS 124 SYstems FActfILE: den HAAG 145 DESIGN – Debbie Nolan Alstom launches Bombardier takeover; Variety abounds in the ‘Royal City by ADVertiSING Cities take action to combat coronavirus; the Sea’, home to the Netherlands’ COMMERCIAL ManageR – Geoff Butler Tel: +44 (0)1733 367610 Atlanta approves 2050 transport initiative; second-biggest system, finds Neil Pulling. [email protected] Consultation launched for Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro; Visakhapatnam revises WORLDWIDE REVIEW 150 PUBLISheR – Matt Johnston mobility strategy to include trams. Ground-breaking for the Parramatta light Tramways & Urban Transit rail line; Further vehicle issues plague 13 Orton Enterprise Centre, Bakewell Road, THE UK’S CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 130 Ottawa’s Confederation line; Tatra-Jug Peterborough PE2 6XU, UK Colin Robey explains the role of the UK’s trams in service in Iskandariyah; Bordeaux Tramways & Urban Transit is published by Mainspring ‘one-stop-shop’ for tramway promoters. inaugurates line D tramway extension; on behalf of the LRTA on the third Friday of each Kolkata opens east-west metro; Consultation month preceding the cover date. TRAM And LRV ORdeRS 2O2O 131 begins for 145km Tel Aviv metro; Mike Taplin provides his annual round-up Luxembourg public transport goes fare-free; and insight into the coming trends. Singapore orders 62 metro sets for MTR. PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION Warners (Midlands), Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH, UK CREATIng SAfeR CRossIngs 136 MAILBOX 155 LRTA MEMBERSHIP (with TAUT subscription) TAUT explores current best practice and Why SMART is not the glowing advert for Tramways & Urban Transit is sent free to all paid-up guidance for tramway crossing design. LRT it could be; the benefits of overhead members of the Light Rail Transit Association. lines as a city navigational aid. A test-bed foR the futuRE 140 LRTA WEBSITE AND DIARY Brian Lomas Zaragoza’s tramway has become a success CLASSIC TRAms: BLACKPOOL PART 2 156 [email protected] [email protected] story in many respects – not least in its Mike Russell concludes his survey of unusual twin-depot layout. Blackpool’s remarkable heritage operations. SuBSCriPtioNS, MEMBERSHIP AND BACK ISSueS LRTA Membership Secretary (Dept T06), 38 Wolseley Road, Sale M33 7AU, UK. Tel: +44 (0)117 951 7785 Consolidation and coronavirus: No time to panic... [email protected] Website: www.lrta.info FOR CORPORATE SuBSCriPtioNS VISIT One word is on everyone’s lips this month: coronavirus. Wherever in the world www.mainspring.co.uk you’re reading these words, it is almost certain that the outbreak of COVID-19 is the top news story. If ever there was a sign of how globalised we are, this is it. LRTA REGISTERED OFFICE 8 Berwick Place, Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL7 4TU, UK. Beyond the immediate health crisis, what does it mean for the world Private company limited by guarantee, No. 5072319 economy, and in particular for transport? Reports suggest that ridership in parts in England and Wales. of China, where the outbreak started, is down by 80%. In Iran, it is 70%. Many trams are LRTA ChaIRMAN – Paul Rowen running through the central areas of Milan empty. Does that mean we should panic? No. [email protected] There’s an irony in that the more we encourage people to leave their cars behind © LRTA 2020 and travel on trams, trains and buses, the more they are potentially exposed to such Articles are submitted on the understanding they may also airborne nasties. But if we are to see the benefits of a ‘green’ future – in particular in later be used on our websites or other media. A contribution decarbonisation and reducing congestion – then mass transit is clearly the way forward. is accepted on the basis that its author is responsible for the In reality, nothing else is sustainable long-term. (It is similarly ironic to see the massive opinions expressed in it, and such opinions are not those of improvements in air quality achieved through isolation and taking cars off the road!) the LRTA or Mainspring. All rights reserved. What is needed in such situations is careful planning (which rarely goes to waste No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including anyway), leading to rational precautions, clearly communicated. From the passengers’ photocopying, recording or by any information storage and side it means following the plan and not ignoring the problem – but not panicking either. retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from Coronavirus aside, light rail is booming. Our annual review of the manufacturers’ the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the contents of the order books (starting on page 131) shows what we have come to expect: business is good. magazine without prior written approval is not permitted. Some builders have done well, some less so – but the overall picture remains positive. That landscape will likely change soon as Alstom makes its move for Bombardier COVER (From top left): HeiterBlick; VGF; HEAGMobilo; Transportation. Subject to the important anti-trust and union hurdles, by next year’s Siemens Mobility; Bombardier Transportation; CAF; survey the makers of the Citadis and Flexity will have become one... Simon Johnston, Editor Metro do Porto; Modertrans; SWB/Škoda. www.tautonline.com . www.lrta.org APRIL 2020 / 123 News Alstom confirms Bombardier bid The creation of a European ‘rail champion’ is put back on the table with a EUR6bn offer in February lstom’s takeover of Bombardier Transportation could be completed in the Afirst half of 2021, following an offer of EUR6bn announced on 17 February. The acquisition is intended to provide a firm base from which to remain competitive with China’s CRRC, which has annual revenues of around EUR21bn, compared with EUR15.3bn for the combined European firm. Under the proposal, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) will sell its 30.5% stake in Bombardier Transportation for around EUR2bn, allowing it to buy back Alstom shares. Adding a further EUR500m, the CDPQ would take its stake in the French company to 18%, giving it two seats on the board. It would become Alstom’s biggest shareholder, ahead of Bouygues which has long held a 30% stake that would drop to 10%. An EGM is to be held by the end of Nantes is one of few cities with October to approve the deal. “The acquisition of Bombardier both Alstom and Bombardier trams. Bombardier has separately The TFS-1 came from Alstom (then completed its exit from Transportation is a one-time Alsthom) for the system’s opening in 1985; Bombardier (then ADtranz) commercial aviation by selling Incentros arrived from 1997. The city’s its interest in Airbus Canada opportunity for Alstom” latest deliveries are from CAF. N. Pulling (the A220 jet development programme) to Airbus SE and was vetoed by the European snowmobiles, and expanded into (UK), and Italy. Its centre of the Government of Québec Commission over perceived the rail market with the purchase competence for trams and light for USD591m (EUR521m). monopolies in the high-speed of Montréal Locomotive Works rail is Bautzen in Germany, where It has been reported that 90% of rail and signalling sectors. in 1975. While the company’s there has been considerable Bombardier’s CAD9bn (EUR6bn) This time both Bombardier corporate headquarters recent investment. debt is related to costs in aviation and Alstom have signalled remains in Canada, the buyout Alstom has an order backlog programmes; the company’s their commitment to make would effectively be an all- of EUR40bn and EUR8.1bn annual interest payments have concessions to allay any European combination as its of annual sales. Bombardier more than doubled since 2015, anti-trust concerns. Transportation arm is based in Transportation has a EUR32bn even as the company has shrunk French Finance Minister Berlin, resulting from the 2001 order book and EUR7.4bn of sales with asset sales. Bruno Le Maire met frequently takeover of Daimler’s former (although the latter represents Bombardier will retain its with EU Competition ADtranz business. a 7% decline). Montréal will profitable corporate jet division, Commissioner Margrethe If the deal goes ahead, Alstom become the headquarters of and has announced expansion Vestager last year as he tried to has said it expects to deliver Alstom in the Americas. of its service and support save the Siemens-Alstom merger, annual savings of EUR400m in Mr Poupart-Lafarge added: networks in Singapore, London openly calling the decision to years four and five; this could “The acquisition of Bombardier and Miami. This division has block the deal an “economic involve factory closures and Transportation is a one-time an order backlog of CAD19bn error” that damaged Europe’s redundancies. In Canada the opportunity for Alstom, which (EUR12.5bn), although some industrial interests.