THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHT RAIL MAGAZINE www.lrta.org www.tautonline.com DECEMBER 2014 NO. 924 DALLAS: FLYING HIGH THE AMERICAN WAY Kaohsiung: LRT adds to an enviable green reputation Dubai and Suzhou welcome the tram United Manchester unlocks funds Paris ‘Tram Express’ plan expands ISSN 1460-8324 £4.10 Bernard Garner Pyongyang 12 Reflections on three Tramway operations decades at Nexus in North Korea 9 771460 832036 2015 INTEGRATION AND GLOBALISATION BOOKING NOW! www.tautonline.com June 17-18, 2015: Nottingham, UK London, 7 October 2015 492 CONTENTS The official journal of the Light Rail Transit Association DECEMBER 2014 Vol. 77 No. 924 www.tramnews.net EDITORIAL 498 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 505 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 492 SYSTEMS FACTFILE: PYONGYANG 511 Alain Senut, Thomas Wagner. Dubai and Suzhou open their first tramlines; The tramway in North Korea’s capital is PRODUCTION Lanna Blyth Manchester Airport line opens and funding little known by outsiders. TAUT studies its Tel: +44 (0)1733 367604 E-mail: [email protected] approved for Trafford Park; Paris Tangentielle diverse operations. DESIGN becomes Tram Express; Boston order sees Debbie Nolan China’s CNR break into US market. MAGDEBURG ON THE MEND 516 ADVERTISING More than a year following devastating COMMERCIAL MANAGER COMMENT: OVERSEAS INSPIRATION 497 floods after the River Elbe broke its banks, Geoff Butler Is UK high-speed and urban rail connectivity the clean-up operation continues. Tel: +44 (0)1733 367610 E-mail: [email protected] inspiration just across the Channel? Alistair PUBLISHER Gordon from Keolis UK believes it is. WORLDWIDE REVIEW 517 Howard Johnston Austria’s Stern & Hafferl Lokalbahn to reach Tramways & Urban Transit is jointly published by the DART TAKES FLIGHT 498 Klosternplatz; trams return to Toronto’s LRTA and LRTA Publishing on the third Friday of each month preceding the cover date. The ambition of North Texas is epitomised Queens Quay; work begins on 40km LRTA WEBSITE AND DIARY by the opening of the line to Dallas/Fort Shanghai tramway; consultation starts Brian Lomas Worth International. Vic Simons reports. for second Angers tramline; tunnelling E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] finished for Stuttgart’s new tram subway. LRTA MEMBERSHIP (with TAUT subscription) KAOHSIUNG: THE GREEN MODEL 505 Tramways & Urban Transit is sent free to all paid-up James Chuang examines Taiwan’s first MAILBOX 521 members of the Light Rail Transit Association. tram project, which builds upon the city’s Guided busways have their place; and the SUBSCRIPTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES reputation for visionary urban planning. Light Rail Transit Association chairman on LRTA Membership Secretary (Dept T06), 38 Wolseley Road, Sale M33 7AU, UK. why now is the time for trams to flourish. Tel: +44 (0)117 9517785 ‘ALL ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS’ 508 BACK ISSUES Retiring Tyne and Wear transport authority CLASSICS 524 Tel: +44 (0)1406 373070 Chief Executive Bernard Garner shares his The UK’s Crich celebrates 50 electric years, PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION thoughts with TAUT. with a parade that spanned the decades. Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1778 391000. LRTA REGISTERED OFFICE High technology and common-sense thinking c/o 138 Radnor Avenue, Welling, Kent DA16 2BY, UK. Private company limited by guarantee, No. 5072319 Last month we spoke about thinking big, and there is no finer example than in England and Wales. the new Dubai Tramway. This 10.6km (6.6-mile) line is a demonstration LRTA CHAIRMAN of what can be achieved when budgets are less of a concern and strong Andrew Braddock leadership drives projects. With automatic platform screen doors, 100% E-mail: [email protected] catenary-free operation, integrated smart ticketing and sharp, modern LRTA DEPUTY CHAIRMAN design, it shows what LRT can deliver to a forward-thinking city. Following the Paul Rowen September 2009 opening of the state-of-the-art Dubai Metro, this Emirate surely must LRTA PUBLISHING REGISTERED OFFICE: now lay claim to being the most advanced in terms of urban rail, anywhere. c/o 8 Berwick Place, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 4TU, UK. Private Limited Company, No. 06169422 Elsewhere, the first tramline opened in Suzhou, China, on 26 October, one of the first in England and Wales. examples of a myriad of technology transfer agreements and licensing deals we have © LRTA Publishing 2014. seen from rolling stock manufacturers and domestic suppliers over the past three years. Articles are submitted on the understanding they may also With locally-built trams based upon the Bombardier Flexity 2, the smart new vehicles are later be used on our websites or other media. A contribution just the beginning for this Chinese mega-city, which has plans for a further five routes. is accepted on the basis that its author is responsible for the opinions expressed in it, and such opinions are not those of In the UK, the debate on integration and de-regulation has seen calls for more cities LRTA Publishing or the LRTA. All rights reserved. to have Transport for London-style powers to give a better deal to passengers in terms of No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in greater choice and lower fares. Our Mailbox has been filled with this debate recently and any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and it is interesting that the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank calls the retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from de-regulation of bus services in many UK cities a ‘failure’. Are we finally getting the the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the contents of the message that integrated transport should come under the remit of local authorities to magazine without prior written approval is not permitted. determine their own priorities? If so, we’ll finally be joining the rest of the world that understood this concept decades ago! Simon Johnston, Editor COVER: Inauguration of the fully catenary-free Dubai tramway took place on 11 November. Alstom www.tautonline.com . www.lrta.org DECEMBER 2014 / 491 News Dubai: High-tech trams in service Although later than planned, Alstom-supplied tramway is a technical tour de force BELOW: Alstom has chosen a n 11 November His purpose built facility near the added, taking the route further diamond-themed design for the Citadis Highness Sheikh Dubai Police Academy. inland to the Mall of the Emirates. 402 it has supplied to Dubai. Alstom Mohammed Bin Reflecting the city’s impressive Drawing from its experience of Rashid Al Maktoum, growing skyline, the nose styling commercial sponsorship on the INSET: Gold class passengers benefit OPrime Minister and Ruler of of the Citadis has a distinctive metro, the RTA is reported to be from more space and luxurious Dubai, officially inaugurated angular design. Alstom is also considering similar opportunities seating, compared to standard class what is claimed to be the world’s responsible for maintenance of on the tramway. seating (rear of image). Alstom most advanced tramway in the system for a period of 13 years Dubai, UAE. Running along in a contract awarded in 2012. the Al Sufouh Road, the fully Construction of the tramway catenary-free 10.6km (6.6-mile) began in 2008, designed to reduce line has 11 stops and connects the significant traffic along the major traffic generators such as Al Sufouh Road, especially at the Burj Al Arab Hotel area, Dubai weekends, and forms part of a Media City, the Marina and the wider plan for further urban metro. Passenger services on the rail extensions in the Emirate. first tramway in the Gulf region Integration of the Nol smartcard began the next day; it is projected is key to the system, with a flat to carry 75 000 passengers/day. fare of AED3 (EUR0.65) charged The turnkey project has been for the first two classes, with delivered by Alstom (including Gold class fares being AED6 tracklaying, signalling using (EUR1.30); off-tram ticketing is the Urbalis CBTC system, used with passengers having to communications systems, ‘tap in’ and ‘tap off’ at designated ticketing systems as well as a booths at stations. Passengers fully-integrated control centre) must have a minimum balance of and uses a fleet of 11 44mCitadis AED7.5 stored on their Nol card 402 low-floor vehicles, allied to before embarking on a journey. the manufacturer’s APS ground- Operating hours are 05.30-0.00, supply power system. The trams with an average claimed route were assembled at Alstom’s La speed of 20km/h (12.5mph). Rochelle facility in France. Two of the four elevated stops, The system includes many Jumeriah Lake Towers and Dubai technological advances, Marina, offer interchange with including air-conditioned stops the Metro Red line, and transfer with automatic platform screen is free if the passenger uses the doors, as well as ‘tropicalisation’ next mode of transport within of the trams to cope with 30 minutes. There is currently no temperatures of up to 50°C and such interchange offering for the extreme humidity and sandy Jumeriah Monorail. conditions.