April 2024 No: 1036

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CONTENTS

NEWS

Work starts on Vienna’s new line; Light rail replaces monorail in Brazil; Atlanta implements new ticketing system.

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O l S zty N : l E adi N g by E xampl E 141

Poland’s newest tramway is already proving an inspiration to nearby cities – Andrew Thompson finds out why.

pi CC adilly li NE trai NS 128

London’s Piccadilly Line prepares for a new fleet, but Howard Johnston asks: What about the rest of the Underground?

W hy l EE d S? 130

With the UK Light Rail Conference heading to Leeds this summer, TAUT explores the latest LRT developments in the city.

rO lli N g S t OC k O rd E r S 2024 132

Michael Taplin’s annual round-up of the global vehicle market.

W hat g OES i N t O a tram? 138

Richard Foster delves into the interior of light rail vehicles.

Sy St E m S faC tfil E : E di N burgh 145

Despite its troublesome genesis, Edinburgh’s tramway has grown into its pivotal role in the Scottish capital and become a real asset.

WO rld W id E r EV i EW 151

Toronto welcomes new Flexity trams; Development starts on new line in Tampere; Istanbul opens new extension.

mailb Ox 155

Questions and answers about new trackform; Photographic policies for LRT.

C la SS i C tram S: p E rri S 156

Mike Russell visits the extensive collection of the Southern California Tramway Museum.

High Speed savings aren’t all going to rail

The UK government’s recent decision to cancel the northern stretch of its flagship 360km/h (225mph) high speed railway between London and Birmingham to save vast sums of money at an uncertain time makes sense to many because it was only viewed as a vanity project.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised that the GBP36bn/EUR42bn would fund other transport projects, but hold on… 70% of the cash is going into roads, so not doing anywhere near enough for improving urban transit. There is a such a backlog of essential repair work, such as filling potholes, and completing promised essential traffic alleviation schemes that our politicians knew were not previously otherwise paid for.

There is a golden ray of sunshine over West Yorkshire, which will definitely get an urban transit system. While a decision on the exact mode is still a little way off, light rail has to be the favourite because schemes for trolleybuses and other road-based systems have all failed to find favour in recent times.

These issues, and many more, mean some stimulating debate at Mainspring’s 2024 UK Conference in Leeds on 17-18 July, when the West Yorkshire Combined Authority will be presenting its case and inviting comments. Operational light rail systems managers will be there in force, along with top decision makers, strategists, planners, manufacturers and suppliers. Make sure that you’re there.

april 2024 Vol. 87 No. 1036 www.tautonline.com

EDITORIAL

Edi T or – m att Johnston matt@mainspring.co.uk

Associ ATE Edi T or – tony Streeter tony.streeter@mainspring.co.uk

WorldW id E Edi T or – m ichael taplin miketap@mainspring.co.uk

sE nior c on T ribu T or s –howard Johnston , Neil p ulling

WOR l DW i DE C ONTR ibu TORS

r ichard Felski, Andrew Grahl, Andrew Moglestue, Paul nicholson, Herbert Pence, Mike russell, nikolai s emyonov, Alain s enut, Vic simons, Andrew Thompson, Witold urbanowicz, bill Vigrass, Francis Wagner, Thomas Wagner, Philip Webb. Produc T ion – l anna blyth

Tel: +44 (0)1733 367604 production@mainspring.co.uk

d E si G n – d ebbie Nolan

A Dv ERTI s I ng

co MME rci A l M A n AGE r – g eoff b utler

Tel: +44 (0)1733 367610 geoff@mainspring.co.uk

Tramways & Urban Transit

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Articles are submitted on the understanding they may also be used on our websites or in other media. A contribution is accepted on the basis that its author is responsible for the opinions expressed in it, and such opinions are not those of the LRTA or Mainspring. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the contents of the magazine without prior written approval is not permitted.

pri N t

The Manson Group l imited, st Albans, Herts A l 3 6PZ

Matt Johnston, Editor

As an amusing footnote, whatever happens, don’t expect West Yorkshire to get a monorail. These ideas spring up occasionally, and you can read on our news pages how another has bitten the dust in the Brazilian city of Salvador. An unwieldy 24km (15-mile) white elephant that would have forced suburban rail services to close has been dropped for something sensible – a three-line tramway that can truly be described as down to earth.

di StributiON Warners (Midlands), b ourne, l incs PE10 9PH, u K

COVEr: Running in snow in Olsztyn, Durmazlar Panorama 3018 departs from Planetarium with an inbound line 5 service. Andrew Thompson

The official journal of the light rail Transit Association

Work starts on Vienna’s new line

The first of six new planned extensions for Vienna sees start of construction.

Aground-breaking ceremony has kickstarted the first of six new tramway extensions planned for Wien (Vienna) in coming years.

The initial project in the Austrian capital, marked by 14 February’s ceremony, is a modest one: a 2.4km (1.5-mile) section from a new triangular junction with Line 26 at Pirquetgasse/ Zanggasse to Aspern Nord S-Bahn station.

The EUR100m (GBP86m) scheme also includes a turning loop, where there is a 1500-space park-and-ride facility. The new section will play host to Line 27 from autumn 2025, linking

Strebersdorf to Aspern Nord via Floridsdorf and Kagraner Platz. Some 10 000 passengers/day in each direction are expected to use the six new stops, with the line passing through urban development areas at Berresgasse and Heidjöchi.

Alexandra Renagl, Chairman of tramway operator Wiener Linien, said: “The tram is currently experiencing a renaissance… we are strategically laying the rails and switches in the right of way. In addition to building new lines, we are also

Light rail replaces Brazilian monorail plan

The Brazilian city of Salvador revealed plans for a 24km (15mile) monorail in 2018 that would have connected it to São João and Acesso Norte. Now, the Bahia Ministry of Urban Development has decided to replace it with a 36km (22-mile) light rail system. A tender to build the three-line VLT Bahia network has been issued.

However, construction on SkyRail Bahia had started in 2021. The monorail was being built in partnership with a consortium led by Chinese company BYD, and construction required the closure of suburban

rail services. Yet while BYD had produced the first monorail train, the project was cancelled last year after costs had spiralled to BRL5.2bn (EUR977m). Residents have complained of the loss of their suburban rail service.

The proposed BRL3.6bn (EUR677m) light rail network will comprise a 16.6km (tenmile) line from the city centre with São João, a 9.2km (5.7-mile) branch to Águas Claras and a 10.5km (6.5-mile) line from Águas Claras to Bairro da Paz, where it would make an interchange with metro Line 2.

Local politicians break ground for the new line in Wien (Vienna).

investing heavily in maintaining the existing infrastructure.

“We have lots of plans for the next few years to ensure that Vienna continues to play an international pioneering role as a model public transport city.”

UK’s new training programme

The management of training and development on the UK’s tram systems could be transformed with the launch of a sectorwide initiative. ‘Learning Management System’, led by the Light Rail Safety & Standards Board, includes the development of an online resource that individual networks can use to plan and maintain their own training programmes.

The LRSSB has recruited Marlene Pearson, former Edinburgh Trams Training Manager, to manage the project.

LRSSB Chief Executive Carl Williams said: “Marlene’s skills, knowledge and experience are already proving invaluable as we work towards what promises to be an essential tool for standardising competences across key roles within light rail.”

alstom’s paris follow-on order

Alstom has won a follow-on order to provide Paris’ Île-deFrance Mobilités with 103 new MF19 metro trains worth EUR1.1bn (GBP942m). Alstom is already building 44 new trains for Lines 3b, 7b and 10 in the French capital.

This order is for Lines 8, 12 and 13, with delivery in 2027-29. The order is part of a EUR2.9bn (GBP2.5bn) framework contract, signed in 2019, to supply a potential 444 new trains. The MF19s will replace MF67, MF77 and MF88 units on eight lines.

Stadt Wien

The planned light rail system in Salvador (VLT Bahia). Casa Civil

Marlene Pearson will manage the Learning Management System. LRSSB

Zürich approves 16-year expansion programme

Tram network proposals look set to come to fruition in new strategy

Delta junction enters final phase

The West Midlands Metro’s Brierley Hill extension (UK) will join the main Wolverhampton – Edgbaston line at a junction… with a difference.

Standing 6.2m above ground level, the huge concrete edifice has been under construction since 2022. Preparations are now underway to lay track on the junction so that the extension

Atlanta’s

can be integrated with the existing line.

This work is to take place over Easter, so no WMM services will run between Wednesbury and Birmingham City Centre from 23 March until 9 April.

Dudley Street bridge, which crosses the line at Dudley Street Guns Village stop, will also be replaced during this time. This

work is likely to disrupt evening services between Wednesbury and Edgbaston Village.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This is a crucial milestone in the construction of the new extension through Sandwell and Dudley. We’re now within touching distance and set to see a service open to Dudley within a year.”

new automated fare and ticketing system

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has contracted Innovations in Transportation, Inc. (INIT) to implement its Automated Fare Collection 2.0 system.

This ‘tap and go’ service will be introduced at more than

1800 fare validators at stations, bus rapid transit and light rail station platforms, and onboard non-rapid vehicles. INIT is also installing more than 275 ticket vending machines that will be able to handle credit/debit cards, smart cards, smartphones

Zürich’s city council approved the tram network expansion plans laid out in the Network Development Strategy 2040, on 23 January. The proposals were developed by operator VBZ, the city’s civil engineering and urban development departments, and the Zürich Transport Network (ZVV) in response to planned population growth and the fact that parts of the Swiss system are already at maximum capacity.

Among the projects set to be built in the next 16 years are Tramtangente Nord from Messe to Neuaffoltern and a new line Tram Affoltern to Holzerhurd, while short extensions are planned from Altried to Wallisellen/Dubendorf.

Tramspänge Altstetten will benefit from a new link built from Hardturm to Bhf Altstetten.

In the west, a new tram subway will link Irchel and Wipkingen, leading to a west orbital line from Escher-Wyss-Platz to Triemli. There is a new link north from Bhf Altstetten to the planned Hönggerberg subway via ETH Hönggerberg to Glaubtenstrasse and a surface link to Bhf Oerlikon. An extension will link Seebach and Kloten.

The cost of these projects could reach CHF2.5bn (EUR2.6m). City councillor, Michael Baumer, said: “The 2040 network development strategy sets the course for Zürich’s mobility future. It paves the way for the poly-centric and prosperous further development of the city.”

Modertrans takeover?

There were growing reports in the Polish media as this issue closed for press that tram manufacturer Modertrans could be taken over by HyundaiRotem of South Korea. Modertrans was created at the end of 2005 from the workshops of MPK Poznan and has delivered more than 500 new or modernised trams since then.

Pods for Dubai?

Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UK company Urban. MASS to install its FlocDuo Rail system. This features driverless, electrically-powered pods that run on elevated track.

and wearables but also cash transactions (they will also dispense change).

INIT’s back-office software, MOBILEvario, will enable the US network to offer different pricing structures. Fare capping is also possible.

Urban.MASS says the system reduces carbon emissions to 50% of a “comparable urban off-road alternative”. The signing took place at the Dubai International Project Management Forum on 18 January and forms part of Dubai Economic Agenda ‘D33’.

This map shows how Zürich’s tram network should look by 2040. VBZ

Phoenix opens light rail extension

A celebration of triple ‘firsts’ as Valley Metro opens Phase II – to budget and earlier than planned

Valley Metro opened its Northwest Phase II extension on 27 January. The light rail system in Phoenix, Arizona, is now 2.6km (1.6 miles) longer, thanks to the new line between 19th Avenue/Dunlop and Metro Parkway (Thelma Williams Transit Center).

The Federal Transit Administration’s Nuria Fernandez said: “This was the first project funded by the FTA under President Biden’s ‘Bipartisan Infrastructure law’ and the city and Valley Metro have done incredible work building it on budget and delivering the project earlier than expected.”

The USD401m (EUR371m) scheme included a number of firsts for Phoenix: the first elevated station, the first railonly bridge across freeway I-17, and the first multi-modal transit centre.

The extension has three

stations and is expected to attract 1400 new passengers/day. Metro Parkway has a four-storey parkand-ride facility with solar panels

Surface line for Montréal?

Montréal’s Autorité Régionale de Transport Metropolitain hopes that its proposed surface light rail line will finally bring connectivity to the Canadian city’s eastern suburbs. It is the third attempt to find a viable solution: the REM de l’Est project elevated private metro was rejected by locals while an extension of the underground métro system was, at CAD36bn (USD27bn), deemed too expensive.

ARTM’s proposed 22km (14-mile) surface light rail line would cost an estimated CAD10.4bn (USD7.7bn). It would have two branches: one would run along Rue Sherbrooke Est to Pointe-aux-Trembles and the other north along LacordaireDixon to Cégep Marie-Victorin. The lines would feed the métro at Cadillac (existing) and Lacordaire (planned).

It is estimated that the new system could attract between 23 300-27 600 passengers daily. Both lines could be extended at a later stage, to l’Assomption

Sherbrooke

ARTM

and to Riviere-des-Prairies. The ARTM light rail plan will now be presented to Québec Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbault.

A map of possible light rail in Montréal’s eastern suburbs. ARTM

and is served by five bus lines as well as light rail.

For more on Valley Metro, see TAUT 1034.

The opening party at the Thelma Williams Transit Center. Valley Metro

A vision of how light rail could look on Rue

Est.

Seattle to open part of new 2 Line

First section of Sound Transit line to open in April, to run from South Bellevue to Redmond Technology.

Sound Transit, Seattle’s light rail operator, has announced that the first part of its new 2 Line should open on 27 April. Passengers will initially be carried between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology.

Construction work on the Washington State project started in April 2016 and it has cost an estimated USD3.68bn (EUR3.4bn) to build the 10.4km (6.5-mile) line. This includes a 605m subway under downtown Bellevue and eight new stations.

Coupled LRVs will offer a ten-minute service 05.30-21.30. There are park-and-ride sites at South Bellevue, Bel-Red and Redmond Technology, and an operations and maintenance centre at Northeast 12th Street.

Initially, 2 Line will not be connected to the existing 1 Line in central Seattle. Completion of the section between South Bellevue and International District/Chinatown has been delayed after problems were found with the floating bridge

over Lake. This should now open in 2025, together with an extension north to Marymoor

Village and Downtown Redmond.

When complete, the full

Tenders issued for Baghdad metro

Iraq’s National Investment Commission issued tender documents on 12 February for a Design-Build-Operate-Maintain contract for an automated metro network around Baghdad. The seven-line, 64-station and 148km (92-mile) system is expected

to cost USD2.5bn to build. The network is expected to be mostly elevated and could start carrying passengers in 2027.

Bids must be submitted by 11 April but reports suggested that 26 companies have already expressed an interest

Myslowice moves forward

A potential solution to the stalemate that has existed within the Polish city of Myslowice took a major step forward on 24 January. Tramwaje Slaskie signed new contracts with the city authorities for completion of work to modernise the system in the city which borders the Silesian capital, Katowice.

The previous contract was severed in December 2022. The new contract has been awarded to KZN Rail s.p.o.o. of Krakow,

which was responsible for construction of the extension within Sosnowiec (Line 15) and the reconstruction of the Bytom – Stroszek section, both of which have been completed on time.

The works in Myslowice involve relaying the outer end of Line 14 (a turning loop near the railway station) and a bridge over the river Przemsza. Work is due to be completed on 24 June 2024 with service on Line 14 resuming immediately.

in the scheme. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has reportedly met with representatives of China Railway Sixth Group, which is already working on the Nisour Square development project that aims to ease traffic congestion in the city.

Brookville quality

US locomotive and rolling stock manufacturer Brookville Equipment Corp’s Quality Assurance Program has been validated as compliant with ISO 9001:2015 Standard, following a recent audit. The certification covers Brookville’s facilities in Brookville, Pa., and will complement its long-standing Association of American Railroad (AAR) M-1003 certification for its Quality Assurance Program, which has been held since 2002.

2 Line will be 29km (18 miles) long. It is hoped to carry 50 000 passengers/day by 2030.

Third Thames crossing?

Transport for London has started a consultation process for a proposed extension to the Docklands Light Railway that could involve a third crossing of the River Thames. The new line would diverge between Beckton and Gallions Reach, passing through a proposed new station – Beckton Riverside –before crossing the Thames and terminating at Thamesmead.

The extension could lead to the construction of some 30 000 new homes in the UK capital and support up to 10 000 new jobs.

A further extension towards Bexley has been mooted. The consultation runs until 18 March.

Budapest S-Bahn work starts

Construction work has started on what has been described as an S-Bahn-type service for Budapest. Hungary’s Ministry of Construction & Transport has approved plans to build 7km (4.3 miles) of additional lines alongside the Kelenföld –Ferencväros railway, along with three new stations.

A map of the whole East Link light rail in Seattle. Sound Transit

the new siemens cars are part of the company’s Inspiro family, although the london variant bears little similarity to its cousins Siemens Mobility

piccadilly line: new trains coming

london’s busy piccadilly line is preparing for the arrival of its new train fleet, but money is urgently needed to improve other routes. Howard Johnston explains.

It ’s taken 20 years of planning, and the refresh of London Underground’s Piccadilly Line is about to happen with the first of the 94 eagerly-awaited Siemens nine-car units now on test at Wildenrath in Germany. The aim is for the fleet to enter passenger service next year.

The replacement of rolling stock on this busy route represents a dramatic improvement in quality from the life-expired trains dating back to 1973. These MetroCammell trains currently run over the important mass transit route that runs from the north of the UK capital, and through the centre to Heathrow International Airport.

The re-equipment process is important for the UK’s domestic train construction industry, which has suffered from low orders, and seen the major former Bombardier plant at Derby (now Alstom) cease production at the beginning of 2024.

Siemens has fared better, but it is considered a risk by many to invest in a new factory at Goole in West Yorkshire on the basis of this London order. It has just announced that 80% of the units will be assembled there. How long it can sustain such a complex in the long-term will be the subject of considerable debate.

Although the near-GBP3bn (EUR3.5bn) upgrade of the Piccadilly Line goes a long way to arresting the backlog of investment in London, it is not quite enough to set the Underground up beyond the middle of the

decade. It is perceived as a job only half done, as we await news on whether the government will go the whole hog and provide extra capital for other improvements.

Money is needed to replace the antiquated signalling on the 71km (44-mile) route to allow the introduction of automatic train operation to increase service frequencies. The Piccadilly Line carries around 200 million passengers a year (11% of the total Underground business), and is heavily congested at peak hours. Extending the order from Siemens for 18 more units would cater for growth, the business plan suggests, and a decision has to be made soon to ensure that there is continuity of production.

At the same time Transport for London has to decide the future of the Bakerloo Line, another deep level Tube that runs north to south from Harrow & Wealdstone to Elephant & Castle, via the West End. It serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over 14.4 miles (23.2km).

Its trains are in even poorer condition than the Piccadilly. At 52 years old these are now the oldest passenger fleet in the UK, and so unreliable that service frequencies have had to be been reduced. Spare parts are to be recycled from withdrawn Piccadilly Line cars.

To replicate the Siemens Piccadilly Line design on the Bakerloo with up to 42 units has always been the strategy – indeed crucial for the Siemens assembly line, and an add-on is the replacement of stock on the

A HIST oRy oF THE PICCADILLy LINE

The first section of the Piccadilly Line (Finsbury Park to Hammersmith) opened on 15 December 1906, much of it as a deep level Tube. It expanded rapidly in the 1930s to meet demand from the growing commuter areas, soon reaching westwards from a junction at Acton Town to South Ealing and Uxbridge, with a new northern terminus at Cockfosters.

Provision was made of further extensions to Enfield and Tottenham, but neither were proceeded with.

The final closure of the London tram network in 1952 placed new pressure on the Piccadilly Line and other routes to perform well.

The Piccadilly used to suffer severe congestion in the city centre section between King’s Cross and Russell Square, but this was eased in 1968 with the inauguration of the Victoria Line. This was also when the Piccadilly Heathrow extension was approved, but the big breakthrough came in 1977 when Terminals 1, 2 and 3 were reached, later (in 1986) expanded into a loop to serve Terminal 4. Finally, the opening of Terminal 5, and another new station, was a further boost to the business from 2008. This brought the total number of stations up to 53.

As with the rest of the Underground, the power system is fourth rail 630v DC (powered from the National Grid),the track gauge is standard 4ft 8.5in (1435mm), and the line speed is 40-50mph (64-80km/h).

FAREWELL T o THE oLD PICCADILLy TRAINS

The current 1973 stock built by Metro-Cammell (now Alstom) in the West Midlands entered service between 1974-77. The original fleet comprised 87 three-car sets (plus a spare).

Considering their heavy use, the trains have fared well in the 20+ years since their major refurbishment by Bombardier Transportation with the removal of transverse seating and new floors, lighting and ventilation. The exterior was painted in red, white and blue. The first modernised unit entered service in 1997.

independent, self-enclosed Waterloo & City Line, which needs up to seven new units to increase its carrying capacity by 50%.

It doesn’t end there, because also under review is the Central Line, at 74km (46 miles) the longest Underground route, running through the heart of London from Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip in the west to Epping in the north east, with 46 stations.

Although supplied with a new fleet of 1992 stock 30 years ago, its 85 trains have been worked hard and never been trouble free, requiring a series of refits. There are new concerns about their long-term future, and in the absence of early replacements, a new programme of life-extension has begun. A budget of GBP500m (EUR685m) has recently been approved to arrest body cracking and corrosion, replace the traction equipment and revamp the interiors.

What Transport for London wants is approval for a brand new fleet of trains, one which ticks all the boxes of standardisation, economies of scale, and security of employment. The ball rests in the court of the UK government, which must work with TfL managers to devise a solution.

The Inspiro revolution

Taking ten years to develop, the new Siemens trains for the Piccadilly Line are

A L oNG -TERM CHALLENGE

Passenger growth on the Piccadilly Line is restricted by its limited fleet size (86 trains) and its antiquated signalling system that only allows a 24 trains per hour service frequency. This was clearly identified many years ago in the Deep Tube Programme (DTP), but it has taken this long to rectify. The 1973 stock was intended to be replaced by 2014, but there was only enough funding to make it run more reliably.

The DTP originally covered the replacement of the trains and signalling on the both the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines, and had been expanded to cover rolling stock requirements arising from the planned extension of the Northern Line to Battersea, eventual replacement of Central Line trains, and proposed increased service frequency on the Northern and Jubilee lines.

In early 2014 the Bakerloo, Piccadilly, Central and Waterloo and City Line rolling stock replacement project was renamed New Tube for London (NTL). The core proposal was to introduce fully automated trains and signalling to increase capacity, first on the Piccadilly Line in 2025, followed by the Central, Waterloo & City, and Bakerloo lines by 2033.

quite something. They come from the manufacturer’s Inspiro family that was launched in 2012, and first saw service in Warsaw (Poland). Other orders have come from Sydney (Australia), Sofia (Bulgaria), Munich and Nuremburg (Germany), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and Malaysia.

The London version, which bears little external resemblance to other batches, makes extensive use of aluminium, so is 30 tonnes lighter than 1973 stock it replaces. The body is reconfigured for the ‘Deep Tube’ role which restricts its height to 2.84m. What makes units appear unusual is that four of the cars are without bogies, being suspended instead between other cars in an articulated format. This allows the underbody space to be given over to ancillary equipment, and energy consumption is reduced by a fifth.

There are two pairs of sliding doors per vehicle. The trains are the first on the Deep Tube to be air-conditioned and also walkthrough, as on the Victoria Line. They have improved step-free access, and are equipped with enhanced digital display screens and CCTV cameras throughout.

Importantly, they offer a 23% increase in capacity (over 1000 passengers), and when all are in service will enable the Piccadilly Line timetable to be stepped up from 24 trains an hour to 27 (every 135 seconds at the busiest times) from May 2027.

Delivery has slipped a little, as the first units were due to enter service this year. Production began at the Siemens factory in Wien in August 2021, and the first testing in the UK will be later this year.

The units have a 40-year design life, and individual car numbers will be 38001-48001, with the 43xxx and 44xxx series omitted.

Infrastructure

Naturally, modifications need to be made to the Piccadilly Line’s infrastructure to accommodate the new trains, whose nine-car formations are 7m longer than the six-car sets they are replacing.

Piccadilly line

New maintenance facilities are being installed at Cockfosters and Northfields depots, with extra stabling sidings and cleaning facilities. The sidings at South Harrow have also been expanded.

Accessibility is being improved at stations with platform humps to reduce platform-totrain stepping distances and heights. Another new feature is a platform cooling system, installed in partnership with the Department for Transport.

In future, subject to funding, the full upgrading of the power system and resignalling will enable automatic train operation, with additional trains, to allow a peak service of up to 36 trains an hour in the central area, a 64% increase on current levels.

Siemens Mobility’s factory in East Yorkshire forms part of the town’s GBP200m (EUR235m) ‘rail village’, which was first announced in 2018. It includes a service facility, logistics warehouse and development hub. It is important to the northern economy as it is creating up to 700 jobs, with a further 1700 in the supply chain.

NEW TUBE FoR L oND oN

It has taken three decades for the Underground’s comprehensive modernisation programme to reach this stage. It suffered a strategic setback when public-private partnership infrastructure and maintenance firm Metronet went into administration in 2007, and had to be bought out by Transport for London.

Before that, an ambitious and far-reaching plan had been devised to build 250 new trains and upgrade signalling. No government was ever likely to approve that level of spending, and only 94 units were ordered, just for the Piccadilly Line. The GBP1bn (EUR1.3bn) needed was raised by selling the fleet of 70 Elizabeth Line Class 345 trains to a consortium and leasing them back in a 20-year deal.

Despite industry protestations, the urgent replacement of Bakerloo Line trains has still not been formally confirmed.

aBoVe: the interior of one of the new siemens cars Siemens Mobility

Leeds

f ULL sp EE d ah E ad fo R w E st yo R kshi RE mass t R ansit

Leeds and Bradford to benefit from EUR2.9bn funding towards rapid transit network.

Manchester ’s loss will be West Yorkshire’s gain.

The UK government’s decision to cancel its controversial High Speed 2 extension north from Birmingham to Manchester has released GBP2.5 billon (EUR2.9bn) to construct a rapid transit network centred on the major cities of Leeds and Bradford.

We’ve been there before, but Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made a highprofile public commitment to the project, and the expectation is that his Labour opposition will not move the goalposts if it is elected to power over the next year.

Sunak’s public statement in October was confirmed again the following month, but he stopped short of committing to specific timescales. He told an audience: “Leeds is the largest city in Western Europe without a tube or a tram system, buses are unreliable and there are chronic problems with traffic congestion. There is going to be significantly more money for West Yorkshire Mass Transit following the decision I made on HS2, and we are repurposing every penny.”

He added: “A good chunk of that has been kept aside to deliver mass transit. It can be delivered in full, because previously there wasn’t the full funding available. It was once half a billion pounds, but now there will be considerably more to deliver it.”

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is moving fast on the first phase

by presenting the outline business case to the Department for Transport. The main route will be between Leeds and Bradford, and run eastwards to Garforth. At the same time, a southern outer loop will also link Leeds with Bradford, this time via Dewsbury, Heckmondwike and Cleckheaton.

The assumptions to achieve the 2031 opening target are that the business case will be quickly accepted to launch the procurement process, so that contracts can be awarded without changes or hassle. The Government has already provided more than GBP200m (EUR235m) seed funding.

WYCA needs a formal government promise to make funds available, file the Transport & Works Act (TWAO) application, and hold a public inquiry. Tenders will then be issued to have contracts in place during 2027, and construction is reckoned to take three years.

The TWAO must take no more than 12-18 months to secure, and utility works and land acquisition has to be straightforward. Extensions will then be also easier to achieve.

The final decision on whether it will be trams, tram-trains or even modified buses is a little way off.

The pressure will be on West Yorkshire’s Mayor Tracy Brabin to persuade her Labour Party to include a pledge to build the region’s mass transit network into its General Election manifesto, but there is no suggestion at this stage that she will be unsuccessful. Bradford is fired up by the prospect of economic regeneration, and a little riled that PM Sunak

keeps referring to ‘Leeds Trams’ when its neighbour is just as much part of the project.

As well as quality urban transit, the area is also benefiting from the electrification and capacity improvements on the principal railway route between Manchester, Leeds and Hull. Called the Trans Pennine Route Upgrade, the GBP11.5 billion (EUR13.5bn) scheme is well under way.

a change in fortune for Bradford?

While Leeds’ misfortunes in having the plug pulled on its three-line Supertram scheme in 2005 are well reported, Bradford (14km/nine miles to the west) has probably fared worse for well over a century.

Bradford lost much of its 4ft (1219mm) gauge tramway in the 1930s when the infrastructure became due for renewal, but a handful of services survived until May 1950. c heaper-torun trolleybuses ran until March 1972, when motor buses took over because they were considered cheaper and more efficient.

t here is more good news for Bradford as PM r ishi Sunak has also promised to sweep away the 19th century anomaly that has deprived the city of a central main line station with through inter-city services. t he i nterchange and forster Square termini will be complemented or replaced with gBP2bn ( eur 2.4bn) investment in platforms that will provide a direct through service. t his was mooted in 2019, but cancelled on cost grounds.

Leed S : our 2024 conference venue

Where better? t his year’s 2024 u K Light r ail conference on 17-18 July is being staged in Leeds. it’s the annual gathering of industry leaders, decision makers and planners.

t he venue is Leeds university.

t he West Yorkshire Mayoral authority is a key supporter of the two-day event, and its leaders will be there to explain in more detail what the promise of gBP2.5 billion ( eur 2.9bn) investment for Leeds – and Bradford – means to manufacturers and suppliers.

With top level speakers, key panel debates, and unique opportunities to network, this is a fantastic chance to develop and build new connections.

to discuss sponsorship opportunities or reserve exhibition space, contact us on +44 (0) 1733 367600 or e-mail: hello@mainspring.co.uk

for more information and to follow the latest updates, please visit: www.mainspring.co.uk/ products/events/uk-light-rail-conference/

BELow: the main route will link Leeds and Bradford, running east to Garforth. an outer loop will connect via dewsbury, heckmondwike and Cleckheaton.

NEW tram ord E rs 2024

michael taplin finds the LrV market relatively buoyant with over 5900 orders for this year, despite delays to deliveries still proving a problem.

This annual review covers orders for new trams which have yet to be delivered and looks ahead to intentions to order new trams as announced by the undertakings. The market has remained relatively stable over the last 12 months, with orders standing at 5941 (February 2023: 5995) and options in the contracts falling to 2513 (February 2023: 3029).

Looking ahead, the number of pending tram orders announced is reduced (1879 last year, compared to 1708 this year), but in overall terms the market continues to be quite robust. Getting new trams out of the factory gate is still proving difficult, so as before, there are many delayed orders still moving down the production lines, with the backlog being cited as due to a variety of factors: COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, a shortage of staff and materials, as well as supply chain delays.

This is the third year of the takeover of Bombardier by Alstom and the consequential factory rationalisation has still to start,

although there are indications that 2024 will see developments in this area. It must be remembered that trams and LRVs are only part of the group’s production, with trains being more profitable and orders continuing to pile up.

The tram order book is up, with the Citadis™ and Flexity™ model lines maintained as separate products. The former Bombardier factories seem to be suffering particularly from delivery delays. Last year Alstom had an order book of 1605 (plus 818 options); this year the equivalent figures are 1654 (plus 394) as options were converted to firm orders.

The significant new order came from the group’s US subsidiary with Philadelphia’s SEPTA finally signing up to 130 new low-floor trams. There are orders trickling in from existing French systems that are expanding or replacing their original rolling stock (Besançon, Brest and Caen, with Grenoble and Le Havre to be decided), but no new French system orders in the list. The German city of Köln (Cologne) has chosen Alstom for its next batch of trams, a significant order.

It is good to see that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will join the world’s roster of tramway operators, with a bespoke design of tourist tram based on the Citadis for the planned line serving the desert location of AlUla. Announced as 20 trams, each is in fact a twin unit (so 40 trams equivalent). The Algerian factory of CITAL in Annaba seems to have suspended tramway production as another re-evaluation of projects is in progress by the government. The Citadis for Casablanca were delayed as a consequence and are now under construction at the Barcelona factory.

One of Alstom’s biggest rivals is the Spanish company CAF, which also has a fairly static order book (911 last year to 872 this year, but options show a significant increase from 456 to 558). Roma (Rome) was a big win this year. Budapest and Palermo have increased orders. The company is building its short Urbos 100 for Kansas City and Omaha in the US. The company still has a big backlog with Marseille and Montpellier choosing CAF this time, while they have their entry into the high-floor Stadtbahn market with orders

the alstom Flexity will be delivered to the austrian city of Graz. Döllmann Design

rIGHt: stadler is unusual amongst the manufacturers in delivering its products by rail and providing its own motive power in switzerland. this is a TINA on its way to darmstadt. R. Hubert

BELoW: the docklands Light railway in east London will put its new CaF trains into service this year. Car 201 is seen at stratford High street during testing. R. Smith

from Bonn and Hannover. In North America, Philadelphia chose Alstom, but CAF won in Boston. Passengers should also be riding CAF stock on London’s Docklands Light Railway in 2024.

Siemens’ position in the market has improved somewhat this year, with 931 orders outstanding compared with 863 last year; options are also up slightly. However, this is all due to success in North America by its US subsidiary in Sacramento, with orders for its home city and St Louis. Activity in Europe has been confined to fulfilling existing orders, with trams now being built at Kragulevac in Serbia.

Stadler, which has transformed itself from a Swiss company building relatively small numbers of light railway vehicles to an international company with production sites in Switzerland, Spain and Germany, should this year deliver the first cars from the large Citylink tram-train order based on the VDV joint procurement for undertakings in Austria and Germany. The success of its TINA low-floor tram design has continued,

with new orders in Gera and Sarajevo, while the first examples have entered service in Darmstadt. Later this year they will also be in Basel (BLT). A total of 196 have now been ordered.

Stadler numbers have fallen from 871 to 656 this year, and options from 561 to 511.

British passengers should be riding Stadler LRVs in Tyne & Wear and South Wales later this year.

The Finnish subsidiary Transtech, with its Artic design of low-floor car, supplements the Czech Republic company’s own ForCity design. Order numbers are up this year (263 to 314, with options increasing from 137 to 270), largely thanks to the potentially massive order from the Czech capital, Praha (Prague). Bergamo’s second line was another unexpected win.

Pesa in Poland is another eastern European company that has upped its order book (103 to 248), locally with Bydgoszcz confirming options, but also with a large order for the second group of tram lines in the Israeli city of Jerusalem.

National rival Modertrans has fallen back significantly and Polish media reports takeover interest from Hyundai Rotem. In Romania, Astra has seen its figure rise thanks to Galati exercising its option, while the factory is building 100 trams for Bucuresti, with the prospect of another 200 there for the taking. The Pragoimex-Alliance TW set up in the Czech Republic won a small order from Olomouc for its EVO-1 bogie tram.

Tatra-Jug in the Ukraine is still in business, and is delivering trams to Kyiv and Odesa, but it seems the option from the Egyptian city of Iskandariyah (Alexandria) will expire.

Another Ukrainian company, Electron, has disappeared from these listings, but is still building trolleybuses.

There is a welcome return to the listings for the Croation builder Koncar, that will be re-equipping home tramways in Osijek and Zagreb.

Despite a war and sanctions, the situation on Russian tramways has improved remarkably over the last couple of years due to the adoption of PPP-type contracts for

aBoVE: the first alstom Citadis cars arrived in the French city of montpellier in 1999-2000, and their replacements are now on order. they will probably start a second life in annecy. Y. Allain

toP: the alstom Citadis Spirit for the Us city of Philadelphia should look like this. Alstom

aBoVE: the first durmazlar tram arrives for the romanian city of resita’s re-instated tramway in early 2023. Durmazlar

Rolling stock

tramway modernisation that include new rolling stock. These are now in place in several cities, benefiting domestic manufacturers PKTS, Uraltransmash and Ust-Katav. Krasnodar and Rostov-na-Donu are two cities that have still to declare their choice.

HeiterBlick of Leipzig is running well behind on deliveries to Dortmund and Würzburg and has added nothing to its order book.

The Turkish builder Bozankaya has improved its order book, particularly if the decision of Napoli to obtain its next batch of trams from that builder is confirmed. Nothing has happened for local rival Durmazlar in Italy; meanwhile, Hitachi Rail Italia must be smarting at the loss of a contract from its home city of Napoli, but has won a small order from Firenze (Florence).

In the US the market for city centre tramways seems to have almost dried up (at least until Seattle decides to link its two existing lines), with just Omaha to come, a win for CAF. Domestic manufacturer Brookville, which only has a small Portland order to finish, did not bid on the Omaha tender and seems to have currently withdrawn from the new-build market, hence its absence from the lists.

In Canada the former Bombardier plant at Thunder Bay is remaining open under Alstom for the time being, but once the current order for Toronto is complete, the future of the facility might appear rather bleak. Chinese giant CRRC probably has plenty of domestic work, but has almost completed orders from Porto in Portugal and Mexico City, while the

Bogota tram-train projects in Colombia are in trouble.

Orders to look out for over the next 12 months include decisions on trams for Bologna and Grenoble, the Bucuresti order already referred to and potential orders for Basel (which seems to want to replace its Combino trams) and Helsinki, while a new Swedish system in Uppsala should be ordering its fleet later this year. Luxembourg has confirmed continuing expansion of its tram line, so will be looking for new stock to join its fleet of CAF trams.

The price of new trams continues to rise and competitive pressures do not seem to be having much effect on inflation. Prices (per car) are in the range EUR3.15-6.00m, depending on the size and complexity of the car and whether items such as spare parts and maintenance are included.

There is some limited activity in the second-hand market, with German trams from Augsburg and Jena moving to Zagreb in Croatia and Łód ź in Poland respectively. There is still no definitive news about whether the withdrawn fleet of Helsinki low-floor ADtranz trams has found a buyer (Łód ź was rumoured); neither have the CAF cars delivered to the aborted tramway scheme in Cuiabá, Brazil been moved to another home. Bonn claims to have a buyer for its soon to be withdrawn fleet of 1994 trams. If the new French tramway at Annecy gains final approval it is likely that costs will be kept down by buying Montpellier’s first-generation Citadis trams. San Diego has been passing its original Siemens LRVs to Mendoza in Argentina.

“the price of new trams continues to rise and competitive pressures do not seem to be having much effect on inflation.”

LEFt: a 71-911EM tram for the russian city of Perm in the finishing shop at the PKts factory in sankt Peterburg. Arseniy

aBoVE: Former san diego high-floor siemens LrVs can now be seen in mendoza, argentina. G. Khu

“

T h E supply ch AI n: wh AT g OE s I n TO A TRA m?

There might be more that goes into a tram than you think... Richard Foster breaks down some of the key interior features.

You can see almost record numbers for 2023 across the globe and that’s not unique to one particular continent. We are ordering more trams as a planet.”

That’s what TAUT Editor Matt Johnston told delegates at the 2023 UK Light Rail Conference (TAUT 1029). That trend shows no sign of slowing down, with large orders for new tram and light rail vehicles being placed on an almost monthly basis. The manufacturers receiving these orders are almost household names for regular readers.

Whatever the badge on the front, it is unlikely that the main manufacturer has supplied every single component found in one of its products. And this is what unifies nearly every rolling stock builder: the supply chain.

Key parts and components will be bought in from smaller suppliers and manufacturers and it is the flow of these products that form the supply chain. Depending on the main manufacturer, the supply chain can be comparatively local, or it can span the globe.

Analysis that Transport for London published in October 2023 revealed how important the supply chain can be to a nation’s economy. As reported in TAUT 1032, TfL spent GBP6.5bn (EUR7.4bn) with 2072 different suppliers in 2022-23 alone. Global project management company Hatch, which compiled the analysis on TfL’s behalf, calculated that 93% of that total went to businesses in the UK and supported over 100 000 jobs. While the specific numbers may change, that pattern can found in most countries around the world.

To continue using the UK as an example, it only has a limited light rail manufacturing capability (Siemens is building a new plant at Goole in East Yorkshire where it will assemble new trains for TfL). But that doesn’t mean that the UK doesn’t contribute to global tram and light rail construction, for the output of myriad smaller manufacturers based in the country become part of the supply chain.

To list all the companies and organisations that form the global tram and light rail manufacturing supply chain would turn an issue of TAUT into something akin to the telephone directories of yesteryear. In order to give a taste of how wide the supply chain stretches, we have decided to focus on the suppliers and manufacturers of interior components.

Why the interior? Well, manufacturers continually highlight the technological innovations that their new vehicles contain. That could be a safety system that will prevent collisions. Or it might be a more efficient and environmentally friendly way of transmitting power to the wheels. The interior barely changes… or does it?

Compare the interior of something like an English Electric Blackpool Balloon Car with the interior of any 21st Century tram, regardless of manufacturer. They will have pretty much the same features: seats, doors, grab rails and some sort of floor covering.

But the Balloon was designed and built using 1930s coach building techniques. The terms ‘environmentally friendly’ or ‘sustainable’ did not exist back then.

Take something simple like a grab rail. Brass or stainless steel were once the materials

of choice but they’re heavy materials. But ‘heavy’ is no good for second generation tramways, especially when you consider the move towards Very Light Rail – and even Ultra Light Rail – systems. Also, dragging heavy materials around makes a tram power hungry and inefficient. A grab rail made from some kind of composite material results in a grab rail that’s just as strong as metal but at a fraction of the weight.

But grab rail innovations don’t stop there. The COVID-19 pandemic has made everyone more aware of how germs and bacteria can be passed between people. Therefore, braided thermoplastic grab rails have been developed that can either kill germs and bacteria or prevent their growth. And while brass shares these germ killing properties, a braided thermoplastic is not only lighter but can be easily recycled when life expired.

When you step into a tram, how often do you consider the floor material? It has to be extremely resistant to wear and yet easy to clean. But it also has to meet fire regulations and offer sufficient anti-slip properties. The floor of a 21st Century tram requires a lot of thought and research and development.

Door interfaces have changed too. The only interaction the passenger needs to have today is to press a button. But, again, innovations in door technology continue. There are now doors being developed that sense if people or belongings are in the vicinity before they allow the vehicle to depart, thus eliminating the risk of ‘trap and drag’ incidents.

The seat is another important part of the interior but traditional upholstery foam is

ABOVE: In Karlsruhe, the Vossloh NET 2012 has a high seating proportion with grab handles on seats and overhead. Neil Pulling

Tram interiors

petroleum based and cannot be recycled. However, new seats are being developed that contain no foam, are lighter than traditional seats and can be recycled.

You also can’t ignore that traditional light bulbs have been replaced by light emitting diodes. LEDs are, according to research, 75% more efficient than traditional filament bulbs. The light that LEDs produce is also brighter – which is claimed to offer improved safety factors – and they’re also more resilient to the shakes, bumps and vibrations that vehicles receive.

The travelling public may not notice an innovative grab rail or seat, although they will notice if they are missing or defective. These features hide in plain sight. But the some things can’t hide, and they include the information systems.

Passengers demand up-to-the-minute information, that’s clearly visible and audible but not overpowering. There are multiple suppliers that produce passenger information systems that utilise slim LED or thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display and IP-based audio systems. CCTV systems can be used in conjunction with PA systems so that drivers and staff can monitor any potential situations, thus ensuring a feeling of safety for passengers.

Whether it’s information on flooring, lighting, seating, passenger information and door-related systems that you need, you can find the answers using our guide, which starts here...

ABOVE: grab rails, as pictured in luxembourg, can be about form as well as function Gabor Koszegi /Unsplash

RIghT: The new handrail lights from Tsl-EschA offer a perfect combination of functionality and aesthetics. Škoda

TSL-ESCHA: HAN dr A i L L iGHTS for L rT

TSL-ESCHA has expanded its product portfolio to include two types of handrail lights designed for use in rail vehicles.

TSL (Touch, Signal and Light), boasts over 35 years of experience in developing and manufacturing products for the transportation sector Through continuous innovation and customised solutions, TSL-ESCHA ensures maximum comfort and reliability for passengers worldwide. its products, including door opening push buttons, signal lights, sounders, indicators and display devices and LE d lighting are used in thousands of vehicles globally.

Since November 2021, TSL-ESCHA has been part of the MA f ELEC TEAM.

Leveraging their expertise in LE d technology, TSL-ESCHA has introduced two versions of handrail lighting specifically designed for rail vehicles: the HL22 and HL18. The HL22 is another joint project between TSL-ESCHA and MA f ELEC.

These modern lighting solutions blend seamlessly into the vehicle's design, enhancing interior ambience. Positioned strategically in the door areas, the handrail lights function as orientation aids for passengers, improving transfer efficiency and ensuring safe and comfortable boarding and alighting. it is also possible to use coloured light (red and green) to clearly signal the opening and closing of doors in order to further optimise the organisation of transport operations.

Handrail Light as an All-in-One Solution: HL 22 : As an all-in-one solution, a light strip is installed directly into the handrail and is supplied as a complete assembly. The light emits through a pre-installed diffuser profile, creating a homogeneous indirect light pattern. A custom profile ensures the strength of the handrail.

Handrail Light as a Retrofit Option: HL18: The HL18 handrail light is a retrofit option that allows handrails of existing rail vehicles to be retrofitted with the innovative lighting. Suitable for a standard tube with a 35mm diameter, the HL18 requires a longitudinal milling as a mounting cutout for easy mechanical integration. This allows existing vehicles to benefit from the advantages of the handrail light, with the flexibility to customise the length of lighting through stringing together individual light modules.

Both lighting solutions are energy-efficient and durable thanks to cutting-edge LE d technology. With a range of colour options (red, yellow, green) and white light (3000K-5000K) available, passengers can enjoy a personalised ambience while maintaining the handrail's uniform and pleasant feel. for more information, see www.tsl-escha.com

BElOw: hard-wearing floors, flip seating and wider, open spaces with plenty of grab rails are visible in this standing and multi-use/accessible section of a utrecht cAF Urbos vehicle Neil Pulling

L iGHT i NG

UK-based LPA (www.lpa-group.com ) and Translec, now part of BMAC (www.bmac.ltd. uk ) join the likes of f innish firm Teknoware (www.teknoware.com ) and German company Nolden (www.noldengmbh.de) working in the forefront of LE d lighting technology.

lEFT: Every detail needs to be manufactured, such as this exit button on a Dc streetcar Mr.TinMd, CC BY-Nd 2.0 dEEd

door S, BUTT oNS & door SENS or S

The use of modern technology to make a safe, efficient door system has resulted in a truly global field, attracting global companies such as i gus (www.igus.com ), Bosch (www.bosch. com ) and f rauscher (www.frauscher.com ).

Some mainly focus on the sensors that new door technology requires, such as US firm BEA (us.beasensors.com ).

o thers such as TSL Escha from Germany (www.tsl-escha.com ), Polarteknik from f inland (www.polarteknik.fi ), Mafelec from f rance (www.mafelec.com ) and Pars Komponenty from the Czech republic (www. parskomponenty.cz) offer complete systems.

f L oori NG

There are many flooring materials available and most firms specialise, although not exclusively. Nora Systems (www.nora.com ) and Carmat (www.carmat.eu ) are rubber specialists, whereas Tiflex (www.tiflex. co.uk ) uses bonded cork and rubber. d ellner (www.dellnerglass.co.uk ) uses aluminium, composite panels, and wooden substrates. Altro (www.altro.com ) and Gerflor (www. gerflor.co.uk ) specialise in acrylic surfaces. forbo (www.forbo.com ) offers a range of synthetic carpet-like materials. Stepping outside for a moment, Midland i ndustrial f looring specialises in anti-slip surfaces for steps (www.mifl.co.uk ).

r A i LS, P oLES & HAN dLES

You wouldn't necessarily think that this was a growth area, but there are now a number of different companies producing lightweight, composite grab rails embedded with anti-microbial property. These include: Transport d esign i nternational (www. transportdesigninternational.com ), BioCote (www.biocote.com ), Promethean Particles (www.prometheanparticles.co.uk ) and Composites Braiding (www.compositebraiding.com ).

Bright, wide and clean interiors are a feature of london’s new Docklands light Railway fleet. dLr

i N for MAT ioN SYSTEMS

This is a catch-all term for anything from a display that keeps passengers informed about their journey to video surveillance ( icomera, www.icomera.com ) and emergency phone systems between cab and passenger saloons, i.e. Gai-Tronics (www.hubbell.com/gai-tronics).

The suppliers listed here offer services ranging from complete software and systems packages, such as GMV Sistemas (www.gmv.com ), Televic (www.televic.com ) and Teleste (www.teleste.com ), to those whose focus is on the display themselves. These include Wabtec (www.wabteccorp.com ), which offers its iSmart display systems that can be mounted anywhere in a passenger saloon, to i nfotec (www.infotec.co.uk ), whose giant display screens now adorn stations on the Elizabeth Line in London.

These systems still require cables, and that's exactly what LUTZE specialises in (www.luetze.com ).

SEAT i NG

Whether it's longitudinal seats, tip-up seats, perch seats or even luxurious f irst Class, there will be a manufacturer or supplier able to meet your needs.

UK manufacturer Quantum Seating (www.quantumseating.com ) offers a huge range of seats for tram and light rail uses whilst the offerings from italian firm f isa (www.fisaitaly.com ) are aimed at the metro and heavy rail end of the spectrum. d river comfort shouldn't be ignored either, and firms such as Be-Ge Seating ( seating.bege.com ) specialise in seats for the driving cab.

lEFT: An lcD information panel and offset seating (to reduce contact) can be seen in this helsinki Transtech Artic vehicle Neil Pulling

E s t a b i s h e d i n 1 9 4 6 T W I s a w o r d l e a d i n g r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y o r g a n s a t o n F r o m b a s e s i n U K U S A C h n a M a l a y s i a M i d d e E a s t I n d i a a n d A u s t r a l i a , o v e r 8 0 0 s t a f f p r o v d e t e c h n i c a s u p p o r t i n o i n i n g a n d t e c h n o l o g e s s u c h a s m a t e r a l s c e n c e , s t r u c t u r a l i n t e g r i t y

t h t h e r a i l t r a n s p o r t i n d u s t r y T W I h a s s u p p o r t e d t h e i n d u s t r y i n a r e a s i n c l u d n g : w e l d i n g a n d d e s g n t e c h n o o g y i n c l u d n g w e i g h t r e d u c t i o n n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s f o r t r a n c o n s t r u c t o n d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w t e c h n i q u e s f o r n o nd e s t r u c t i v e t e s t i n g a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e s t r u c t u r a l n t e g r i t y o f a g e i n g a s s e t s f a i u r e a n a l y s s s a f e t y a s s e s s m e n t a s s e s s m e n t o f w e d n g c o m p e t e n c y p r e v e n t i o n o f c o r r o s o n a n d e r o s o n i m p r o v n g c o m p o n e n t s a f e t y a n d p e r f o r m a n c e I n a d d i t i o n T W I e s t a b l i s h e d a n d m a n a g e s t h e I n s t t u t e o f R a W e l d i n g w w w o r w o r g a p r o f e s s i o n a l b o d y w h i c h c o v e r s a a s p e c t s o f t r a c k j o i n i n g a n d r e p a r

O LS z T yn: L EA din G B y E x A m PLE

Andrew Thompson reviews the latest developments for Poland’s most recent tramway network, a system that has already inspired other cities.

Located in northern Poland, Olsztyn is the provincial capital of Warmia-Mazury and boasts a population of roughly 172 000.

The city has the distinction of featuring Poland’s newest tram network –its second-generation tramway opened in December 2015 with an initial length of 10.5km (6.5 miles) with three lines.

For the full history of Olsztyn’s modern system and also its first-generation tramway from 1907-65, please refer to Systems Factfile no.169 (TAUT 1007, November 2021).

From mid 2021 to late 2023, the next phase in the development of Olsztyn’s modern, purpose-built public transport system was successfully implemented, with the construction of the 6km (3.7-mile) southeastern extension to Pieczewo. This new tram branch opened on 30 December 2023 and has brought the current network size to 17km (10.6 miles), thereby making Olsztyn’s system larger than the other small Polish tramways in Elbląg (16.5km/10.3 miles), Cz ęstochowa (14.5km/nine miles), Gorzów Wielkopolski (13km/eight miles) and Grudzią dz (9km/5.6 miles).

Featuring 13 new stops, the branch line to Pieczewo mainly serves residential districts and has enabled the launch of the new lines 4 and 5. While tram line 4 now connects the

ABOVE: Leaving Plac Jedności Słowiańskiej at the Old Town terminus and turning onto the narrow 11 Listopada Street, Solaris car 3007 passes the High Gate (Wysoka Brama), a red brick landmark dating from the 14th Century. The former single-track Wysoka Brama tram terminus is located just a few metres to the left of the picture. All photos Andrew Thompson, 3 January 2023

ABOVE: Running with a line 1 service to Wysoka Brama, Solaris Tramino 3008 turns left at Skwer Wakara in order to reach the old town, while the tracks that lead straight ahead at this major junction lead to the lines 2, 3 and 4 terminus at the main railway station.

Olsztyn

Uniwersytat

Uniwersytat-Centrum

OLSZTYN GŁÓWNY

Kętryńskiego

Filharmonia

Centrum

Planetarium

Skwer Wakara

SKVIER WAKARA

Hala Urania Stadion Stomil

Żołnierska

Pstrowskiego

Dywizjonu 303

Uniwersytat

Murzynowskiego

Galeria Warmińska

Witosa

OSTRZESZEWO

main railway station at Dworzec Główny with Pieczewo, line 5 runs between Pieczewo and the Old Town.

In mid-December, the previous singletrack terminus at Wysoka Brama (High Gate) was extended by around 100m from the narrow street 11 Listopada to Plac Jedności Słowia ń skiej, where an interchange with two tracks has been built. Thanks to this facility and connections to various bus routes, the historic Old Town now enjoys enhanced public transport accessibility. As part of the new service configuration, lines 1 and 5 terminate at Wysoka Brama.

Since September 2023, tram line 3 to the university has been operating once more on weekdays, offering a half-hourly headway. During the pandemic and then again as of early 2022, the line had been replaced by buses due to enforced distance learning and limited social life on the campus. The single-track branch line to the university, with its three stops along the way, is however still not as popular as main lines 1 and 2 that serve the south of the city and terminate at Kanta. To remedy this, the city officials have plans to extend the university branch further southwest along Aleja Warszawska and to Dybowskiego, so reaching more areas of the campus and linking up with the residential district at Osiedle Słoneczny Stok. This roughly 1km (1.6-mile) extension should significantly help boost ridership on line 3, which at its northern end also terminates at the main railway station Dworzec Główny.

Olsztyn’s modern tramway is far from complete and additional expansion schemes are already at an advanced planning stage. The speed of implementation mainly depends on the allocation of central

ABOVE: near the Skwer Wakara tram stop, at the intersection of the major roads Tadeusza Kościuszki and Aleja marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego, the new branch line to Pieczewo diverges from the original part of the Olsztyn tram network. Running from left to right and showing its full length, the five-section Panorama car 3015 takes the new turn onto the extension with a southbound line 4 service. The next stop is Planetarium.

with an outbound line 5 service to Pieczewo, Panorama car 3020 passes the white-domed Hala Urania indoor arena at the namesake stop.

government grants as well as EU funding. This includes building a southern link between the two current tram branches, creating a proper city loop. In order to take the tram tracks along the busy Wilczy ń skiego road, a triangle with westward leading points was built at the new KrasickiegoWilczy ń skiego stop of lines 4 and 5 during recent construction work on the Pieczewo extension. This would link up with lines 1 and 2 at Sikorskiego-Wilczy ń skiego.

In the north of the city, there is the medium-term aspiration to take the tram network beyond the railway tracks to the Zatorze district with its hospitals.

Aside from the original fleet of 15 Solaris Tramino LRVs from 2015, Olsztyn also took delivery of 12 Durmazlar Panorama trams between June 2021 and February 2022. Currently, Olsztyn is the only EU city to operate Durmazlar trams, although Turkish low-floor Bozankaya LRVs run in Ia și and Timișoara, Romania. As Olsztyn officials elected not to use their contract option with Durmazlar for additional Panorama vehicles, there is a short- to mid-term need for at least three more trams. These are to be procured through a new tender, though such a small order is only likely to draw the interest of small-scale domestic producers like Modertrans in Pozna ń

Olsztyn’s entire system is laid out for double-ended vehicles and does not include any loops. To provide adequate stabling facilities for the enlarged system and extended fleet, the lone depot at Towarowa was also expanded as part of new southwestern extension.

The introduction of a modern tramway has proved to be a real game-changer for a mid-sized regional city like Olsztyn, helping to encourage modal shift and significantly reduce urban congestion.

The city’s bus lines are designed to feed the tram system, and ridership utilisation is high on all lines throughout the day.

In Poland this example has inspired feasibility studies in other cities. In summer 2023, the city of Zamość (population 63 000) launched a study for a 6km (3.7-mile) line, which it believes would help alleviate traffic problems in this popular tourist destination and UNESCO World Heritage site. As the city is somewhat off the beaten path and qualifies for numerous of the EU’s regional development benchmarks, the degree of development subsidy would be relatively high. The mayor of the city is one of the project’s most ardent backers.

ABOVE: Solaris Tramino 3009 at the university terminus of the re-opened line 3. While the island platform at the terminus has two tracks, the university branch is only a single-track with passing points at stops. The location of the terminus is not ideal for access to parts of the campus and therefore the intended extension of line 3 should greatly improve passenger convenience as well as utilisation of the service.

LEFT: Panorama 3015 passes the newly-installed track triangle at Krasickiego-Wilczyńskiego, where the set of points have already been installed to allow future services to turn to the right in order to access the planned extension onto Wilczyńskiego Street, which will link up with the original trunk route of lines 1 and 3 to the southern Kanta terminus at SikorskiegoWilczyńskiego. in this frame, car 3015 will now turn to the left in order to reach the southeastern Pieczewo terminus, two stops from KrasickiegoWilczyńskiego.

BELOW: The redeveloped and slightly extended Old Town terminus at Wysoka Brama, which now includes two tracks and easy tram to bus interchange with the bus platform directly adjacent to the tram tracks on the left. While the Turkish durmazlar LRVs were too long to terminate at the previous, temporary Wysoka Brama terminus on the narrow 11 Listopada Street, this new facility at Plac Jedności Słowiańskiej now easily houses both the Solaris and durmazlar vehicles. it is served by lines 1 and 5.

BOTTOm: The purpose-built tramway viaduct between the Pstrowskiego and murzynowskiego stops is the most elaborate civil engineering structure constructed as part of the Pieczewo extension. Solaris Tramino 3007 is seen passing over the viaduct with a southbound line 5 service to Pieczewo.

ABOVE: Running

www.lightrailawards.com

#GLRA24

nEW VEnUE For 2024: tHE BLooMsBUrY BALLrooM, LonDon

trAM opErAtions LtD is proUD to BE rEtUrninG As HEADLinE sponsor oF tHE 2024 GLoBAL LiGHt rAiL AWArDs

Tram Operations Ltd has had the pleasure of contributing financially for the last five years to support The Community Family Project. In 2023 Tram Operations Limited gave a smaller gift to guests at the Global Light Rail Awards, to enable them to make another financial donation to help make a difference in the local community. Ben Groome, Service Delivery Director of TOL, reports.

Just before Christmas we visited New Addington Baptist Church to deliver the donation from our table gift and collection at the GLRA. This is a local charity that we have supported for the last six years, although this year we have done something in addition to our normal contribution.

We went along to give an additional donation of £2000, along with three boxes of contributions for the food parcels that they send out to the families of New Addington. The boxes also included toys and chocolates for the children as we approached Christmas. The money was raised as part of our sponsorship of the Global Light Rail Awards. This year, rather than buy the traditional table gift for the guests, we decided to give the guests packets of seeds in recognition of the flower and vegetable garden that the project has created. The money that was left over from the cost of the gifts was then donated. On the night we also raised an additional £400 through donations from the guests at the event, bringing the total up to £2000.

Vic Overton from New Addington Baptist Church said: “We are delighted and overwhelmed to have received such a generous cheque from TOL, to hear from Ben that people contributed from across the world is truly amazing. This money will make a huge difference to the community of New Addington. We would like to say thank you to everyone.”

Packs of seeds were gifted to guests at the GLRA23, representing the community garden that provides an area of quiet relaxation and an opportunity for local people to do gardening and plant seeds to grow fruit and vegetables. This meant that Tram Operations Limited was able to increase its donation to New Addington Baptist Church, which will help to make even more of a difference in the local community.

The project has been helping families and individuals in New Addington, Croydon, since its launch in 1999. It supports people who are in crisis situations, as well as offering help and advice for those who are suffering from various difficulties such as mental health problems, food poverty, family breakdowns, parenting issues, loneliness, and physical disabilities.

Edinburgh systems factfile No.198

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

High profile during its troubled creation and now for its central presence in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh’s modern tramway has become a popular asset with scope for growth.

Edinburgh’s history and setting contribute to it being the United Kingdom’s second most popular single tourist destination after London. With a stronger identity than a population of around 530 000 might suggest, being the seat of Scotland’s devolved government and a noted cultural centre ensures Edinburgh’s frequent media coverage.

Whether arriving at the international airport (Scotland’s busiest) or at either of the main railway stations, Waverley and Haymarket, visitors will soon become aware of the city’s tramway which has a presence just outside these gateways. An arm of City of Edinburgh Council, Transport for Edinburgh (TfE) is responsible for Edinburgh Trams and also for Lothian Buses and its associated brands. Against the grain of British bus operations mainly being in the hands of private companies, Lothian Buses is the UK’s biggest

municipal operator. Not restricted to the dominant east-west axis of both heavy and light rail, buses are by far the dominant mode for city centre access, accounting for 65% of such journeys in 2019.

Edinburgh’s first generation of tram operations started in 1871. Beginning with horses and featuring cable haulage prior to electrification, also incorporating the separate Leith system, services ended as Edinburgh Corporation Tramways in 1956.

Construction of the current system started in 2008, but its coverage at the May 2014 opening constituted a significantly cutback and over-budget version of what had been planned. With its reputation damaged in advance, it also had a tram fleet far bigger than was needed for the thenforeseeable future. Becoming controversial in its own right, a project inquiry announced in

2014 yet not publishing findings until September 2023 would cost over GBP13m (EUR15.2m). Despite such circumstances, Edinburgh Trams soon became perceived as an asset, exceeding passenger number targets and now seemingly set to become a bigger operation.

Edinburgh Trams was launched without ceremony with a service from Gyle Centre on 31 May 2014. The initial system was 14km (8.7 miles) on a mainly west-to-east axis between Edinburgh Airport and York Place, a single platform terminus on the eastern side of the city centre.

At the tramway’s western end, areas of open land indicate potential for urbanisation with two undeveloped stop sites. Gogarburn and Edinburgh Park Central are stops intended as access points for modern commercial districts. Between these two, Gyle Centre serves a major retail site, with the fully covered Edinburgh Gateway stop being added in December 2016.

ABOVE: Edinburgh’s Old Town provides a backdrop to Urbos 100 trams near Waverley station at the junction of Princes Street and South St Andrew Street on 28 September 2023.

Edinburgh

Words

Edinburgh

t HE FLEE t

Edinburgh’s 27 Urbos 100 built 2009-2011 (251-277), received from April 2010, were the first uk tram order from the Spanish manufacturer CAF. Fully lowfloor with seven sections and 2.65 metres wide, at 42.9 metres they are the uk ’s longest trams. Wi-fi equipped, they are not air-conditioned. d istinguishing features are leather seats and, relating to airport coverage, five long luggage racks. d epending upon load compositions, these are a useful facility or come at the cost of valuable passenger space: trams

are identified by Edinburgh City Council as having capacity for 250, equivalent to three doubledeck buses.

t he mainly white livery was modified between receiving trams and the system’s opening. Lothian buses and Edinburgh t rams both adopted the madder (maroon) colour relating historically to Edinburgh Corporation. A platinum strip, most prominent on cab ends, has since been removed. t he full livery is now usually hidden, with external advertising first introduced in

August 2017. Since then, all trams have had varying coverage, some now featuring all-over wraps. Rosettes on cab ends ‘Scotland’s No.1 ’ relates to winning the Public t ransport o perator of the Year category in the Scottish t ransport Awards. Adding the Newhaven extension increased fleet utilisation as the service between 2014 and June 2023 had only required about half of the vehicles, during which time trams were used in rotation.

Fleet maintenance is under contract with CAF Rail uk

This is part of an interchange station on the railway serving north east Scotland via the Forth Bridge.

Previously with a staff-only halt, Gogar depot which includes administration and the control centre is beside the revenue tracks immediately west of Edinburgh Gateway. The position of a railway junction places the nearby tramserved Edinburgh Park station on a different line, the core route between Edinburgh and Scotland’s biggest city, Glasgow. Proceeding east and either side of the present Saughton stop, the tramway took over about 1.5km (0.9 miles) of route created for the guided West Edinburgh Busway (‘Fastlink’), active between 2004-09.

Recrossing the main line with the tramway now on the northern side, it heads towards central Edinburgh via Murrayfield Stadium. The elevated stop here has much wider access than the others, deployed for events at what is mainly a rugby venue. The dedicated right of way ends where the tram tracks curve and rise to shared street space, just to the west of Haymarket station. This is now a focus of train, bus and tram services for the western side of the city centre.

Between Haymarket and St Andrew Square lies the tramway’s grandest setting, with vistas across Princes Street Gardens up to Edinburgh

“Without the embarrassments of the original project, an on-time and under-budget debut of the extended service was marked by community celebrations.”

With volcanic relics Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat in the background, tracks by Bankhead Drive occupy one of two sections shadowing the main line west of Edinburgh: 17 February 2015.

ABOVE: After several roles and identities, the MV Fingal next to Ocean Drive is now a hotel and bears the same livery as the Royal Yacht Britannia

BELOW: Edinburgh Airport has staffed inspections relating to a fare zone distinction. Now an information point, the tram mock-up created for the system’s advance promotion is just visible on the concourse.

Balfour Street

McDonald Road

Picardy Place

Castle and to Calton Hill, also passing classically-styled galleries and the Scott Monument. Marked by the towering bulk of The Balmoral Hotel (its railway heritage was acknowledged in its former name, The North British), Waverley station has a recommended tram stop, St Andrew Square. It is about 200 metres up-hill from the nearest station exit, with the stop also being near the long-distance bus terminal.

Construction under the ‘Trams to Newhaven’ project began in November 2019. With track continuing from the site of the initial York Place terminus, the extension to Newhaven, Leith, opened on 7 June 2023. Without the embarrassments of the original

project, an on-time and under-budget debut of the extended service was marked by community celebrations. Near the St James Quarter shopping centre and opposite the entertainment venues, Omni Centre and Edinburgh Playhouse, Picardy Place is the first stop on the extension. About 100 metres from York Place which it replaced, better pedestrian access was part of a reconfiguration at what the Edinburgh Evening News had called an ‘historically notorious junction’. Beyond Picardy Place, the 4.6km (2.9 miles) of route with seven more stops continue in road space, initially descending along Leith Walk (the A900 road). This had been within the original project Phase 1a, with

LEFT: City-bound 255 leaving Edinburgh Gateway, crossing the junction for depot access tracks which pass under the arch of the interchange station.

ABOVE: Opened with the Newhaven extension in June 2023, Picardy Place replaced York Place stop which was sited across the junction near the turreted church building.

ABOVE: Trams are prominent on Edinburgh’s main thoroughfare: 253 heads west past The Royal Scottish Academy on Princes Street.

Edinburgh

Looking east towards Calton Hill, a cluster of buses illustrate

network facts

Opened: 2014

l ines: 1

length: 18.5km (11.6 miles)

stops: 23

Depots: 1

approx. weekday hours: 06.30-23.00

l ine frequency: 7-10 minutes

Gauge: 1435mm

Power: 750V dc, overhead supply

fleet: 27

tram operator: Edinburgh t rams https://edinburghtrams.com

c ity transport body: https://transportforedinburgh.com

National transport agency: t ransport Scotland www.transport.gov.scot

c ivic information: www.edinburgh.gov.uk

tourist information: https://edinburgh.org

ABOVE: Charlotte Baptist Chapel tower dominates the scene near West End stop. Originally it was named Shandwick Place, then West End-Princes Street, prior to its current shortened title.

RIGHT: The Pentland Hills and a viaduct crossing the railway at Edinburgh Park are behind 251 near Edinburgh Park Central. The landscaped setting, including artificial Loch Ross, is in a seemingly under-used business district.

the mode’s prominence for city, regional and tourist transport.

ABOVE: The elevated Murrayfield Stadium stop has wide access for handling crowds at Scotland’s highest-capacity sports venue.

some infrastructure work begun here and curtailed several years previously. Blighted by works which at the time did not lead to the tramway’s completion, this thoroughfare which serves a densely populated area is being reinvigorated by the 2023 opening.

The tramway’s setting narrows by Foot of the Walk stop, beyond which are former industrial sites in varying stages of redevelopment, mainly for residential use. Leith remains an active port on quays nearer the Forth, with redundant space already being transformed well before the tram service began. Fixed bridges across the Water of Leith (river) and Victoria Dock on Ocean Drive were upgraded for tram use.

This leads to Ocean Terminal which serves as the entry point for the decommissioned Royal Yacht Britannia. Not used for the purpose implied by its title, Ocean Terminal is primarily a shopping and leisure centre. It was one of the sites displaying the tram mock-up which now serves as an information point at Edinburgh Airport. A gradient near still-active industrial sites leads to Newhaven, with the stop set between established housing and newer properties on the A901.

Edinburgh Trams has direct competition with Lothian Buses’ Airlink 100 (city centre) and 200

(Ocean Terminal) services, with timings similar to trams over equivalent journeys.

Despite competing modes and reductions in office use, as is very apparent around Edinburgh Park Central stop, as well as the very low patronage of Edinburgh Gateway interchange, the tramway has increased passenger numbers beyond expected levels. Edinburgh Trams identified the August ‘festival month’ 2023 as its busiest ever with 1.2 million journeys.

Tram stops on the Newhaven extension follow the styling of the initial system, also having a mixture of side and island platforms with real-time displays. The service is normally organised as a single line running between Edinburgh Airport and Newhaven, scheduled for 54 minutes. With free parking and within the City Zone for fares (see ‘Local Travel’), Ingliston Park & Ride is the system’s only such designated facility. Special arrangements are made for events such as major sports fixtures and Hogmanay (New Year) related celebrations.

Marked today by concrete installations for a double tramway junction near Haymarket railway depot, a line towards the Forth at Granton constituting Phase 1b was dropped in 2009. This or an easterly alternative may become

part of a north-south line, potentially the next system development. Both ends of such a line, Granton Waterfront and the BioQuarter in the south-east are, like the Leith shore, designated by the city council as Strategic Development Areas. Factors pointing towards expansion of light rail around Edinburgh are assessed in TAUT 1030 (October 2023).

ESSEN ti AL FAC t S

local travel: i nformation points near the tramway – Edinburgh Airport, i ngliston Park & Ride and Shandwick Place – supplement the t fE App and website with real time information. t icket machines at all stops: a valid fare is required before boarding trams. ‘City Zone’ excludes between i ngliston Park & Ride and Edinburgh Airport: validity for the full system requires ‘Airport & City Zone’ fares. Respectively for these, single journeys (without breaks) are gBP2.00 (E u R2.34) and gBP7.50 (E u R8.20); similarly for unlimited one-day (not 24-hour) of travel on Edinburgh t rams and Lothian Buses costs gBP5.00 (E u R5.85) – airport bus exclusions apply – and gBP12.00 (E u R14.06). Also 3/4/5-day options. App and website purchase options. o nly if issued by City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish National Entitlement Card holders can travel free on Edinburgh t rams. t ickets may be inspected on board or at stops. (Information as February 2024)

What is there to see? Climbing to the top of Calton Hill is rewarded by a classic view of central Edinburgh in its context of an eroded volcanic landscape, also northwards across Leith and the Firth of Forth. t he locations of many specific and heavily promoted attractions, the central area’s u NESCo World Heritagelisted and visually very different old town – the site of ‘ t he Royal m ile’ – and the lower-lying New town are respectively south and north of Princes Street gardens.

ABOVE: A view to the Fife shore across the Forth as252 turns into North St. Andrew Street. Given its location on the top of a ridge, trams ascend in both directions to St Andrew Square stop.

During the fleet’s pre-advertising era, this is Saughton Road in August 2016. This section was converted from West Edinburgh Busway, active between 2004 and 2009.

ABOVE: Haymarket is now the main transport interchange for the western central area.

Xxxx

ABOVE: Tram 270 in a full advertising wrap heads towards Newhaven. A major tourist attraction, the Royal Yacht Britannia has been moored at Leith’s Ocean Terminal since 1998.

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+ The latest news and analysis, system and technical

Gülermak

Worldwide Review

AUSTRIA

GRAZ. A EUR68.4m contract was signed with Alstom on 2 February for 15 new Flexity trams. Due to be delivered from October 2025, the five-section 33.8m trams can carry 200 passengers and have two wheelchair spaces. TP

SALZBURG. Lokalbahn services from Oberndorf to Bürmoos have resumed. Replacement buses have run for over a year while Bürmoos station was rebuilt. EB

WIEN – BADEN (WLB). Delivery of Flexity low-floor trams resumed on 8 February, with the arrival of 525. tramwayforum.at

BELGIUM

ANTWERPEN (Antwerp)

Concrete blocks have been placed in front of the entrance to Astrid pre-metro station to deter motorists from mistaking it for the Radisson Blu hotel car park. vrt.be

BRUXELLES (Brussels). Buses will replace trams on Line 44 from 1 June until August to allow track on Tervurenlaan to be renewed. stib-mivb.be

GENT (Ghent). The ‘Gent 150’ event on 18-19 May is to include a tram parade on the Sunday morning. Visiting trams include steam tram HL.303 from ASVi, Autorail AR.86 and two-axle electric car 9888. M. J. Russell

BRAZIL

BRASILIA. The government of Brazil’s Federal District (GDF) awarded a BRL319.7m (EUR60m) contract to the CG-JFJ consortium to a build a 3.6km (2.2-mile) extension of Brasilia Metro’s Orange Line on February 7. IRJ

CANADA

MISSISSAUGA, ON. Ontario

Premier Doug Ford has agreed to a 4km (2.5-mile) extension of the new light rail line to Brampton and a 2km (1.2-mile) loop to better serve central Mississauga. It is hoped that the Canadian government will contribute to the cost. Mass Transit MONTRÉAL, QC. Thales Ground Transportation Systems Canada has been awarded a CAD217.2m (USD160.8m) contract to install CBTC train control on the metro Blue Line. The second stage of the REM metro (Central Station – Deux Montagnes/ Anse-a-L’Orme) is due to open in December 2024. ERA

TORONTO, ON. New Alstom Flexity trams 4604-10 were in service by the end of February. Toronto Transit Commission entered Ontario’s One Fare programme from 26 February so

passengers paying with PRESTO, debit or credit cards are able to enjoy free transfers to GO Transit and other agencies within a three-hour period. R. Barrows

CHINA

WUXI. Metro Line S1 was extended by 30.4km (19 miles) from Yanqiao to Jiangyin Bund on 31 January. urbanrail.net

CZECH REPUBLIC

PRAHA (Prague). The Liben bridge between Libní and Holesovice was closed to trams on 11 January for safety reasons. Trams on lines that crossed the bridge (1, 6, 14 and 25) are diverted via Delnická or Tesnov.

The city council has approved plans to automate metro Line C from 2029. T3 tram 7188 is being repainted in original metro livery and is to run on Line 23 from Stresovice depot on 9 May to mark 50 years of metro operations. dopravacek.eu

FINLAND

TAMPERE. Development work has started on a new east-west line from Linnainmaa to Suuppa that will involve 13.55km (8.4 miles) of new double-track line whilst utilising existing track between Kauppi campus and Sori Square. The EUR335m project could be approved in October. skyscrapercity

FRANCE

PARIS. The EUR480m project to automate the 14km (nine-mile)

metro Line 4 has been completed. The Siemens Trainguard system permits 85-second headways. Tenders have been issued for the automation of Line 13.

The COREA consortium has won the EUR2.54bn (GBP2.2bn) contract to design and build the 17km (11-mile) Grand Paris Express Line 15 from Drancy-Bobigny to ChampignyCentre. Line E RER service from Haussmann-St Lazare to Nanterre La Folie is to start on 1 April.

RGI, urbanrail.net NICE. The first extended Alstom Citadis 302 has entered service on Line T1. Turning all 12 five-section trams into seven-section trams should be complete by the end of 2025.

skyscrapercity

RENNES. The fleet of City-Val cars has been withdrawn for anything up to three months. Structural faults were discovered in the units’ drive-trains. Employees have been sent home until 31 March while the trains are moved to Siemens’ Limoges plant for repairs. EA TOURS. A record 18m passengers travelled on the city’s tramway in 2023. lineoz.net

GERMANY

BERLIN. The Senate has approved the extension of U-Bahn Line U3 to S-Bhf Mexikoplatz. Work on the four-year project should start in 2026. DS CHEMNITZ. A planning application has been lodged to extend the tram-train system by

16km (ten miles), to Limbach –Oberfrohna.

DS

COTTBUS . Infrastructure renewals mean that Line 3 to Madlow is likely to be closed from the end of May until December. DS

DORTMUND. DSW has ordered eight more high-floor Stadtbahn LRVs from HeiterBlick/Kiepe. They will join the 26 already being delivered. UTM

DRESDEN. Tram 2545 is the first Deutsche Waggonbau lowfloor version to be withdrawn. A further four are due to be withdrawn as parts have become difficult to source. DS

ERFURT. There will be a depot open day at Urbicher Kreuz on 25 May (10.00-16.00). DS

FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN.

Line U3 was closed between Niederursel and Oberursel from 5 February to permit track reconstruction. It should re-open from 15 March. Line U5 now operates Preungesheim – Konstablerwache only.

Changes have been made to the tram system to improve reliability: every other trip on Line 12 terminates at Eissport Stadion and Line 14 no longer serves the Gustavsburgplatz –Mönchhofstrasse section. DS

HEIDELBERG. Lines 5 and 25 will run to Schriesheim on single track from 30 March while work takes place on Dossenheimer Landstrasse. Lines 24 and 26 will terminate at Heiligenbergschule. DS

The French city of Nice is completing the lengthening of its original Alstom Citadis to seven-section trams. Alstom

Worldwide Review

KÖLN (Cologne). The Mülheimer Brücke is to close from 2 April until 7 November. Lines 13 and 18 will be affected. UTM

MAINZ. Tenders have been invited for up to 30 new double-ended 70% low-floor trams, to be delivered by 2031. DS

MANNHEIM. Line 3’s first 40m Škoda 37T tram (1803/04) entered passenger service on 30 January. DS

NAUMBURG. A dispute between Burgenland district and Naumburg city councils has threatened the operational future of the 2.8km (1.6mile) heritage tram line. The dispute is over shareholdings in Naumburger Strassenbahn GmbH. UTM

NORDHAUSEN . Lines 5 (Südharz Klinikum – NordhausenOst) and 6 (Parkallee – Hbf) will replace Lines 1 and 2 from 19 February to 31 May while track work takes place. DS

PLAUEN. Work on the Elster river bridge split the system in two between 29 January and 5 February. Buses replaced trams on the ‘southern’ section while Tatra KT4Ds worked the ‘northern’ network to Plamag. They were stabled overnight at Oberer Bahnhof. DS

STUTTGART. SSB, municipal operator of the Stuttgart light rail system, has signed an order with Stadler for 40 39.1m eight-axle DT8.16 sets, with an option for 30 more, and capability for 80km/h (50mph) operation. Delivery from Stadler Pankow in Berlin will start in spring 2026. They will be equipped with the latest interior improvements to assist mobility-impaired passengers, with four rather than two multifunction areas. Capacity is 250 passengers (98 seated).

After delivery there will be 103 Stadler-built sets in the fleet. The new batch will replace the

40 oldest LRVs in the fleet, DT8.4 dating from 1985-86. Information on the contract price has been withheld as financing will come from KfW IPEX bank.

Although the new cars will carry the familiar yellow livery with black trim, there will be exterior design changes for the first time.

WOLTERSDORF. The first of three low-floor Gammas left Modertrans’ factory on 18 February bound for Franowo depot, Poznan, for trials. They were due to be delivered to Germany in 2023. TP

INDIA

MEERUT. The first of ten three-car trains for the Meerut Metro was delivered on 16 February from Alstom’s plant at Savli, Vadodara district, Gujarat.

The first 23.6km (15 miles) of the Metro is due to open in June 2025. Meerut Metro

INDONESIA

JAKARTA. An order has been placed with CRRC for 12 three-car EMUs for the 1067mmgauge commuter rail system. RGI

ITALY

MILANO (Milan) . Construction has started on the EUR86.3m Line 7. The 14km (nine-mile) line will connect Cascina Gobba to Certosa via Greco, Affori Centro and Bovisa. Due to open in June 2026, it will require 14 new doubleended trams.

The tender for the restoration of the Limbiate interurban has been delayed by a dispute between the city council and the Ministry of Infrastructure. Milano.corriere.it

LATVIA

DAUGAVPILS. The opening of 1.8km (1.1 miles) of new

tramway to create a loop around the city took place on 25 January. Line 3 runs anti-clockwise and Line 5 clockwise. urbanrail.net

LUXEMBOURG

LUXEMBOURG. The Parliament approved EUR135m-worth of tramway extensions on 1 February: to Kirchberg (for completion in September 2027) and Hollerich (2028).

luxtimes.lu

MEXICO

MEXICO CITY. The first LRVs from CRRC Zhuzhou entered service in January. LRV 041 has been named ‘Cecilia’. Two further LRVs arrived in early February and all nine will be named. S. J. Morgan

MOROCCO

CASABLANCA. Alstom has switched production of the 80 Citadis trams for Lines T3 and T4 to its Barcelona factory. Originally, production was to be split with its plant in Morocco. en.yabiladi.com

NETHERLANDS

AMSTERDAM. The first Siemens Combino to be withdrawn was double-ended 2202, built in 2002. It has already been stripped for spares, with one cab used to repair classmate 2084. OR

DEN HAAG (The Hague). Scheveningen depot closed for reconstruction on 6 January. It should re-open in September 2025. From 8 January, short-working peak extra trams on Line 1 started using the route number 61.

Rioting by rival Eritrean gangs outside the Opera conference centre on the evening of 17 February caused significant disruption to tram and bus services. haagsetramnieuws.org

UTRECHT. Under a provincial initiative launched on 1 January, children under 12 are entitled to free public transport. OR

PANAMA

PANAMA CITY. The Hitachi/ Mitsubishi consortium delivered the first of 26 sixcar monorail trains for metro Line 3 in late January. The 25.4km (15.8-mile) line is to open in 2026. IRJ

POLAND

ŁÓD Ź . Tram services should resume between Łód ź and Konstantynów in July for the first time since March 2019. The suspension has allowed track reconstruction within the city boundary. TP

WARSZAWA (Warsaw). Driver training on the new line to Wola started on 5 February. The 2.5km (1.6-mile) line should open in late March. TP

RUSSIA

CHELYABINSK. A RUB4.1bn (EUR41m) contract has been awarded to UKVZ for 30 71-623-04 bogie trams and 25 71-628 100% low-floor cars. Delivery should be completed this year. transphoto.org

KALININGRAD. The process of changing Gor-Trans into a joint stock company (required by law to take place by 2025) has been postponed until later this year. This is because new buses are being delivered and changes cannot be made to an undertaking’s legal status while public money is being spent.

J. Carpenter

KRASNOYARSK. Tunnel boring machines for the pre-metro subway were delivered on 5 January. N. Semyonov PERM. The last KTM-5s were withdrawn on 25 January, while

The first new Modertrans tram for Germany’s Woltersdorf on test in Poznan, Poland. M. Wajcht

The chosen design for the Stadler tram-train to be delivered to Schiene OberÖsterreich for use initially on the Linzer Lokalbahn. Stadler

71-911 Lvyonoks 0746/51-56, 2028/3450, 9766-73 have entered service. One KTM-5 may be turned into a party tram. N. Semyonov

VOLGOGRAD. Tver Carriage Works has delivered the first six of 50 71-911EM bogie trams. transphoto.org

YAROSLAVL. Movista Regions plans to order 47 UKVZ 71-628 low-floor bogie trams for delivery in 2024-25 rather than 71-911 trams from PKTS. N. Semyonov YEKATERINBURG.

Line 9’s 1.7km (1.1-mile) tramway extension from Ulitsa Musorskogo and Luchistaya opened on 17 February.

skyscapercity

SPAIN

VALENCIA. On 12 February plans were announced to extend the city’s tramway, extending one line and creating two new ones. A EUR22m extension of FGV line 10 would run north from Nazaret to the coast with an interchange with lines 6 and 8 at Grau-La Marina. New line 11 will start from an interchange with line 10 at Ciutat Arts i Ciencies-Justicia and run along Avenida del Puerta to Grau-La Marina; new line 12 will follow a southern orbital route from a point on line 10 between Amado Granell Montolivet and Ciutat Arts to Safrana (interchange with lines 1, 2 and 7) and Nou d’Octubre (interchange with lines 3, 5 and 9). It is hoped to complete all this by 2030.

SWEDEN

STOCKHOLM. The Go-Ahead/ ComfortDelGro consortium is to replace MTR Tunnelbanan AB

as the operator of the T-bana metro system. The 11-year contract starts from 2 May 2025. RGI

SWITZERLAND

BASEL. The Margarethen bridge was re-opened to lines 2 and 16 from 11 March. It had closed in May 2023 to allow additional supports to be installed. A new sensor signalling system permits only one tram on the bridge at a time. bahnonline.ch

ZÜRICH. Road resurfacing and infrastructure work on Forchstrasse will affect the following services from 19 February to 31 May: buses will replace Line 11 between Stadelhofen and Rehalp, while the Forchbahn is cut back from Stadelhofen to Hegibachplatz. bahnonline.ch

TURKEY

ISTANBUL. The 3.5km (2.2-mile) Kagithane – Gayrettepe extension of Airport Express metro Line M11 opened on 29 January. There is now interchange with Line M2. Line M9’s Bahariye – Ataköy extension is to open on 16 March, while M5’s Çekmeköy-Sancaktepe to Samandira Merkez extension is to open on 20 March. urbanrail.net

IZMIR. The 9.9km (6.2-mile) tramway loop extension on the north shore from Çevre Yolu to Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi opened on 27 January. The 7.2km (4.5-mile) Fahrettin Altay –Narlidere metro extension was to open on 24 February. urbanrail.net

UKRAINE

LVIV. Delivery of 19 fivesection Elektron T5L651 100%

low-floor trams was completed in January. The Swiss city of Bern has agreed to send 11 lowfloor Vevey Be4/8 trams to Lviv, while Swiss engineers will also assist with Line 6’s 1km (0.6-mile) extension from Mikolaichuka to Likarnya Shvydkoyi Dopomohy (Municipal Emergency Hospital). RGI

UNITED KINGDOM

BLACKPOOL. Blackpool

Transport won the Resilience and Innovation award at the 2023 Lancashire Tourism Awards, held at King George’s Hall in Blackburn on 6 February.

DUDLEY. West Midlands Metro CAF Urbos 3 32 left the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre (VLRIC) in Dudley on 15 February. It had arrived there in August for repairs.

Some 11 WMM Urbos 3s have been repaired at the VLRIC since 2022, while one – 28 – was repaired at Wolverton railway workshops.

Ex-WMM T69 16 remains at the VLRIC where it will be used as a test vehicle.

MANCHESTER. Greater Manchester TravelSafe Partnership hopes that a new virtual reality film aimed at secondary school pupils will reduce the number of incidents of missiles being thrown at buses, trains and trams. Between December 2022 and November 2023, there were 371 incidents of items ranging from stones, to bottles, traffic cones and even a bicycle being thrown.

The Bee Network of bus routes will expand to Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester on 24 March. The network will eventually encompass bus, tram and train operations.

NOTTINGHAM. Services were temporarily suspended

between Bulwell Forest and Hucknall on 6 February after a Nottingham Express Transit tram suffered a fire. The incident occurred at approximately 08.00; services had resumed by 09.00.

SHEFFIELD. Stagecoach tickets will no longer be valid on Supertram from 22 March, when South Yorkshire Future Trams Ltd takes over operation. Stagecoach Gold and Silver tickets will still be valid on Stagecoach-operated buses, but the MegaRider and DayRider will no longer be sold. Supertram users will have a new range of tickets, offered under the TravelMaster brand. They will be available from a new app, from SYMCA ticket vending machines, or onboard trams.

SOUTH WALES. Delivery of Stadler Class 398 tram-trains to South Wales Metro continues. The first arrived in March 2023 and, by mid-February, there were at least 11 units at Taff’s Well depot. The tram-trains are destined for use around Cardiff.

TYNE & WEAR. A million journeys have been made under the Nexus ‘Take The Kids for Free’ scheme, which is valid on both the Tyne & Wear Metro and the Shields Ferry. Three children aged 11 and under can travel free when accompanied by a fare-paying adult. The scheme initially only covered weekends in January 2020 as part of the Metro’s 40th anniversary celebrations. It was made permanent in July 2021.

USA

AUSTIN, TX. The Federal Transit Authority is to work with the Austin Transit Partnership to bring light rail to the city and provide funding once the required studies have taken place.

Mass Transit BOSTON, MA. Track work on the Green Line was completed

Praha (Prague) has marked 50 years of metro operation by painting heritage T3 7188 in the livery of the original Russian-built trains. DPP

The short version of the ‘retro-look’ Uraltransmash 71-421 Dovlatov running in the Russian city of Sankt Peterburg. Arsyeni

Worldwide Review

by the end of January, with 16 speed restrictions lifted. Station structures were refurbished. R. Barrows

BUFFALO, NY. Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is making another attempt to gain approval for the extension of its light rail line from University to UB North Campus by arranging public consultation. The project is likely to cost in the region of USD1.2bn. NFTA

CHICAGO, IL . Commuter rail operator Metra has placed a USD154m order with Stadler for eight battery-electric FLIRT trains for delivery in 2027-28. There is an option for eight more, and up to 32 intermediate trailers. They will be used on the 26km (16.2-mile) Beverly Branch of the former Rock Island Line from La Salle St to Blue Island. The 112seat cars will be built at Stadler’s Salt Lake City factory and will run up to 100km (62 miles) between charges. Charging from 20% to 80% will take 20 minutes.

To fund the contract, Metro will be using some of a USD169.3m federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant, plus USD30.8m in local bond funding.

The city’s subway and Metra systems carried more than 326m passengers in 2023. It’s the first time patronage has exceeded 300m since the COVID-19 pandemic. The subway carried over 279m of that total, a 14% increase over 2022. R. Barrows

HONOLULU, HI. An amended Full Funding Agreement has been signed with the Federal Transit Authority. This means that USD744m will be released in order to complete the Skyline automated metro.

skyscrapercity

KANSAS CITY, MO. CAF delivered double-ended tram 807 to Kansas City Streetcar on 2 February. Testing started on 8 February. A further seven will be delivered for the Main Street and Riverfront extensions.

S. J. Morgan, Business Journal

LOS ANGELES, CA.

HyundaiRotem has won a USD633.7m contract for 182 metro cars, with an option for a further 50. The two-car sets are to be delivered in time for the 2028 Olympic Games. IRJ

NEW YORK, NY. The first Kawasaki R211T open gangway ten-car subway train (4040-44/4050-54) entered service on Line C on 1 February.

Mass Transit

OMAHA, NB. CAF USA was the only bidder for a USD47.6m contract to supply and maintain six trams for the new system.

Omaha.com

PHILADELPHIA, PA. The federal government is to contribute USD317m towards the USD800m cost of 200 new cars for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s 20.6km (12.9-mile) Market – Frankford line. They will replace the current fleet of 1990s Adtranz cars.

W. Vigrass

PITTSBURGH, PA. The Monongahela Incline, closed on 2 January (TAUT 1035), re-opened on 10 February. J. May

PORTLAND, OR. TriMet is consulting on plans to replace late-night MAX light rail departures with buses and to close Skidmore Fountain MAX stop to reduce journey times. J. May

SEATTLE, WA. Line 1 services returned to normal on 5 February after work on the Downtown Subway was completed.

W. Snowden

WASHINGTON, DC. The metro Red Line will be closed from Fort Totton to Glenmont between June and September to permit infrastructure and signalling upgrades. Further closures are to affect the network from December 2024 until summer 2026. This will include building an interchange for the under-construction Purple Line light rail at Bethesda. J. May

MUSEUM NEWS

AMSTERDAM (NL). Museum trams GVB 144+454, HTM 816, RET 507, NBM 20, 43 and 55, and Praha 352 are to move from Havenstraat depot to a temporary building at Jollenpad in March. They will be based here until at least 2028 when a new link to Haarlemmeerstation opens. OR

BEAMISH (UK). The Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society’s ex-Lisbon tram 730 has moved to Beamish Museum in County Durham. Deemed surplus to requirements at Wirral Transport Museum & Heritage Tramway, the 1938-built tram is likely to be painted in Darlington Corporation Light Railways livery as part of its overhaul. The museum has not set a date for when it might return to service.

BRIGHTON (UK). The world’s oldest operational electric railway, the 825mm-gauge Volk’s Electric Railway, which opened in 1883, was named ‘Railway of the Year’ at the Heritage Railway Association Awards, which took place in Brighton, on 10 February. The Seaton Tramway won the Environmental Innovation Award.

LOWESTOFT (UK). Restored Brush Railcoach 634 is set to be the star attraction at East

Anglia Transport Museum’s ‘Blackpool Tram Weekend’ on 29 March-1 April. The vehicle arrived at Carlton Colville in November 2023. It is set to carry its first passengers since 2004 and will return to service in ‘Terror Tram’ livery, based on a colour-scheme it carried when in service in Blackpool.

MOSKVA (RU). The original electric tramway’s red brick depot and power station, which date from 1899, have been sold to a local businessman who has turned them into the bath house JAR-PTICA. They had been used as a permanent way store since the early 1960s.

N. Semyonov

ROTTERDAM (NL). Eight-axle Düwag tram 373 has had its centre section removed as part of work to restore it to 1965 condition as six-axle car 273. OR

CONTRIBUTORS

Worldwide items for inclusion should be sent to Michael Taplin at Flat 8, Roxan Villa, 33 Landguard Manor Rd, Shanklin, Isle of Wight PO37 7HZ, UK. Please fax: +44 (0)1983 862810 or e-mail miketap@mainspring.co.uk UK and Ireland items: please e-mail uknews@lrta.org

Acknowledgements are due to bahnonline.ch, Business Journal, dopravacek.eu, Drehscheibe (DS), EB, en.yabiladi.com, ERA, haagsetramnieuws.org, International Railway Journal (IRJ), lineoz.net, luxtimes.lu, Mass Transit, Meerut Metro, Milano.corriere.it, NFTA, Omaha.com, Op de Rails (OR), Railway Gazette International (RGI), skyscrapercity, stib-mivb.be, tramwayforum.at, transphoto.org, Transport Publiczny (TP), urbanrail. net, Urban Transport Magazine (UTM), and vrt.be

After a lengthy closure lasting 29 months for reconstruction, the freehold section of Tramwaje Slaskie Line 17 between Lagiewniki and Lipiny reopened on 3 February and – for the first time in 123 years – as double track. M. J. Russell

The first of Mexico City's new CRRC Zhuzhou LRVs is seen inbound just north of Huipulco station on 24 January. A. Reyes Pintor

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matt@mainspring.co.uk

Get your views into print

Letters submitted by post should be clearly typed and preferably not handwritten. We reserve the right to edit contributions for publication.

Reinventing rail – but is it really necessary?

Grooved girder rail has stood the test of time for over 150 years. No wonder, then, that tramway-rich cities like Vienna and Prague (TAUT January 2023) remain faithful to it. That makes it surprising to see in the same issue of TAUT the article ‘A New Trackform’ promoting a radical British alternative to the industry-standard material, featuring railway rail contained within an elaborate rubber-packed troughing assembly of folded steel sheets.

Tram routes are not known for being straight and level. That makes one wonder how the rigid-looking Waybeam system will cope with changes of direction and gradient. Girder rail is tolerant of being bent both laterally and vertically thanks to its meatiness. I‘ve bent plenty of it. I’ve also successfully bent garden monorail track, and can testify that any complex asymmetric and relatively stiff section formed of thin sheet material is nightmarishly difficult, potentially

A word from Waybeam

It is a good thing to receive David Holt’s comments: not only because they come from someone with a huge amount of experience, but also because without such challenge, no progress is made. And that is probably where the main contention lies: why the need for such progress (if you agree Waybeam can be called that); why change anything if it’s not broke (if grooved rail is the answer)? Why re-invent the wheel, so-to-speak? These sayings exist for a reason, to guard against unnecessary and wasteful endeavours. Is there a reason to challenge current arrangements? What is the problem that is trying to be solved (to respond to the statement ‘a solution looking for a problem’). This is a good question (or statement).

Well, except, there is a problem: cost. As an upcoming report by BCG into the cost of UK infrastructure highlights, as does current experience of the cost of renewals in Manchester, cost is a major problem to resolve, particularly with renewing embedded track; add to which, grooved girder rail is more expensive to make than conventional Vignole profiles which also have to be imported.

It’s probably worth pausing also to point out a few misconceptions: borrowing from two well-established techniques for track form (using blocks and chairs in bullhead rail and using beams) may be novel in terms of combining them but they are not ‘radical’. Nor is ‘rubber-packed’ an accurate description, but that can be forgiven for lack of knowledge on the detailed design. Similarly, the designs published do not show

impossible, to bend. Distortion and collapse will be hard to avoid, and under bending the material will twist or wind into a spiral which must then be untwisted, losing much of the curvature and risking further distortion.

Even if the Waybeam structure can be taken round corners, the valuable functions of the grooved rail’s integral check (steering assistance, wear sharing) will need to be provided for in some way.

The compressible rubber groove filler which forms part of the proposed Waybeam structure is a cause for concern. Flange-tips, being of larger diameter than wheel treads, travel faster than them at the rim and on the faces, which means that the flanges will abrade the rubber filling as they furrow their way along it, wasting energy and giving off particulates. Up to around 400 flanges per hour may be ploughing their way along the rubberobstructed flangeways.

the proposed solution to the correctly-stated problem of steering assistance and wear shearing (the presence of wearing plates on the flange side trough upright, seen in the detailed design, address this).

As for knowledge regarding the results of bending (asymmetric or otherwise) distortion, collapse, thin sheets, twists and spirals - our fabricator would beg to differ, as would the engineering design consultants who undertook a structural analysis to optimise required sheet thickness, flexibility and strength to reach the chosen design point before Ricardo Rail tested the bending moments (successfully against the intended loads) on a rig at British Steel’s R&D facility (report results available on request). The issue regarding flange tips and compressible rubber filler is another well-made point by Mr. Holt (or to use the more technical term ‘the Oslo effect’) and is part of a list of ongoing design developments; but ‘ploughing through rubber’ is probably overstating the issue. The phrase ‘design developments’ is key here.

A wider point about innovation in the UK is the temptation to swallow elephants whole instead of borrowing practice from a software developer’s playbook who aims to get a ‘minimum viable product’ into prototype so it can be validated, adapted or rejected.

Thankfully, Waybeam is not at the rejection stage and so to answer the contentions: “Is this necessary?” (yes) and “I doubt it will work” (let’s see). However, David Holt's insights and challenge are a welcome and essential part of the validation process, and therefore gratefully received.

Simon Holden, Waybeam

Re-invention of the wheel (or rail) first afflicted the UK tramway revival more than 30 years ago when Manchester Metrolink Phase One contractors were egged on by Westminster to implement the city’s new tramways in streets as railways with trains running on them. They neglected proven tramway practices, refusing, for example, to provide industrystandard grab-poles along the aisles of the original trams, ‘because that would make the LRVs too tram-like’. They even tried to bend grooved rails round street corners while maintaining an inward inclination on them, as in railway practice.

While the rest of the world gets on with running trams on proper grooved tram rail, we distract ourselves with solutions looking for problems. Is the UK tramway renaissance being impaired by practitioners who seem to feel compelled to ignore tramway know-how?

David Holt, by e-mail

Picture perfect – and yet not

Reading the Systems Factfile on the Granada light rail system (TAUT 1034) brought back memories of visiting that beautiful city and taking a ride on the impressive line in 2019. Sadly it is one of the few systems I’ve been where staff have enforced a no photos policy.

The Dubai Tram is another such system – a staff member advised that smartphone cameras are acceptable, but single-purpose cameras are not. It might be worth noting systems that have such outdated policies to save travellers the trip, if being unable to document the local public transit will be a source of major disappointment.

Ian Fisher, Vancouver, Canada

A misguided MER money solution

A letter in February’s issue (TAUT 1034) refers to a proposal to singling part of the MER, apparently to try to save money.

This would be very misguided. Wear on track and wires, and maintenance, depend on the number of vehicles using them, and would remain the same whether the track is single or double.

However, single-line running would require more complex signalling and staff working, which would add costs. Moreover, line capacity and working speed would be reduced, which would likely lead to a reduction in passenger volume too, in turn cutting revenue.

The MER has survived in its original form for 130 years. There’s no reason to lose faith in its prospects today.

Philip Webb, Toronto,

Canada

Classic Trams

Mult I -faCE t E d I n Cal I forn I a

The Orange Empire Trolley Museum was one of the earliest such facilities in the United States and continues to flourish – today as part of the Southern California Transport Museum (SCTM).

in the USA there is considerable crossover between rolling stock that may be considered tramcars (streetcars or trolleys in American parlance), interurban cars for long-distance service, and heavy rail for interstate and main line traffic. Many transportation museums feature all grades of rail-borne transport in their collections.

The Southern California Transport Museum falls within this category, but the enormous collection is clearly categorised. Our feature is limited to the streetcar and interurban collections.

Established in 1958, the museum was founded on an existing site operated by the Southern California Railroad Museum. Its campus was large enough to permit the addition of a streetcar museum, and the museum then expanded to include a comprehensive representation of streetcars and interurban rolling stock operated in the southern part of this US state, with the odd interloper from elsewhere.

The two giants of southern California were the Los Angeles Railway (LA) and the Pacific Electric Railway (PE). Over the years the collection has expanded to include examples of almost all types of rolling stock operated by those two companies. The space available and a generous approach has meant the museum has often acted as a reception centre for refugee streetcars seeking a safe home.

Museum streetcar operation began in 1962. The site is laid out for dual-gauge operation; the standard-gauge lines are primarily for use by the PE fleet while a smaller network of 3ft 6in (1067mm) lines is used by the narrowgauge cars of the Los Angeles Railway.

Class-coded fleets

The LA fleet is particularly varied and features 30 exhibits built from 1894 onwards. Works and freight cars are included alongside many passenger fleet examples. The LA fleet was class-coded and one example of Class A (Maggie) is included in the collection. Next came Class B, the Huntington Standard type, of which five examples survive. Class C was a centre-entrance design, named ‘Sowbelly’, and car 936 survives as its representative. Car 1003 is an example of the Birney Safety Car, designated Class G. From Class F we have car 1160; this and its compatriots were rebuilds of earlier Class B cars.

The once-numerous H series cars totalling 250 examples spread over five batches is represented by three cars, of which 1201 dating from 1921 was the prototype. Succeeding production batches featured

detail differences and in the collection are Class H-3 1423 and 1450, the latter being a ‘test car’. Completing the roster of traditional US streetcars are Class K-4 1559, Class L 2501 and Class M 2601. A unique addition is the grey-liveried funeral car of 1909.

Most examples of the large Los Angeles PCC fleet ended up in Cairo, Egypt, in the 1960s. However, five cars that remained in California are now found at the SCTM. These are 3001, 3072, 3084, 3100 and 3165, the latter restored to final livery.

Examples of the works fleet include crane cars, rail grinders, power cars and flat cars, some of which are restored to working order. With such a large fleet, conservation work is a continuous process, and despite enormous progress in recent years there is still a huge amount to be done.

Pacific Electric

The other principal collection is that of the Pacific Electric Railway. Its origins date from an original Red Car line of 1895 between Los Angeles and Pasadena, but it eventually reached over 1600km (1000 miles) of suburban and interurban tracks around LA –the biggest interurban network in the USA.

After a period of intense competition with the Southern Pacific company, the ‘Great Merger’ of 1911 resulted in an era of consolidation. Alongside almost all other US traction companies, ridership fell away with the development of the motor car. The last PE line, between Los Angeles and Long Beach, closed in 1961.

The PE passenger fleet is well represented alongside works and freight cars; there are several examples of bogie cars designed for suburban or interurban service. Included are five examples of the famed and highly popular Hollywood series, 160 cars built in 1922-8 by the St Louis Car Company (110) and Brill (50) respectively. The entire series was subject to a substantial mid-life upgrade from 1939 with improved lighting and seating, and redesigned motors, increasing their performance. These cars were still in service until 1958.

As befits a railway of this size and stature, the PE had more than one car designated as an officers’ car, fitted with upholstered bench seating and tables, for use by company personnel and other dignitaries. Car 1299 is the second-generation vehicle of this type, whilst the body of the original officers’ car, 1000 of 1909, is stored awaiting restoration.

Although bogie cars were a mainstay of the PE fleet, a significant number of Birney four-wheel safety cars was bought from

1920 for use on lighter lines. The company was well satisfied with their operational economies arising from one-man operation and less wear on fixed equipment, and their acquisition was instrumental in the retention of electric traction on many subsidiary lines which would otherwise have been lost to the motor bus much earlier. The SCTM collection contains two such cars, both from the first series of Brill-built vehicles of 1919.

Car 331 retains PE livery. It was withdrawn in 1941 and, with three compatriots, sold to MGM Studios for use in film work, where they featured in several well-known post-war movies. After sale in the 1960s, both were bought by the Orange Empire museum.

Sister car 332 appears in a striking green and white livery following its loan in 1985 to the Old Pueblo Trolley in Arizona, where staff restored and then operated it from 1991-95. It then returned to the museum but has retained its livery, representing that carried by Tucson Rapid Transit’s own Birney cars of the 1920s, including an appropriate fleet number (10). The Birney fleet also includes an unusual double-truck version (152), built by the St Louis Car Company in 1925.

Examples of the works and freight fleet include a Post Office car, a wire greaser, tower car, locomotive and a number of box cars and Caboose.

Irish survivor

Although most exhibits are from the Los Angeles and Pacific Electric fleets, examples from other west coast tramways, such as San Diego and San Francisco, also feature together with others from even further afield – such as Yakima and Kyoto (Japan). There is also a delightful early four-wheel combination car of the Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway. Perhaps the most surprising addition is the open-top double-deck car 2 from the Hill of Howth tramway in Ireland. Built by Brush in 1901 it was in service until that line closed in May 1959. It retains its blue and white livery but has never been operated in passenger service at Perris, though (following regauging from 5ft 3in to standard gauge) was originally used for a few staff trips.

The museum is situated in Perris, a town lying south-east of Los Angeles and slightly less than mid-way to San Diego. It is open daily throughout the year 09.00-17.00, whilst operating days are Saturdays and Sundays 11.00-16.00. Rides are at a rate of USD12 for adults. In addition to regular operations a number of special events take place each year, some of which are themed on specific aspects of traction history.

1. One of two examples of the four-wheel Birney car fleet operated by PE is former 332 dating from 1919. The livery is that of the former Tucson tramway, applied whilst the car was on long loan to the Old Pueblo Trolley from 1985-95.

2. Seen shortly after the start of a circuit of the narrowgauge track laid for the use of the Los Angeles Railway streetcars, PCC 3100 is one of several similar cars at the museum. This example was built in 1943.

3. This little four-wheeler was car 4 in the Bakersfield & Kern Electric Railway fleet; its combination of open and closed compartments became known as the California car design. Built in 1900 it was retired from passenger service in 1912 after an argument with a Santa Fe steam locomotive, but survived on works duties until 1942.

4. The nicely restrained streamlining of the livery applied to the centre-entrance Hollywood cars was only one of their pleasing points and cars of this type were always the most popular in the PE fleet. Car 655 was built by St Louis in 1924. Alan Murray

5. Typical of the massive dimensions of the Pacific Electric’s interurban stock is car 418, preparing to depart on a visitors’ journey along the standard-gauge track. The car is a Pullman 58 product built in 1913.

6. Representing an earlier generation of streetcars operated by the Los Angeles Railway is 525, built by the St Louis Car Company in 1906 as one of LA’s class B-2 fleet.

7. Another example of the early interurban stock built for the PE is car 1001, a Jewitt PE 1000 class car dating from 1913.

8. The massive lines of Pullman 58 car 498 in the PE fleet are evident in this view. These cars, known as ‘Blimps’, were built in 1913 and examples remained in service until 1959. Alan Murray

2

NEWS FROM THE LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT ASSOCIATION

New members’ plans for 2024 announced

Details have been announced on a number of in-person members’ visits which are planned for 2024. These are in addition to the monthly online talks on systems throughout the world and any meetings organised by regional officers.

The first, after Easter, is a visit to Dublin on Friday 12 April, followed by the Association Officers’ Conference on Saturday 13 April. This will be the first time the Association has visited Dublin since the cross-city extension opened in 2017.

As well as an opportunity to ride the system there will be a depot visit, and in the evening a social at the Irish Railway Records Society, which is adjacent to Heiston Station.

There will also be an opportunity to find out about future extensions to the Luas system.

In January 2023 a transport strategy for Greater Dublin was published. It details plans for four extensions:

• Extension of the Green Line north to Finglas (2031-36)

• New line to Lucan (2031-36)

• Extension of the Green Line south to Bray (2031-36)

• Extension of the Red Line to Poolbeg to be delivered before 2042

Full details and a booking form can be found in the members’ area of the website at: www.lrta.org

Two further meetings are planned – a visit to Crich once ‘Bluebird’ returns to service, and a visit to the Volk’s Electric Railway in

July. Again further details and a booking form will be in the members’ area of the website.

The AGM in Charleroi, Belgium, is now being finalised and will be based at the Novotel in the city. Members will be able to book rooms from Thursday 26 September, with the AGM being held at 14.00 on the Friday at the hotel, followed by a reception at the Industrial Museum from 19.00, which will include a buffet/tapas and drinks.

On the Saturday there will be a visit to the Tramway Touristique de l’Aisne, which is only open on a Saturday. The event will conclude on Sunday with a visit to the Vicinal Museum and ride along the tramway.

The AGM is being organised in conjunction with a Longworth tour.

MEETINGS & EVENTS

APRIL

Tuesday 2. Southampton, 19.30, Martyn Davies: Miscellaneous railway slides. Eastleigh Railway Institute, £3. (LRTA/SEG)

Thursday 4. Brentford, 14.30. John Laker: Films – 2023 trip to Denmark, Sweden and Poland. London Museum of Water and Steam, Green Dragon Lane, Brentford TW8 0EN. Contact thamesvalley@tlrs.info £5 inc. refreshments. (TLRS)

Monday 8. Leeds, 19.30, AGM

followed by trams on cine from the LTHS Archives. The Engine House, Middleton Railway, Moor Road, Leeds LS10 2JG. Contact leeds@lrta org, £1 (includes light refreshments). (LRTA/LTHS)

Monday 15. Merseyside, 15.00 for 15.30. Martin Jenkins and Charles Roberts: Afternoon of OTA images. Sefton Park Community Association, 3 Croxteth Drive, Liverpool L17 3AG Contact: merseyside@tlrs.info. (TLRS)

Tuesday 16. London 19.00. Eddie Dawes: London tramway closures

Are you missing copies of TAUT?

The Association has a number of copies of TAUT and its predecessors which it is planning to offer to members and supporters. The cost will be 50p per magazine, plus the cost of processing and postage. A full catalogue is available on the website together with an order form.

If you are interested please act quickly as any surplus magazines not sold will be disposed of. This will enable us to rationalise the space we are currently using for book storage and reduce our costs.

It is an ideal opportunity to get hold of any missing magazines for your collection.

Compiled by the LRTA. For a full list of the year’s events and meeting places, including online meetings, visit www.lrta.org

1933 – 1940. The Model Railway Club, Keen House, Calshot Street, London, N1 9DA. £2. (LRTA)

Saturday 20. Taunton, 14.00. Small scale modelling.

West Monkton Village Hall, Monkton Heathfield, TA2 8NE. Contact: westofengland@tlrs.info. £2. (TLRS)

Saturday 27. Nottingham, 14.00.

David Hanger: Tramway museums. Beeston Scout Hut, NG9 1GA. Contact: alo@tlrs.info. (TLRS)

Saturday 27. Garstang, 14.00. Exotic tramways videos. St. Thomas’

Church Hall, Church St., Garstang, PR3 1PA. Contact via: alo@tlrs.info. £2 inc. light refreshments. (TLRS)

MAY

Saturday 4-Sunday 5. Blackpool, 10.00-17.00. Blackpool model tramway exhibition visit. Solaris Centre, Harrowside, New South Promenade, Blackpool, FY4 1RW. Contact: alo@tlrs.info. Entrance TBA. (North Lancs TLRS stand)

ABOVE: The first LRTA visit will be to Dublin to see the Luas system and find out about future extensions.

Photo by NIR HIMI on Unsplash

Bookshop

Order online from www.lrta.info/shop – or by post from:

LRTA Publications, 38 Wolseley Road, SALE, M33 7AU (Please provide telephone contact details and quote LRTA membership number if applicable)

Outside UK = Airmail to Europe (includes all of Russia) / Surface mail to rest of world; Airmail Zone 1 = outside Europe excluding Australia, New Zealand & USA; Airmail Zones 2/3 = Australia, New Zealand & USA

Japan Tram Atlas

A comprehensive review of the tramways and trolleybuses of Japan with superb track maps for every system. Details of the car types operated and the routes on which they run are covered. English and German text.

> A4 softback; 272 pages, 423 colour and black & white pictures, 48 track maps.

£36.50 (UK addresses); £46.50 (outside UK); £56.50 (Airmail Z1); £61.50 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £3.25 discount

Tramways in Portugal in Colour (1985-2018)

The second in our new series of colour albums covering the historic Lisbon, Porto and Sintra tramways plus the new Metro do Porto and Metro Transportes do Sul light rail networks introduced in 2005/07.

> A4 hardback, 144 pages, 287 colour pictures plus 16 maps.

£33.50 (UK); £40.00 (outside UK); £47.50 (Airmail Z1); £52.50 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £3.00 discount

Trams 2024

LASTFEW COPIES

The popular annual review of developments in the low countries and the rest of Europe, covering all network and rolling stock changes with superb photographs. Dutch text.

> A5 softback; 288 pages, 275 colour pictures.

£24.00 (UK addresses); £28.50 (outside UK); £32.00 (Airmail Z1); £34.50 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £2.10 discount Trams 2021/22/23 and some earlier editions still available.

Tramways in Milan in Colour (1954-1978)

I tram di Milano – Immagini a colori (1954-1978)

Third in the series of colour albums exploring the fascinating combination of urban and interurban tramways in and around Milan. The variety of rolling stock is amazing and is richly illustrated. English and Italian text.

> A4 hardback, 144 pages, 176 colour pictures plus two maps.

£33.50 (UK); £40.00 (outside UK); £47.50 (Airmail Z1); £52.50 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £3.00 discount

Tramways in Vienna in Colour (1956-78)

Straßenbahnen in Wien in Farbe (1956-78)

A superb new full-colour album from the LRTA showing the variety of car types in the Austrian capital. Captions in English and German.

> A4 hardback, landscape; 144 pages, 200+ colour pictures, one map.

£32.00 (UK addresses); £38.50 (outside UK); £46.00 (Airmail Z1); £50.00 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £2.90 discount

Urban Rail in Canada

Metro, Subway, Light Rail, Tram, Streetcar, Commuter Rail

COMING SOON

Another new volume in the useful series, covering all the urban rail networks across this vast country, contrasting the Montréal and Toronto systems with newer lines in smaller cities. German & English text.

> B5 softback, 160 pages, 300+ colour pictures, 21 maps.

£26.00 (UK addresses); £31.50 (outside UK); £36.00 (Airmail Z1); £40.00 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £2.30 discount

For further details of all these books go to our website.

Order direct from the website shown (not from the LRTA)

The Tramways of Aberdeen 1956

This book features the trams of the granite city during their final year, in operation on the Bridge of Dee to Bridge of Don and Hazelhead routes. The modern cars were sadly all scrapped as the madness of diesel buses replacing electric traction entered its final years in the UK.

The evocative views follow each route in chronological order and there is a useful summary of the trams still in service at the end, together with a network map.

> B5 hardback, landscape format; 128 pages; fully-illustrated in colour and black & white. £27.00 – www.mortonsbooks.co.uk

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