December 2024

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CONTENTS

NEWS 444

Luas Finglas extension in Dublin edges forwards; New Piccadilly Line train arrives.

DELHI: MEGACITY, MEGA-NETWORK 448

Such an enormous cosmopolitan city needs a transit system to match. In under 25 years, Delhi has done it. TAUT finds out how.

BORDER- B u STING BASEL 453

Andrew Thompson visits the world’s only tri-national tramway system in Basel, which sees a high number of cross-border visitors.

A NEW ERA FOR WOLTERSDORF 458

A new low-floor future beckons for this German town. Tony Streeter looks at what the new fleet will mean for the system.

GLOBAL LIGHT RAIL AWARDS 460

TAUT celebrates the worthy winners of this year’s Global Light Rail Awards.

p ROGRESS AND pARTNERSHI p S 474

Hitachi Rail on the value of partnerships in business, and how these can be the key to a sucessful LRT system.

SYSTEMS FACTFILE : DÜSSELDORF 477

The capital city of Germany’s most populous state, D ü sseldorf’s legacy tramway system has since developed into two formats. Neil Pulling explores the network.

WORLDWIDE REVIEW 483

Wuhan, China, opens new extension; Edmonton, Canada, awards new contract.

MAILBOX 487

Clarification on Australian articles; Jarrow Tramways museum theft.

CLASSIC TRAMS: GRAAKALBANEN 488

Mike Russell visits one of Norway’s few tramway survivors as it celebrates 100 years.

It will be a sad farewell to an Indian institution

India has always been a nation of contrasts. Its 1.4 billion population either enjoys the benefits of immense wealth caused by modern investment, or lives in abject poverty with appalling living standards and on wages that are barely enough to survive.

Rapid transit is expanding exponentially, and this issue of TAUT tells of the wonderful developments in New Delhi, the second largest metropolitan area in the world after Tokyo. However, we also have the sad news story of the likely demise of the last remnants of the 150-year-old street tramway in Kolkata (Calcutta).

In just 22 years, New Delhi has created a 244-mile (392.4km) system with 288 step-free elevated and underground stations (all with lifts and an express route to the main airport), and it will be 50% larger in a few years’ time. Other Indian cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Nagpur, Lucknow, Kochi and Ahmedabad regard the system as the model to create their own. And it’s been profitable from day one, having devised ways of generating income without total resort to the farebox; the maximum fare is just EUR0.65 (GBP0.54).

That’s enough statistics to be getting on with, so let’s now go to Kolkata, whose weary-looking city tramway appears to be spluttering to the end of its life. It’s no match for the vast new 59km (37-mile) Metro that carries 700 000 passengers a year, and recent storms have inflicted damage to street routes that are considered uneconomic to repair.

Complete closure was actually advocated in 1980, but the system somehow managed to cling on and was even expanded. Assuming it does go, though, it just won’t be the same without the squeals of those rather battered trams crawling through bustling streets in their time-honoured, and rather special way. Matt Johnston, Editor

COVER: A Blue line train passing the iconic Lord Hanuman statue in Delhi, India, near Jhandewalan station. Delhi Metro

DECEM BER 2024 Vol. 87 No. 1044 www.tautonline.com

EDITORIAL

E D itor – Matt Johnston matt@mainspring.co.uk

Associ At E E D itor – Tony Streeter tony.streeter@mainspring.co.uk

Worl DW i DE E D itor – Michael Taplin miketap@mainspring.co.uk

sE nior c ontributor s –Howard Johnston , Neil p ulling

WO rldWI d E C ONT r I bu TO r S r ichard Foster, Andrew Grahl, Andrew Moglestue, Herbert Pence, Mike russell, nikolai s emyonov, Alain s enut, Andrew t hompson, Witold urbanowicz, bill Vigrass, t homas Wagner, Philip Webb.

Pro D uction – Lanna Blyth tel: +44 (0)1733 367604 production@mainspring.co.uk

DE si G n – Debbie Nolan A Dv ERTI s I ng

co MME rci A l M A n AGE r – Geoff Butler tel: +44 (0)1733 367610 geoff@mainspring.co.uk

Tramways & Urban Transit

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LRTA MEMBERSHI p (with TAuT subscription) Tramways & Urban Transit is sent free to all paid-up members of the l ight r ail t ransit Association.

lrtA WE bsit E A n D D i A rY Tim Kendell webmaster@lrta.org meetings@lrta.org

sU bsc RI p TIO ns, MEM b ER s HI p A n D b Ack I ss UE s lrtA Membership s ecretary (Dept t06), 38 Wolseley road, s ale M33 7Au, u K. tel: +44 (0)117 951 7785 membership@lrta.org Website: www.lrta.org

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© lrtA 2024

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.

Calgary Green Line not dead!

Canada’s Province of Alberta has re-committed CAD1.53bn (EUR1bn) of funding towards Calgary’s Green Line LRT project. The province withdrew the money in September, which led to the city council voting to wind up the scheme (TAUT 1043).

The Green Line will now run 46km (28.6 miles), linking Fourth Street S.E. in Victoria Park to Shepard; in a previous attempt to cut costs, the southeastern terminus had been moved from Shepard to Lynnwood/Millican.

US consultancy firm AECOM is working on a revised city centre alignment that will be on the surface or elevated rather than the original subway proposal.

Metrolinx shake up

Metrolinx – the Ontario provincial agency responsible for rapid transit – has reorganised the rapid transit operations department with a Chief Engineer and a Vice-President of new rail infrastructure.

The Canadian organisation is working on two Toronto area light rail lines (Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West), as well as the Hurontario light rail project in Mississauga. Toronto city council is to ask the Ontario government to hold a public inquiry into the delayed Eglinton Crosstown line.

New Piccadilly Line train arrives in London

Siemens 2024 stock is first air-conditioned ‘deep tube’

The first new Piccadilly Line train arrived in London on 15 October.

The nine-car set was delivered by rail from Siemens’ Wegberg-Wildenrath Test and Validation Centre in Germany, where it has been undergoing testing since last year.

Sadly, the new train had only been in the UK for a few hours before it was covered in graffiti; Transport for London staff had to clean it before it was unveiled to the press.

The arrival comes days after the formal opening on 3 October of Siemens’ new UK factory in Goole by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The plant will assemble 80% of the GBP1.5bn (EUR1.8bn) order for new Piccadilly Line trains, with bodies and bogies coming from Austria. Siemens’ factory in Wien (Vienna) will supply the remaining 20% of the order.

Based on Siemens’ Inspiro platform, the 2024 stock will replace 1973 stock. The sets will be the first air-conditioned ‘deep tube’ trains and also feature open gangways and

double-doors throughout. Although longer than a sixcar 1973 stock set, 2024 stock trains have ten bogies rather than 12, thus creating more room underneath for the air-conditioning equipment. Siemens says the design was inspired by articulated trams. The trains are due to enter service in late 2025.

Although the 2024 stock forms the only current order for the new factory, it is hoped that Goole will build similar vehicles for London’s Bakerloo Line, as well as the Central and

Waterloo & City Lines.

Speeches at Goole hinted that a long-term funding deal for TfL may be coming closer.

“I’m hopeful this government understands what’s being invested in our capital,” Sadiq Khan said.

“I hope we get a long-term deal and I’m hoping this factory will also build the new Bakerloo Line trains.”

Louise Haigh added: “It’s really important that areas like London, just like our mayoral authorities… have that long-term stability.”

Paris brings in raft of public transport changes

The French capital’s first urban cable car should carry passengers from the first quarter of 2025. The 4.5km (2.8-mile) line runs between Créteil and an interchange with metro line 8 to Limeil-Brévannes in the southeastern suburbs. Doppelmayr/Spie Batignolles has

supplied the system at a cost of EUR132m.

Meanwhile, the French government has paid compensation to the Hello Paris consortium, operator of the CDG Express service to Charles de Gaulle airport. The 32km (20-mile) high speed line was

Bern’s Tramlink cars take over

Stadler Tramlinks are now in regular use on Bern’s line 6, as well as the interurban route to Gümligen and Worb. Thenew vehicles have already replaced the 12 Vevey/ABB/Duewag Be 4/8 three-section trams on lines 3 and 7 in the Swiss capital (TAUT 1043). The Stadler trams will

allow the Be 4/10 Tram 2000 fleet to be withdrawn next year.

RIGHT: Double-ended Bernmobil Tramlink 921 runs along the double-track alignment in the village centre of Muri, bound for Bern, on 16 October. A. Thompson

due to open in 2023 but has been delayed until 2027. Alstom is building 13 new EMUs for it.

Other changes to the Paris public transport network include the temporary curtailment of line T1 from Noisy-le-Sec to Normandie-Niemen. This came into force from 29 September and

will remain until 31 March 2025 to permit the new extension to Bobigny to be connected.

On the rolling stock front, the first of six new Alstom TW20 trams entered service on T1 from 16 September. Stadler is to deliver 12 15m metro maintenance vehicles by 2027.

ABOVE: A new Piccadilly Line car moves through Siemens’ Goole factory. Siemens

Thailand launches massive investment programme

Light rail earmarked for three cities in multi-billion transport plans

The Thai Ministry of Transport has launched a THB2.68tr (EUR73.5bn) transport investment programme. The aim is to improve and expand transport infrastructure and to support sustainable logistics, while reducing road congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.

Plans include deploying 4600 more electric buses in Bangkok by the end of 2025, expanding electric heavy rail networks in the capital to 554km (344 miles), and introducing a unified ticketing system with a flat THB20 (EUR0.54) fare by September 2025. The investment programme also covers highspeed rail and port expansion.

Light rail should come to three cities under the plans. Chang Mai proposes a 35km (22-mile) three-line tramway, while the city of Khon Kaen wants a 22.6km (14-mile) tramway line and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese firm CRRC.

Meanwhile, on Phuket Island, a new 58.6km (36.4-mile) system would link Phuket City with the international airport. Early indications are that this may be an automated, elevated line.

Bangkok has two metro systems, the 64.5km (40-mile) elevated MTS Skytrain and the

44km (27 miles) of underground MRT lines. There are also two monorails, a 28km (17-mile) elevated airport rail link and a 1.72km (one-mile) automatic people-mover. Expansion is planned for all these systems although details have yet to be confirmed.

End of Chinese hydrogen line?

Operation of the 6.5km (fourmile) Gaoming demonstration tramline in the Chinese city of Foshan has ceased. Despite a reported lack of passengers, an official statement said that the line is undergoing an equipment and facilities overhaul, and will re-open.

Opened in December 2019, the world’s first wholly hydrogen-powered line used five 27T trams, equipped with Ballard fuel cells and built by CRRC Qingdao Sifang under licence from Škoda.

Go-ahead for metro in Angolan

capital

Angolan President João Lourenço has authorised spending EUR2.3bn on new contracts to build a 60km (37-mile) metro in the country’s capital, Luanda. These include a EUR45.6m technical assistance contract to oversee the basic design of the project, EUR2.25bn for supplying the equipment and technical systems plus construction (which includes 24 trains) and EUR13.4m for what the government’s website describes as “coordination and management of the project.”

Construction is due to start next year.

Hyundai and Škoda sign hydrogen understanding

Hyundai Motor Company and Škoda Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aiming to accelerate hydrogen adoption, with Hyundai potentially sharing its fuel cell system and technology. Both companies will also conduct feasibility studies for fuel cell

system applications other than transport. The signing took place on 20 September.

Ken Ramírez, Hyundai’s Executive Vice President and Head of Global Commercial Vehicle and Hydrogen Business, said: “Together with Škoda Group, we strive to lead the

rapidly growing hydrogen businesses by creating positive synergies between our fuel cell technology and Škoda Group’s mobility products and projects.”

Petr Novotný, Škoda Group CEO, added: “Our collaboration aims at enabling us to look beyond national borders

and explore wider markets where these technologies can have a larger impact. By working together, we can bring innovative, eco-friendly solutions to the global mobility ecosystem, advancing cleaner energy in the areas where it’s needed most.”

Comprehensive new tram-train depot to be built in Chemnitz

Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen, the co-ordinating authority for passenger transport in the central German city of Chemnitz, is to build a new depot at a cost of EUR234.6m. This not only includes construction of the facility but also the purchase of 19 Stadler Citylink dual-voltage vehicles and maintenance for 15 years.

The new depot, which is to also accommodate 15 CVAG city trams, should be operational in 2027. It is to include a 120m by 44m workshop with wheel lathe and facilities for interior cleaning. The new depot is part of the Chemnitzer Modell scheme, whereby tram-trains “[connect] the city and the region without changing trains”.

ABOVE: A mock-up of a potential light rail car for Khon Kaen. University of Khon Kaen

LEFT: A visualisation of the new Chemnitz tram-train depot. Ingenieurbüro Fuchs

Pointers for easier UK construction

A report produced by campaign group Britain Remade and thinktank Create Streets has made several recommendations to simplify and reduce the costs of UK tramway construction.

Back On Track covers areas such as utilities relocation and dealings with central government.

The report also suggests that central government should enable councils to collect stamp duty uplift for houses sold near tramlines, and levy business rate supplements and an extra penny on employer’s national insurance, based on a system that operates in France. It says future UK schemes ought to also introduce Workplace Parking Levies, while the government should adopt a grant system similar to those in use in the US to help kick-start development programmes.

Luas Finglas extension moves towards approval

New Dublin line linking Luas terminus to Finglas to enter planning phase

Dublin’s planned Luas extension to Finglas is to enter the planning system. The proposal was approved by Ireland’s Cabinet on 22 October, meaning that a Railway Order (Planning) Application will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála this December. If approved, the light rail project will be brought to Government for final consideration.

Managed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the scheme is funded by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority (NTA). Subject to funding, construction could

start in 2031.

The 4km (2.5-mile) line is planned to connect Finglas, a north-western suburb of Dublin, to the current Luas terminus and heavy rail station at Broombridge. Stops are planned at St Helena’s, Finglas Village, St Margaret’s Road and Charlestown, while Broombridge will become part of Dublin’s extended DART commuter rail system.

The journey time between Charlestown and Broombridge is estimated to be 13 minutes, while the journey from Charlestown to Trinity College in the centre of Dublin could take 30 minutes.

The extension is planned to have a frequency of eight trams per hour in each direction.

Much of the proposed route is on segregated track. The project also includes making improvements to active travel routes and providing a 350-vehicle park-and-ride facility.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said: “The Luas Finglas project will bring reliable, high-frequency and sustainable transport to well-established and new communities. I am delighted that the Government’s approval today starts that journey.”

New Bologna and Rome orders boost CAF in Italy

CAF has won an order for 33 five-section 35m Urbos low-floor trams for Bologna’s new 57km (35-mile) system. The EUR130m deal includes four years of maintenance and spare parts, plus an option for up to 27 more trams. The design includes On Board Energy Storage Systems super-capacitors to permit operation in the Italian city’s centre without overhead wires.

Promoted by Commune di Bologna, the network will eventually comprise four lines. The 16km (ten-mile) Red line from the centre to the western suburbs is already under

Berlin U-Bahn feels the pinch

Henrik Falk, CEO of Berlin U-Bahn operator BVG, has told broadcaster RBB that it will have to “make the best of the fleet” until new trains arrive.

The German capital has struggled with a shortage of trains, combined with 15% sick leave amongst staff. The directors are split on how to resolve the situation.

“None of us are happy about it,” Falk told RBB.

“New vehicles will arrive next year. Until then, we have to make the best of the fleet we have.”

construction, while work started on the 6.2km (3.9-mile) Green line to Corticella in August. Blue and Yellow lines are to follow.

Meanwhile, ATAC, the tramway operator in Roma (Rome), has exercised an option for 20 more CAF Urbos low-floor trams. These join the initial EUR130m order placed in October 2023 for 40. There are still options for up to 81 more.

Oslo tram crashes into shop leaving four injured

CAF SL18 tram 414 de-railed in central Oslo on 29 October, crashing through a shop front. Luckily, there were no fatalities but the driver and three passengers were injured. The incident happened at the junction of Nygata and Storgata.

An investigation is underway into how the front section of the five-section tram ended up inside the premises of technology retailer Eplehuset.

Anders Roenning, the police officer in charge of operations told news agency Reuters that the tram derailed as it was making a left turn into Storgata. News outlets have reported that the police have formally declared the driver a suspect as excessive speed is consider a contributing factor.

A Sporveien spokesperson told Reuters: “We are going to have to conduct inquiries on site by our specialists.”

Temirtau to re-open

The 1524mm-gauge, 11km (seven-mile) tramway that was built to convey staff between Kazakhstan’s city of Temirtau and the neighbouring steelworks looks set to re-open. Built in 1959, it closed in February 2023 due to the poor state of infrastructure and rolling stock. Originally, the city decided not to assist steelworks owner Qarmet in carrying out vital repairs, but later changed its position (TAUT 1040).

It had been hoped to reopen the line on 1 October but driver training appeared to be ongoing as this issue closed for press.

RIGHT: CAF has delivered a mock-up of the first section of its new tram to ATAC in Roma. ATAC

Is this the end for Kolkata’s tramway?

One of world’s most famous systems faces uncertain future

Greater levels of road use, development of the Metro and –increasingly – storm damage have threatened the future of Kolkata’s tram system. The end initially appeared to come in September when the West Bengal Transport Minister announced that all but the 3.5km (two-mile) section between Maidan and Esplanade would close. This would become a heritage operation.

The Calcutta Tram Users Association organised a protest march on 5 October, supported by the Calcutta Tramways Workers’ Union. The Indian city’s High Court has formed an advisory committee to consider the decision.

In the meantime, police issued a suspension order for the period of Durga Puja (the Hindu festival celebrated from 9 to 15 October) on the grounds of congestion. No

trams ran on 16-21 October, but on 22 October trams re-appeared on the streets, including between Ballygunge and Tollygunge.

It is not yet clear what the future holds for a system that, at its peak in 1921, had 56km (35 miles) of track and boasted more than 500 cars. The network dates back to the first horse tramway of 1873.

Electrified in 1902-04, the Calcutta Tramways Company was nationalised by the West Bengal government in 1951 and became part of the West Bengal Transport Corporation in 2016. Three street-based lines remain: Line 5 (Shyambazar – Esplanade), Line 25 (Gariahat – Esplanade) and Lines 24/29 (Tollygunge –Ballygunge), recently suspended for utility work.

West Yorkshire consults on preferred routes

Public consultation on the proposed routes for West Yorkshire Mass Transit (UK) ended on 30 September. A pair of lines were up for consideration, the Leeds Line and the Bradford Line, with Bradford City Council preferring a route via Laisterdyke and Armley for the latter. Proposal B3 would utilise part

of the former Great Northern Railway’s Pudsey Loop Line (closed in 1964) before passing through Bradford’s Parry Lane Enterprise Zone and the city centre before terminating at Forster Square station.

Bradford Council’s executive member for transport, Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, said:

“We’re working to ensure the proposed mass transit system contributes to significant growth and regeneration in central Bradford, and that the designs take into account all the work being done to make our city centre more pedestrian-friendly.”

The two other proposed Bradford Line routes were B1

(via Stanningley and Armley) and B2 (via Laisterdyke, Pudsey and Wortley). There were seven proposed routes for the Leeds Line between St James’s Hospital and the White Rose Centre. WYCA said on its website that the results of the public consultation will be fed back “over the coming months”.

Hamburg trams: third time lucky?

With the costs of U-Bahn construction rising, Hamburg city transport operator HHA has issued an invitation to tender for a tramway feasibility study. It will determine surface transport infrastructure requirements for the next ten years, including the possibility of running trams to Wilhelmsburg and Harburg in place of the proposed U-Bahn line U4 extension.

Hamburg is the largest

conurbation in Germany without a tramway. Since its system closed in 1978, there have been two serious attempts to re-instate trams, but both came to naught due to political opposition.

Monte Carlo

underground transit link

The Principality of Monaco has issued a tender for a design/build/ finance/operate contract for an underground transit link between Eze and Monte Carlo. The 2.2km (1.4-mile) line, with a 10% gradient, should be capable of moving 2400 passengers per hour, with a peak demand of 3600. The contract also includes a 3500-space park-andride facility.

Alstom Germany to restructure facilities

Alstom has announced that it is to restructure its production facilities in Germany. This is because it plans to merge operations in its Germany/Austria/Switzerland region with those in its Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland) from January.

The factory in Görlitz will close, while the Hennigsdorf plant will no longer produce new vehicles. Instead, it will become a service centre. The Bautzen factory will take on body-shell production from plants at Mannheim and Kassel.

ABOVE: Happier days for the Kolkata tramway, when it celebrated 150 years of operation in 2023. The Wire

ABOVE: A photographic montage shows a tram passing Hamburg’s city hall. BahnBusBilder.de

A vibr A nt network for A meg Acity

Delhi metro can count several strings to its bow when it comes to indian mass transit ‘firsts’. TAUT finds out what makes this impressive system so unique.

New Delhi is the capital of India. In the same way that the City of London is now only a small part of what we recognise as ‘London’, so New Delhi is only a small part of the megacity that is Delhi.

Delhi has an estimated population of more than 30 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in India and the second-largest in the world, after Tokyo. It’s a true cosmopolitan city, thanks to its multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multireligious population.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) was established on 3 May 1995 as a joint venture of the Government of India (Central Government) and the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi. Its purpose was to design, build, operate and maintain a metro system in Delhi National Capital Region and other parts of India and the world. And what a network DMRC has built!

DMRC operates 392.4km (244 miles) of metro with 218 elevated stations and 70 underground stations. This was achieved in three phases (Phase I, II and III – see panel). It’s cost some USD9.7bn (EUR8.9bn) to get

this far. But given that the metro attracts approximately seven million passenger journeys per day – that’s 30% of the city’s public transport demand – DMRC considers it money well spent.

It’s an efficient system too, achieving punctuality of 99.96%.

The 25km (15.5-mile) Airport Express line (AEL) adds another string to DMRC’s bow. It links Indira Gandhi International Airport to New Delhi, and its maximum speed of 120km/h (74.5mph) makes it the fastest metro rail link in India.

There are four public transport funding models in use throughout India. DMRC is funded by the 50:50 Joint Venture model, whereby central and state governments have 50:50 equity participation. DMRC pioneered this process and it has been used in Mumbai (Line 3), Chennai, Bangalore, Nagpur, Lucknow, Kochi and Ahmedabad. DMRC is considered to be one of the most successful examples of this model.

Other funding models include complete funding by Central Government (Kolkata’s metro was funded this way), complete funding by State Government (Jaipur Metro rail and Mumbai Monorail) and Public Private Partnership.

Delhi’s lifeline

DMRC has achieved operational profits from day one. The only exception was during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that makes it one of the few metro systems across the globe to achieve such success. DMRC does not pass all of the operating expenses to its commuters, but it has to work extra hard to maximise non-farebox revenue.

Above: trains on the violet Line in Delhi.

All images courtesy of Delhi Metro

Above: A violet Line train passes in front of the Lotus temple, which – notable for its flower-like shape – has become a prominent feature in the city since being built in 1986.

DMRC’s mission statement states that it is “to serve customers including differently abled commuters, with passion”. With that in mind, all of its stations boast lifts, automatic fare collection, CCTV, way finding signage and air conditioning at underground stations. All stations have 100% step-free access, which complements the ample provision for elderly and differently-abled passengers on board its network.

DMRC is Delhi’s lifeline. Keeping those seven million passengers per day safe and secure is of “paramount importance” for DMRC. Its security is on a par with what you’d find at an airport, with its network security in the hands of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), an armed police force that specialises in counter-terrorism and handling emergency situations. CISF has a dedicated Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), a Canine Squad and Quick Reaction Teams to ensure security of the system. It also has an intelligence gathering network, its Crime Investigation Wing (CIW).

Every passenger passes through metal detectors, while bags are screened by x-ray machines at each entry point. The entire network is covered by continuously monitored CCTV systems.

DMRC also has to take the NCR’s geography into account. The NCR sits on flat plains, with the river Yamuna flowing through the heart of Delhi. Flooding may be an issue and so DMRC has incorporated flood barriers and implemented anti-flood procedures; so far, DMRC reports, it has not suffered any flooding of its system.

While the land surrounding Delhi is comparatively flat, it’s close to the foothills of the mighty Himalaya mountain range. This places it in Seismic Zone IV, a high damage risk zone. With that in mind, Delhi Metro infrastructure is designed to withstand earthquakes of up to 7 magnitude on the Richter scale.

Weathering all conditions

Delhi Metro also planned for environmental challenges very early on. The city’s hot, semi-arid climate equates to average high temperatures of 44°C and average low temperatures of 6.9°C. Although Delhi experiences extreme temperatures, the system has been designed to cope with record high temperatures of 49.9°C.

The region’s dry winters bring other problems as smog engulfs the city. Fumes from vehicles and industries mix with fog and become trapped over the built-up area. This situation is further aggravated by stubble burning in neighbouring states. The city authorities cannot control the actions of farmers but when the smog settles over the city, DMRC maximises its services so that more people opt to use public transport rather than their own vehicles.

Delhi Metro continually strives to improve its ‘green credentials’. DMRC has a policy to plant ten saplings for every tree felled during construction. Some 43 727 trees were lost during the building of Phases I-III, but 535 150 new trees have been planted.

DMRC has also been certified by the United Nations as the first metro system –indeed the first rail system in the world – to get carbon credits, as it has reduced pollution

levels in the city by 630 000 tonnes every year. It has also become the first-ever railway project in the world to claim carbon credits for regenerative braking.

Some 35% of its total energy requirements are fulfilled by green energy; 5% of that is generated by its in-house solar plants. These can be found on on station rooftops, in depots, office blocks, car parks and even boundary walls. This energy is used for lighting and other auxiliary requirements in stations and depots, with excess energy sent to traction sub-stations. All new stations – either those already under construction or those still at the planning stage – will be ‘Solar Ready’.

The majority of power comes from the 6.4km 2 (1590-acre) solar farm in the Gurh tehsil of Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh, thanks to a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that guarantees 345 million units of electricity per annum. This was signed in April 2017.

DMRC’s fare structure is decided by the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC). This consists of a chairman who is or has been a Judge of a High Court. Central and State governments nominate one member each.

The FFC evaluates several factors such as operating costs, maintenance costs, passenger comfort and affordability to determine fare rates. The fare structure has been revised four times, the last in 2017.

DMRC is among the most affordable mass rapid systems in the world. Fares are based on distance travelled, the maximum fare is USD0.71 (EUR0.65). To promote smart cards over QR codes, 10% discounts are offered to card users. Additionally discounted fares are offered during off-peak/non-peak hours to

Above: trains stabled at the inspection bay Line (ibL) in the khyber Pass depot of the yellow Line.

Above: Solar panels installed on the rooftop of badkal mor station (violet Line).

Above: JLn Stadium station on violet Line, on the opening day before the 19th commonwealth games, which were held in Delhi in 2010.

Above: rajiv chowk metro Station: An interchange station on the yellow and blue Lines, which caters for more than 0.4 million passengers on weekdays.

Above: Solar panels installed on the rooftop of the stabling bay lines of najafgarh Depot.

Above: the station platform of Lal Quila station on violet Line.

Above: multi-modal integration at chhatarpur Station on the yellow Line.

encourage people to travel at that time.

Further discounts are available. On Sundays and National Holidays, a flat USD0.12 discount is provided.

DMRC describes itself as a ‘customer centric organisation’. To make booking tickets easier, it has systems that enable commuters to book tickets or top up their travel card from their homes or workplaces. This is much more convenient and doesn’t require customers to stand in lengthy queues.

The National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), also known as ‘One Nation One Card’, is a Central Government initiative to provide seamless travel across all Indian public transport systems. NCMC covers metro, bus, suburban railways and even toll payments on highways and car parking. The NCMC card can be topped up online, through mobile apps or at metro stations. Some 1.6 million cards have been issued since the scheme’s launch in 2019.

i n control

The Delhi Metro’s nerve centre is its Operational Control Centre (OCC).

The 49km (30-mile) Yellow Line between Samaypur Badli in Delhi and Millennium City Centre in the neighbouring city of Gurgaon is DMRC’s busiest line. At peak times, the Yellow Line’s headway can be reduced to as little as two minutes and 18 seconds. DMRC has plans to develop variable train composition in future to further optimise operations.

The OCC adjusts train schedules based on demand, and instigates different timetables for different days (weekdays/weekend), special events and festive seasons. During high pollution days, DMRC deploys all available trains to meet the surge in demand.

It’s also worth mentioning that all Metro station infrastructure is capable of accommodating increased passenger demand. There is also scope to expand its automatic fare collection system to most stations.

DMRC has focused on the digitisation of its systems in the last five years. It has introduced QR code-based tickets for travel from 8 May 2023, removing the previous token-system on all its lines. With the introduction of this facility, passengers can purchase QR code-tickets quickly and easily through mobile apps or vending machines, again, reducing the need to queue.

It followed with a WhatsApp-based ticketing system. This was launched on 5 October 2023 across the whole system and, since then, approximately 40 000-45 000 QR code-based tickets are purchased through WhatsApp every day.

This focus on digital ticket sales was given a further boost on 1 November 2023 when DMRC launched its Saarthi (Momentum 2.0) app. This enables tickets to be purchased directly from smartphones. The Saarthi app also enables customers to access additional facilities, from renting digital lockers to paying their utility bills. The app has been downloaded over five million times since it was launched and it has generated 36.6 million QR code-tickets.

But most importantly, the app also covers Last Mile Connectivity (LMC) services and car parking information. This has enabled DMRC to “set a new standard for urban mobility which offers a convenient and stress-free commuting experience”.

DMRC constituted a separate company, Delhi Metro Last Mile Services Limited, in April 2018 to specifically cater for LMC. Under this organisation, DMRC facilitates the integration of other modes of transport such as electric rickshaws, cycles and e-scooters, to fulfil commuters’ first and last mile needs.

DMRC’s LMC services includes:

• E-Rickshaw/E-auto services at 42 stations

• Public bicycle sharing at 68 stations

• Electric vehicle public charging at 72 stations

• EV charging/battery swapping at 33 stations

DMRC also provides parking facilities at 120 metro stations, where commuters can easily leave their vehicles and switch to the metro, avoiding the hassle of city traffic. The total parking facilities across the whole DMRC network can cater for some 7500 four-wheeled vehicles, 80 000 two-wheeled vehicles and 8000 cycles at one time.

Further digital initiatives have included Real Time Car Wise Train Occupancy. This shows how full individual carriages are on public display screens so that passengers can gather at places on the platform that correspond with the emptiest cars.

DMRC has implemented this on the Magenta Line (Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden).

This is a first for an Indian mass rapid transit system and is being introduced to other Delhi metro lines. Delhi metro launched its CARE (Customer Application for Relationship & Engagement) public complaints management system on 7 March 2024. This custom-made software, developed in-house, offers enhanced customer grievance management and will help to increase the speed, accuracy and accessibility of the complaints management infrastructure already in place.

STAMP (System for Tracking and Monitoring Projects) is a system that monitors the progress of all civil and system works contracts. STAMP monitors issues with pre-construction activities, such as land availability, tree transplantation and the moving of utilities. Three-dimensional Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems enable viewing of comparisons between planned and actual progress.

Meanwhile, the Master Primavera Schedule (MPS) keeps tabs on preparation, process, and the awarding and execution of all contract

Above: A train runs along the Airport express line (the fastest metro rail link in india with speeds of up to 120kmph).

rigHt: the interchange facility at Anand vihar blue and Pink Line metro Stations.

packages. Again, ‘planned vs actual’ progress can be viewed for each contract package.

h uman resource Development

DMRC is also proud to house India’s first Metro Rail Academy, which is ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System accredited for design, development and delivery of training programs. The Delhi Metro Rail Academy (DMRA), is a premier training institute established by the DMRC to provide specialised training for metro rail professionals. Equipped with air-conditioned classrooms, an auditorium, computer labs and demonstration rooms, there are also 33 driving and maintenance simulators and 12 model rooms. It has trained around 20 000 personnel since its opening in 2002, which includes 3800 from Indian metros outside of Delhi and even 200 from overseas, with specialised training programs for MRT Jakarta, Dhaka Metro Rail, Sri-Lankan LRT.

h ome-grown goals

Atmanirbhar Bharat is a philosophy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and is designed to promote the development of indigenous technology. One of the results of this is i-ATS, a home-grown train control and supervision system. This was launched on the Red Line, the largely elevated, 34.5km (21-mile) line from Rithala to Shaheed Sthal, on 18 February 2023. The i-ATS was developed jointly by DMRC and Bharat Electronics, and this means that India joins France, Germany, Japan, Canada and China in developing its own ATS system.

DMRC proudly states that more than 90% of its rolling stock is manufactured in India, and that more than 50% local content is achieved in signalling, traction and evaluation and management projects. For civil engineering projects, that figure is more like 90%.

Other systems developed in India include DMRC’s Remote Health Monitoring System (which detects faults with lineside equipment) and its Integrated Data Management System (a series of electronic logbooks) plus its Driver Trainer Simulator.

One key development has been the introduction of UTO (Unattended Train Operations) on the 59km (37-mile) Line 7 and 37km (23-mile) Line 8. DMRC has so much faith in the system that drivers’ cabs have been replaced with additional passenger capacity.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited celebrates its 30th birthday in 2025. It has achieved much in the last 30 years ,but there’s more to come in the next five years.

New LMC initiatives include:

• Electric vehicle charging hubs at up to 11 further stations.

• Battery swapping facilities at up to 63 more stations.

DMRC wants to achieve 60MW peak from its on-site solar plants, to have 50% of its electricity coming from renewable sources by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2070. Some of that renewable energy could be generated by new vertically-mounted, bifacial solar panels – i.e. panels that generate electricity from both sides. These are being trialled on a section of viaduct.

DMRC has again joined forces with Bharat Electronics Limited once again to develop a Communication Based Train Control system, which will enable it to reduce its dependence on foreign vendors. The system is being developed by a dedicated team of 50 engineers from DMRC and BEL. The team started work on the system when a Memorandum of Understanding was signed last September. The prototype i-CBTC product is to be tested on a designated test track within the DMRC network.

The most visible sign of change on the Delhi metro system is simply known as ‘Phase IV’. This will add a further 112km (70 miles) of track to the network and will “further extend the metro network in Delhi and its surrounding areas”.

Such a mammoth construction project has been divided into what have been called ‘corridors’. Construction on three priority corridors started in December 2019.

These are:

• Janakpuri West to R.K. Ashram. This is an extension of the Magenta Line by 29km (18 miles) and 22 stations.

• Mukundpur to Maujpur. This extends the Pink Line by 12km (7.5 miles) and eight stations.

• Aerocity to Tughlakabad. This is an allnew line (Golden Line). It will be 23.6km (15 miles) long and will boast 15 stations. The aim for it is to enhance connectivity between the airport and South Delhi.

The Pink Line extension is due to be ready for commissioning by March 2025, with the Magenta Line and Golden Line to follow in March 2026. The total cost for these three priority corridors is USD3bn (EUR2.7bn).

But more is to follow. Two further corridors have been given cabinet approval –Inderlok to Indraprastha, and Lajpat Nagar to Saket G Block. These will add 12km (7.5 miles) and 8km (five miles) to the system respectively, along with the 18 new stations (divided ten and eight). Contracts for these two new corridors, estimated to cost USD1.0bn (EUR0.9bn) are being prepared. One final corridor, the 26km (16-mile) Rithala – Narela – Kundli route, together with its 21 stations, is Public Investment Board-approved and awaiting cabinet approval.

Delhi Metro has a published a list of all the ‘firsts’ it has achieved for an Indian mass transit system. These range from its green initiatives to its technological developments. But what is most relevant is that DMRC has the distinction of completing all projects within the budgeted cost and time. There can’t be many systems around the world that can claim the same.

Above: trains stabled in their Stabling bay Lines (SbL) at the Pink Line’s mukundpur Depot (Uto line).

tennis legend and local celebrity roger Federer has his own special livery on a Basel Flexity this is labelled as the ‘Federer express’ and lists all the years of his major tournament wins, including the record eight triumphs at Wimbledon.

Here 5040 is seen passing the medieval city gate, spalentor, while running westbound with a line 3 service to gare de saint-louis on 30 august.

Busting

B orders in Basel

andrew thompson visits the cross-border tramway system of Basel, switzerland, part of a very dense and inter-connected public transport offering.

Located on the border with both Germany and France, the Swiss city of Basel features the world’s only tri-national tram network. With two light rail lines serving Leymen and Saint Louis in eastern France and one tram route running to Weil am Rhein in southern Germany, Basel’s public transport system is designed to accommodate cross-border commuters and shoppers for both work and leisure. Incidentally, the third-largest city in Switzerland also boasts two different operators for its tram services, as the yellow LRVs of Baselland Transport AG (BLT) serve long overland routes, while the green vehicles of Basler Verkehrsbetriebe (BVB) run in the urban core. At present the regional tram network stretches to

89km (55 miles) and several extensions are being prepared for implementation by the end of this decade.

Given a population of about 176 000 in the city limits and 400 000 in the wider metropolitan area, Basel’s public transport system is quite dense and interconnected. The international tramway is also complemented by cross-border commuter rail lines that connect Basel’s major railway stations with population centres beyond the reach of the light rail routes.

Basel’s electric metre-gauge tramway dates back to 1895. The first cross-border line opened in 1900 to Sankt Ludwig (today Saint Louis), as at that time the territory of Alsace was part of the German Empire and would remain so until the end of World War

One in 1918. Shifting borders and global conflicts notwithstanding, the tram route to Saint Louis would remain in place until the 1950s, when it was cut back to the Swiss border in Basel’s Volta district. Cross-border trams from Basel to Saint Louis made a comeback in December 2017, but on a different alignment, when a 3.3km (twomile) extension from Burgfelderhof to Saint Louis Gare opened. This line does not pass through the main commercial zone of Saint Louis, but rather serves residential districts and schools, before terminating at the Saint Louis station. There is the possibility of extending it by a few kilometres on French territory to EuroAirport, and the points have already been installed at the station terminus to facilitate such a possibility.

Basel

The interurban Birsigtalbahn to the south of Basel has run across the border and through the Alsatian village of Leimen/ Leymen since 1910. Its history has been more stable though, with service interruptions only taking place during the two world wars, as this popular overland trunk route was never threatened by closure. The last of the original cross-border lines was the route from Riehen to Lörrach, which opened in 1919 and eventually closed in 1967, when the route was cut back to the Swiss border at Riehen Grenze, where BVB tram line 6 still terminates today. Since then, rapid transit between Basel Badischer Bahnhof and Lörrach has been covered by S-Bahn commuter trains, which serve six different stations within Lörrach and run every 30 minutes along the 29km (18-mile) branch line to Zell im Wiesental, a popular recreational destination in the Black Forest. During recent years, Lörrach officials have analysed the possibility of once again extending tram line 6 from the border into

BeloW: Blt will withdraw all type Be 4/6 and Be 4/8 schindler cars by 2025, following the TINA fleet launch; 25 of the retrofitted, longer Be 4/8 with partial low-floor entry will be donated to the ukrainian city of lviv. three of these schindler trams will remain in Basel, with 220 having already been remodelled into an elegant lounge tram, suitable for private charters, while 256 has been designated for conversion to a lineside maintenance vehicle for de-icing of overhead power lines. the identity of the third schindler car, to stay in Basel as a museum tram, is yet to be determined. Here, Be 4/8 255 is seen leading the shorter, non-modified 226 on a line 17 service southbound to ettingen.

Bahnhof

Birsfelden Hard

Pratteln

the centre of the city, but have ruled it out on cost grounds.Despite contributions from the German state of Baden-Württemberg and a Swiss congestion relief grant, the city determined that it would not be able to afford its own share of such a project.

Basel trams have been running to Germany again since December 2014, when line 8 was extended by 2.5km (1.6 miles) from Kleinhüningen to Lörrach’s neighbouring city of Weil am Rhein. In Weil, line 8 runs past one major shopping centre that is located immediately at the border stop Grenze, before terminating at Weil am Rhein station, adjacent to two more malls. As Swiss residents can claim back German value added tax on all purchases over EUR50 and don’t have to pay Swiss import taxes on amounts under CHF300, there is significant cross-border traffic for ‘retail tourism’. At the same time, tens of thousands of German and French residents work in Switzerland for slightly higher wages, creating a large daily influx of commuters. Correspondingly, line 8 is the busiest tram route on the entire Basel system, and even at off-peak hours the extra-long Combino and Flexity LRVs are often during capacity.

Given the success and popularity of line 8, including ever-growing ridership numbers, there are now plans in place to extend it by about 1.7km (1.1 miles) through the centre of Weil am Rhein to Läublinpark in the Altweil district. This would serve new residential districts and reduce the need to change from tram to bus for certain journeys. While funding has been largely secured through a combination of German state funding and Swiss grants, the Weil city authorities still need to approve the project and determine the location of a turning loop in Altweil.

On the Swiss side there are also numerous extension projects slated for development by 2030. Chief among them is the new connector through Petersgraben in the Basel’s ‘Old Town’. This 500m spur along the namesake Petersgraben road would provide a link between the current track alignment of tram lines 3 and 11, while serving new stops at the university hospital. Most importantly, it would allow line 16 to be diverted away from the severely congested trunk route through Marktplatz and Schifflände, while also extending the peak-only booster service E11 to the hospital. Indeed the Achilles Heel of the entire Basel tram system is that too many lines run through the downtown core on just one alignment between the interchange at Barfüsserplatz, the main market square Marktplatz and the Rhine embankment at Schifflände. During peak hours, three or four vehicles can often be backed up against each other, creating a slow moving ‘green and yellow wall’ in the central streets.

Another important measure to re-route a tram line away from the Barfüsserplatz – Marktplatz – Schifflände corridor is the so-called S-Tram 17 scheme. This project seeks to turn the current peak-only booster line 17 into an all-day service by 2030. Currently line 17 runs on the interurban Birsigtalbahn from the intermediate terminus Ettingen via Bottmingen and Binningen north to Basel, and then passes through the city centre

2000, they were the first fully low-floor trams in Basel. a total of 28 were supplied by 2002, initially sporting a turquoise livery. More recently, all have been repainted into BVB’s standard emerald green, as part of regular overhauls. Car 326 is seen running over the

running outbound to

with a line 11 service. thirtyeight of these 45m type Be 6/10 six-section lrVs with a Jacobs bogie in the middle were delivered by stadler from 2008 to 2016 in two series.

“Tens of thousands of German and French residents work in Switzerland for slightly higher wages, creating a large daily influx of commuters.”

aBoVe: When siemens started delivering the nearly 43 m-long, seven-section Combino sets to BVB in

historic Birsig Viaduct from 1858, with a line 8 service on the approach to Basel sBB station.

leFt: Blt Tango 182 calls at stJohanns-tor while

st-louis grenze

aBoVe: on 24 september, Flexity 5032 runs over the new grassed tracks at st. Jakob with an outbound line 14 service to Pratteln. this was during the first week after route 14 had reopened, following a five-month engineering closure for track replacement and station adaptation to improve barrier-free boarding.

Basel

before crossing the Rhine and terminating in Kleinbasel at Wiesenplatz depot. As part of the new plan it would run over the full length of the Birsigtalbahn all the way from the ultimate terminus at Rodersdorf in Switzerland, pass through Leymen in France, call at smaller stops in the Swiss suburbs of Therwil, Bottmingen and Binningen, and then travel through a newly-built chord at Margarethenstich to connect to the BVB tram route 2 to serve Basel SBB station. It would then continue on a quieter tram route via Kirschgarten and Wettsteinbrücke to cross the river and reach Kleinbasel, before terminating at the DB station Basel Badischer Bahnhof. Aside from the still-to-be-built chord at Margarethenstich, S-Tram 17 also required installation of double-track around the single-track bottleneck of Birsigtalbahn at Binningen Schloss. Although only 500m long, this major infrastructure enhancement required an entire row of residential buildings to be demolished in order to secure enough space for a new double-track alignment. Works started in early 2023 and

were completed in late October 2024, after a three-week engineering closure to link up the new double-track section with the existing network.

Thanks to the elimination of the previous single-track choke point at Binningen Schloss, timetable resilience for the busy lines 10 and 17 on the Birisigtalbahn interurban has also been greatly enhanced.

The other two potential extensions, which are currently under development as part of the ‘Tramnetz 2030’ scheme, include a southwestern extension of line 8 from its current terminus Neuweilerstrasse in Basel to the Letten industrial estate in the neighbouring town of Allschwil. This project is currently in the public consultation phase. North of the River Rhine in the Klybeck port district, a new spur to a large urban redevelopment is also planned, which would then allow a re-routing of line 14. At the same time, previous plans to build a short tram connector in Kleinbasel along Claragraben, as a link between Wettsteinplatz and Claraplatz, have been largely shelved,

aBoVe: the tram system’s busiest border crossing at Weil am rhein grenze. Combino 310 has just rolled back on to swiss territory with an inbound line 8 service to Basel, as the german border post is seen to the rear. due to the current migration crisis in germany, it is common for trams to be stopped and inspected, with passengers required to present to identification. this is done in the siding under the roof of the white building. the process is generally efficient, as teams of four or six border inspectors are normally deployed. the actual calling point of Weil am rhein dreiländerbrücke is to the rear, near the grass patch. that is where most shoppers alight, as the large rhein Center mall is directly to the left.

after significant local opposition and a reassessment of actual priorities.

Meanwhile, both operators BLT and BVB are either implementing or planning fleet modernisation. In late 2023 BLT received the first of 25 Be 8/10 TINA LRVs from Stadler, which it had ordered in November 2021. Unlike the predecessor model Tango, the TINA vehicles do not have a Jacobs bogie and are fully low-floor, with the exception of the vestibules above the wheelsets at the very front and rear of the vehicle. Commissioning and driver training of the new trams lasted until late August 2024, with the first TINA then entering revenue service on BLT’s peak-only booster lines E11 and 17 in early September. Delivery of the full series is expected by late 2025, at which time the last of the articulated high-floor Schindler cars will be withdrawn. Originally BLT expected to cascade the Schindler trams to Belgrade, Serbia, just as it had done with previous high-floor stock in 2016, but because the Serbian capital is hosting the 2027 World Exhibition, local authorities preferred to purchase new low-floor LRVs. Therefore 25 of the longer, retrofitted Be 4/8 Schindler cars will be available for donation to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Once the last Schindler cars are withdrawn, the BLT fleet will be entirely low-floor for the very first time. BVB still operates high-floor Schindler cars as well, in the form of the shorter type Be 4/4 bogie cars. These still run on lines 2, 6, 15, 16 and 21, thus being limited to just the Swiss part of the network and not cleared for operations into France or Germany. BVB originally planned to replace these with optional orders of more Flexity, but because Alstom did not want to produce the Flexity trams at the pre-pandemic prices that had been defined in the contract option, BVB is now preparing for an all new tender. This means the Be 4/4 power cars and their iconic Swiss Standard unpowered trailers will remain in front-line service until the end of this decade. The 44 seven-section, Be 6/8 Flexity, which were delivered by Alstom predecessor Bombardier from 2014 to 2016, form the modern backbone of the BVB fleet and are also deployed on the line 3 and line 8 international services to Saint-Louis and Weil am Rhein. They are complemented by 17 shorter five-section type Be 4/6 Flexity, delivered in 2016-17. These are primarily used on the less busy lines 15, 16 and 21, and are designed to cope with some of the tight curves on those routes.

In 2024, BVB’s major infrastructure venture was track replacement along the interurban line 14 to Pratteln, on the urban section near St. Jakob-Park football ground. This required a five-month engineering closure from late April to late September, with line 14 being diverted and bus replacement services serving St. Jakob-Park and the neighbouring towns of Muttenz and Pratteln. In 2025, another multi-month engineering closure is planned on the urban section of line 14, for further track replacement at Hardstrasse.

Basel is consistently ranked as one of the European cities with the highest quality of life, and the seamless public transport network with easy and frequent connections is a big part of that.

aBoVe: roughly two weeks after the first introduction to revenue service, the new stadler TINA 4204 is illuminated by the setting sun on 18 september, as it races along the rural overland section of the Birsigtalbahn between ettingen and therwil.

aBoVe: on the first day of operation on 3 september, TINA 4202 passes the construction site at Binningen spiesshöfli with a peak-hour line 17 service to ettingen. the former single-track bottleneck was replaced by a new double-track alignment as part of the ongoing and phased s-tram 17 scheme. during the construction works, a temporary single track had to be laid out on part of the adjacent road, while the new double tracks for future use were being laid, thus creating a short-lived yet distinct triple track alignment. after a one-month engineering closure, the new double-track alignment opened in late october and made it possible to remove the temporary track on the road. Hence this is a short-lived, already-historic scene.

“The Be 4/4 power cars and their iconic Standard trailers will remain in front-line service until the end of this decade.”

rigHt: the only high-floor trams remaining in service are the Be 4/4 bogie cars produced by schindler in 1986-87. in essence, this is a more modern and up-to-date version of the classic Swiss Standard design from the 1940s. the trailer at the rear end of this three-car formation is still an original Swiss Standard car and was built as part of a later series that had a production run from 1967-72. the B4 trailers still in use with BVB have all been retrofitted with a low-floor centre module and air-conditioning, making them accessible and giving such three-coach formations as seen here the requisite barrier-free entry in at least one part of the consist. on 18 september, Be 4/4 power cars 477 and 491 are leading such a triple-header on a line 2 service to Binningen Kronenplatz, while passing over the river rhine at Wettsteinbrücke. aside from line 2, such triple-headed consists are also used on line 6.

leFt: this is what a border crossing on an international tramway looks like. at the frontier post Burgfelderhof, Flexity 5016 to the right is just about to pass over to saint-louis, France, while 5017 on the left is about to depart with an inbound line 3 service to Basel and then on to Birsfelden Hard. typically, alternate lines 3 services terminate at Burgfelderhof, using a turning loop that runs around the customs building in the background, while every second service runs through to gare de saint-louis.

WOLTERSDORF’S NEW ERA

One of Europe’s more traditional tramways seems poised to leap into a low-floor future, as Tony Streeter explains.

Woltersdorf is undergoing the beginnings of a revolution.

You could say it started in March, with the arrival of the first Moderus Gamma. Or you might argue it dates back to 2021, when a tender was published for low-floor cars, to bring this route in Berlin’s hinterland in line with modern accessibility legislation.

Either way, the first three of those new cars are now here – and expected to be in service by around the end of the year.

Ever since it opened in 1913, this 5.6km (3.5-mile) standard gauge tramway in the state of Brandenburg has been home to traditional trams – its last generational shift in vehicles having been started nearly 50 years ago. What’s happening now is the first major change since the initial T57 fourwheelers began to arrive from Schwerin as part of that process, in 1977. Even then, Woltersdorf’s ‘new’ cars were secondhand, rather than coming straight from the production line as they are now.

What’s more, the Gothawagen that moved here when this little outfit was still part of the now defunct German Democratic Republic would have been essentially familiar to existing passengers. For the ‘new’ fourwheelers were based on earlier designs, and in many ways were similar to the vehicles that had come before.

All that means that what’s happening here now really is a revolution for this small and historic system. In many ways, with its low-level stops and steps in the cars to reach their high floors, the Woltersdorf tramway is already a leftover of a previous age. While charming and robust, it has certainly not offered barrier-free entry –up until now.

This makes this outpost different to Berlin itself (of which the Woltersdorf tramway effectively acts as part of its furthest reaches), and to the nearby Schöneicher – Rüdersdorfer Straßenbahn (SRS) with which Woltersdorf now shares its management. That metregauge line introduced modern vehicles in the shape of Transtec Artics from 2018, albeit not to the complete exclusion of older trams such as Tatra KTNF6 sets with low-floor centre sections.

In total, four of the 15m LF 10 AC BD versions of the Modertrans vehicles have been ordered from the Polish manufacturer, of which cars 41-43 are already in Woltersdorf. The fourth vehicle, 44, was added under an option and is currently under construction.

Initial trial runs took place in March with car 41, and the new ‘face’ of the tramway was shown-off amid much local publicity during the line’s 111th anniversary celebrations in May.

Bigger, heavier

It’s not just in having low-floors or in their styling that the Moderus Gammas differ from the old Gothawagen. In contrast with their predecessors which only have end doors, the new vehicles have 1.3m-wide double-doors in the middle of the body, as well as single doors at the ends.

The single-car vehicles are double-ended –essential at Woltersdorf, which does not have balloon loops.

No decision has yet been made on the future of the existing T57 motor cars (long complemented by B57 trailers) – which have been fundamental to this tramway’s operation for so long. Indeed, for a little while yet Woltersdorf’s regular fleet will continue to be made up entirely of Gothawagen, making it very unusual in the 21st Century.

A German Democratic Republic classic, the T57 has older roots – being based on an Erfurt design from 1936 and incorporating aspects from a more immediate predecessor, the postwar LOWA/Gotha ET 50/ET 54. Measuring 10.9m in length and 2.3m wide, standard T57s weigh 12.9 tonnes, have a 50km/h (31mph) top speed, and have 22 seats with space for 65 standing (given as 60 in the Woltersdorf cars). Both double- and single-ended versions of the motor cars were produced, with the total number being 196. A further 231 B57 trailers were also built.

ABOVE: Woltersdorf’s new fleet… 41 and 42 at Woltersdorf depot in September. All pictures by Tony Streeter.

All were constructed in 1957-61.

Once common throughout the GDR and also to be found in the Soviet Union, these four-wheeled traditional vehicles were increasingly replaced from the 1970s with the introduction of Tatra bogie cars. Then after Germany’s unification in the 1990s came a push for low-floor trams; large scale use of T57s in the country ended in 2003, when Jena officially withdrew its last vehicles.

In Germany, outside museum operation, they can still be found at Saxony’s touristorientated Kirnitszchtalbahn (Bad Schandau), and also at the (albeit societyoperated) Naumburg tramway in SaxonyAnhalt. That though is a long way from the situation when these once-ubiquitous vehicles, named after their Gotha place of birth, growled their way through the streets of multiple streets and towns in the GDR.

Woltersdorf’s examples, all of them secondhand, are motor cars 27-33 and trailers 89/90; cars have been refurbished internally but retain a traditional layout.

Aside from these ‘regular use’ vehicles, Woltersdorf is home to older classic trams that have traditionally appeared for special events. In addition there is Rekowagen works car 19, formerly Berlin 4534 and dating from 1965, which was acquired in 1998.

Although smaller than its relatives running in Polish cities, the Moderus Gamma variant for Woltersdorf is nevertheless larger than its GDR predecessors. The new vehicles are fully four metres longer at 14.91m, slightly wider at 2.4m, and weigh well over 7t more at 20.5t. Passenger capacity is 22 seated and 54 standing. Maximum speed is 75km/h (47mph).

While these are single-section trams, versions in use elsewhere have either three or five sections and are anything up to 32m long. The design has also now been proven: the prototype Moderus Gamma entered service in 2017, in Pozna ń, Modertrans’ home city. In addition to Woltersdorf, the type is now also to be found in Łód ź and Wrocław.

Still traditional

Other than the introduction of new vehicles, however, Woltersdorf’s tramway will still remain fundamentally familiar even after 2025.

Starting from Rahnsdorf, where the terminus lies across a road from the S-Bahn station of the same name, the route runs initially through woodland. Reaching Woltersdorf, it then uses a mixture of reserved and on-street formation between there and the ‘country end’ terminus at Woltersdorfer Schleuse, a popular recreational spot located between lakes. In total, the tramway has ten stops.

A single four-road depot suffices, and is reached via a turning triangle at Thälmannplatz. Dating from the tramway’s opening, this depot has been modernised since, notably in the late 1990s when it was comprehensively restored. Power for the single-track tramway is provided by overhead wires energised at 600V dc.

Although the route is covered by the Berlin ticketing area (being in the outermost zone, ‘C’), it is independent of the German capital’s tramway operator Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG).

Woltersdorf

ABOVE: Route 87 as people have come to know it across the decades. Gothawagen 28 waits at Rahnsdorf as its erstwhile passengers head to the S-Bahn station in the background, during September..

RIGHT: Although refurbished, the T57s still have a traditional interior – and high floors.

BELOW: Winding through Woltersdorf. Gothawagen 28 (built 1959) makes its way along the town’s Rudolf-BreitscheidStraße in September.

Instead, ownership is equally split between the local authority of Oder-Spree and Woltersdorf itself, a situation that came about in 1992 during the period of eastern Germany’s post-unification reorganisation. Operations were taken over by the nearby metre-gauge SRS in 2020 in a 22.5-year deal.

Despite the fact that Woltersdorf is a leisure destination and that the Gothawagen have proved a draw for tramway enthusiasts in recent times, the line known as route 87 continues to fulfil a core transport function. Travelling by S-Bahn (S3 Spandau – Erkner),

Rahnsdorf is only around 40 minutes from Berlin’s Alexanderplatz.

The core tramway timetable has regular 20-minute headways over the entire route, traditionally complemented by some short workings between Berliner Platz and Rahnsdorf. The very first tram leaves Thälmannplatz not long after 04.00, with the last not due back on the depot until after midnight.

For more on the Woltersdorf tramway as well as the SRS, see TAUT September 2021.

Connecting communities for 24 years

Proud to be supporting our colleagues to be the best they can be

GLOBAL LIGHT RAIL AWARDS 2024

There was another record attendance at this year’s celebration of excellence and innovation at London’s Bloomsbury Ballroom in October.

It has been another tremendous year for urban transit around the world. Most owners, managers and operators have successfully put the nightmare of COVID behind them, and are now firmly back on course for expansion and prosperity.

This was the opening message from Nicholas Owen, the journalist, TV presenter and committed light rail advocate. He returned yet again to welcome 300 attendees to the Global Light Rail Awards (GLRA) at a new venue in London, the prestigious Bloomsbury Ballroom, on 4 October. He was especially pleased to see visitors from Vietnam for the first time, and almost every continent was well represented.

A special feature this year has been

the creation of two Operator of the Year categories, for the UK and worldwide.

There was a standing ovation for the team from Transdev Dublin, which quickly overcame one of its most challenging events after civil unrest suddenly broke out in the streets of the Irish capital.

Great emphasis is always placed on individual performance, and there was more warm applause from the dinner guests for winners of the Team of Year, Employee of the Year and Rising Star trophies.

The 2024 awards sponsors have been Tram Operations Limited, UKTram, Keolis, Mott MacDonald, North Star Consultancy, the Light Rail Transit Association and TramForward, Colas Rail, Transdev, Rail Intel, Tramways & Urban Transit, Mainspring, and Tram Futures.

Global Light Rail Awards 2024

The winner in the BEST ENVIRONMENTAL & SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE category was Keolis Nottingham. One employee, Glenn Oakes, has done wonders by creating habitats for wildlife through simple techniques such as reducing grass cutting to just once a year, and sowing 700 000 poppy seeds.

Highly commended was Keolis Dijon for saving 17% on its electricity bills by installing economy devices in its power supply system, and cutting down on heating and cooling systems when they’re not needed. Another Highly Commended award went to Keolis Hyderabad for moving ever closer to fulfilling 100% of its energy needs with solar power. As the world’s largest public private partnership metro project with over 69km (32 miles) of route, it will take some achieving.

There were eight projects on the shortlist for the RICHARD BROWN BEST CUSTOMER INITIATIVE , and Edinburgh Trams came out Winner Dozens of staff – including the Managing Director – volunteered to help provide a three minute service for the tens of thousands of music fans who attended a Taylor Swift pop concert and wanted a safe journey to the venue and back home.

There were two Highly Commended awards. RKH Qitarat (Qatar) was praised for

going digital with its lost property operation. Distress can be made worse when the recovery office is difficult to get to, and is often shut. The new online service is open 24 hours, with little admin and paperwork.

It really is Accessibility for All on Nottingham Express Transit, and a Highly Commended award also went to the caring team from Keolis Nottingham

Three operations were singled out for praise in the TECHNICAL INNOVATION OF THE YEAR category. The Winner was Keolis Hyderabad for significantly improving the reliability of the 69km (43-mile) system with 57 stations by the straightforward re-engineering of substations to separate the power supplies between the two tracks, so that at least one of them can be used when a problem occurs: the total number of breakdowns has been slashed.

There are were two Highly Commended presentations. No-one likes squeaking trams, but it’s not an easy problem to solve. A lubrication system has been developed that applies only a dab of grease in just the right

places and it’s a much better tram ride now for the users of Keolis Métropole Orléans Extending a metro is quite a challenge when cash is tight, and electrification is unaffordable, but the use of battery power on seven of its 53 new trains to reach a new station at Headbolt Lane has proved a success in Merseyside (Liverpool, UK), so there was a prize for Stadler

In the SIgNIFICANT SAFETY INITIATIVE CATEgORY, the judges voted Avansim (UK) the winner for its hightech training simulator that can be loaded onto a simple PC or laptop with an internet connection. It guides you round your system, identifies hazards, and tells you how to deal with them. It’s a potential life-saver.

The first of two Highly Commended awards went to Tranvía de Zaragoza .

LEFT: The Richard Brown Best Customer Initiative winner was Edinburgh Trams, for helping ‘Swifties’ get around the city safely before and after a concert.

LEFT: Keolis Nottingham won the Best Environmental and Sustainability award, celebrating the creation of habitats for wildlife.

ABOVE: Keolis Hyderabad won the Technical Innovation award for significantly improving the safety of its 69km system.

Congratulations to winning teams from across the globe.

Keolis’ international service excellence at its very best!

Global Light Rail Awards 2024

Red warning lights at a crossing on this Spanish system warn you that a tram is approaching, but there’s a new danger that you could be run down because you’re busy texting on your mobile phone. The answer is… put the lights in pavements as well, with green to also tell you that it’s safe to walk over the road.

The second Highly Commended award went to a system that has chalked up more than 2.6 million accident-free working hours over 22 months. Since a worker was struck on the head by an excavator, a rigorous daily check list has been devised and has to be adhered to, or the work doesn’t take place. Well done to Midland Metro Alliance and Colas Rail.

The VISION OF THE YEAR category celebrates the big picture, and there was again another varied crop of inspiring submissions. The Winner was Keolis MHI, part of a three-way consortium with Mitsubishi that has won a nine-year contract to operate and maintain Dubai’s world-class tramway and metro, with a six-year extension for good behaviour.

It has been praised for training its 1700 employees to the highest standards, and its list of 15 benchmarks includes looking after the people, passengers, the planet, and the passenger transport authority. It does all of them very well.

The Highly Commended award went to Metro de Malaga, which believes that selfsufficiency is only just around the corner. It has installed more solar panels on spare land to complement 1800 on its depot roof.

The Luton DART and Ethos Farm partnership were winners in the OUTSTANDINg ENgINEERINg

ACHIEVEMENT category for the success of the brand new GBP292m (EUR350m) automatic light metro linking the railway station on the main line with one of the UK’s busiest airports, only a mile away and previously only served by a slow bus ride. It has carried 2.7 million people in its first year.

Highly Commended was the Škoda Group from Finland for the innovative management of its maintenance depot in Tampere, where trams are able to shunt themselves safely into the washing plant

ABOVE: Tranvía de Zaragoza picked up a Highly Commended award in the Significant Safety Initiative category, for colour-coding and lighting up the pavements around tramways.

ABOVE: The overall Significant Safety Initiative winner was Avansim, for its high-tech training simulator.

ABOVE: Vision of the Year winner was Keolis MHI, who has won a nine-year contract for Dubai’s world- class tramway and metro.

and maintenance areas without a driver. The central control can also perform this function in passenger service in an emergency if a crew member becomes incapacitated.

This year’s MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR is Stadler, which has now sold more than 200 trams and 840 metro vehicles all over the world, and led key developments across its range. CityLink vehicles have been sold to six organisations in Germany and Austria, TINA trams to GVB in Gera, Germany, Tramlink cars to Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Bern in Switzerland, the newgeneration JK to Berlin’s U-Bahn in Germany, and Tango trams to Sarajevo. This is the company’s first order from the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the city’s first

new vehicles since the 1960s. In the UK, the Glasgow Underground has been completely re-equipped, Liverpool and the Tyne & Wear Metro are also being transformed with versions of the Metro design, and CityLink tram-trains are also being built for Transport for Wales .

For the second year running, the Highly Commended award goes to Škoda group, which first came to the Global Light Rail Awards in 2022. The Finnish firm completed 400 vehicles last year, an 88% increase, and

has secured orders for 200 new trams for Prague, 40 for Kassel in Germany, 35 more for Brno in the Czech Republic, and ten for Bergamo in Italy. It is also a partner with Alstom for a new fleet in Melbourne, Australia. There was double success for Bidvest Noonan in the SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR category. The UK firm landed the Winner trophy for its excellent all-round cleaning and general maintenance service to Manchester Metrolink, which was clearly demonstrated when 80 000 revellers

ABOVE: Luton Rising and Ethos Farm won the Outstanding Engineering award for its new automatic light metro.

ABOVE: Manufacturer of the Year was announced as Stadler, which has now sold over 1000 trams and metro vehicles across the globe.

Global Light Rail Awards 2024

ABOVE:

BELOW: While Bidvest Noonan (supporting KeolisAmey Docklands) also won the second Supplier of the Year award!

descended on the city for a festival. The superficial damage caused to vehicles was completely sorted ready for the Monday morning rush hour. The same firm also won an award for equal quality workmanship on London’s Docklands Light Railway, where carbon emissions have been cut by 95%.

The MOST IMPROVED SYSTEM is Edinburgh Trams. The brand new route in Scotland’s capital city, launched in June 2023, is already established as a quality public transport corridor for local residents, workforce, and the millions of visitors arriving to see the attractions and entertainment venues. The decision to provide free trams for New Year’s Eve revellers was certainly a vote winner, and the new easy to use phone app is another step forward.

The Highly Commended award in this

category went to West Midlands Metro, UK . Despite a host of engineering challenges, the upgraded core network is popular, and there is now integrated ticketing with a local bus operator. Fare increases have been kept below inflation, and dogs can travel for free.

The 2024 TEAM OF THE YEAR is the UK Tram Centre of Excellence, regarded by many as the oil in the wheels of quality, and covering the whole spectrum of rapid transit from tram-train to Very Light Rail. The experts – all volunteers – give advice on proposed new schemes and how to get government on side.

A Highly Commended award has gone to the Metro de Sevilla Operations Team, again for an outstanding performance under pressure. Around 1.2 million people descended on the Spanish city for an eight-

Providing a ‘single voice’ for the sector, UKTram tirelessly supports its members while driving a bold vision for the future of light rail in the UK.

UKTram represents an alliance of the UK’s tram and light rail industry, dedicated to advancing and integrating light rail as a crucial component of urban transport.

Our work spans advocacy, innovation, and collaboration with operators, local government bodies, manufacturers, and consultants.

With a steadfast commitment to sustainability and efficiency, UKTram positions itself as a thought leader, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in public transport.

Bidvest Noonan (supporting KeolisAmey Metrolink) won the first Supplier of the Year award...

LEFT: Edinburgh Trams was a worthy winner of this year’s Most Improved System award.

Should Every Light Rail Company Partner With Bidvest Noonan?

There’s a compelling case to be made for it. After all, Bidvest Noonan is the 2024 Global Light Rail Supplier of the Year, setting new standards for FM services in the transport sector.

More and more light rail companies are choosing Bidvest Noonan and the company counts the UK’s largest and busiest networks amongst its clients. What makes Bidvest Noonan the right choice for every light rail company?

Flawless Operations

The smooth operation of light rail networks depends on expert management of every detail. Thats where Bidvest Noonan comes in. The company provides first-class service solutions to the sector, delivering cleaning, security, washroom services, vegetation management and more. Every service is delivered by experienced teams with deep expertise in the transport sector. With the right combination of talent and technology on every contract, clients enjoy performance and efficiency improvements, and exceptional value for money.

Passenger Experience that Drives Growth

Passengers are the lifeblood of any transport network, and delivering a safe, reliable, and comfortable journey is key to success. Supporting over 1.5 billion passenger journeys every year, Bidvest Noonan are the experts in passenger experience. The company leaves no stone unturned in the

pursuit of improvements for passengers. This relentless focus on continuous improvement has made them leaders in passenger experience and an invaluable partner to their clients.

Powered by Advanced Technology

Great service requires both skilled people and the best technology. Bidvest Noonan’s operations are supported by a strong technology backbone. Their people use a powerful digital operations platform, driving performance, improving safety, and providing greater transparency. The company is always quick to embrace emerging technologies. It has recently won awards for its robotics, sensor-driven dynamic cleaning and innovative waste management solutions. Its latest offering TwinSpace, a state-of-theart digital twin platform, is helping clients, transform how spaces are managed and optimised.

Peace of Mind

Safety is at the core of everything Bidvest Noonan does. Through significant investment in technologies, rigorous training, and best-in-class processes, they provide the assurance that your people, passengers, and brand are always protected.

Bidvest Noonan delivers peace of mind, allowing rail operators to focus on what they do best, running world-class transport networks.

A Champion of Sustainability

Bidvest Noonan has a proven track record of helping clients achieve their sustainability goals. The business makes a transformative impact, reducing use of energy, water, chemicals, plastics and other packaging materials. And its not just working to improve the environment, the company is a force for good in all of its local communities, supporting good causes and creating opportunities for disadvanted groups.

Learn how Bidvest Noonan can help you: bidvestnoonan.com

Global Light Rail Awards 2024

day festival, and a 24-hour service was offered over a total of 290 hours continuous service; 60% more staff, and four times the number of security personnel, set new benchmarks for efficiency under pressure.

It is customary at the Global Light Rail Awards for all the shortlisted entrants for the EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR to be invited onto the stage.

The Winner was Leonard Ofori-Atta, a Competence Development Specialist with Tram Operations Limited, which runs London Tramlink, based in Croydon, South London. He has broken the stigma of mental health, and scored success by reducing the number of staff on long-term absence.

Others in the spotlight were Becki Horne (Business Engagement Manager, Nottingham Express Transit), Carl Brazier (Tram Fleet Engineer, West Midlands Metro), Robert Oliver (Production Network Manager, Keolis Amey Metrolink), and Rev Mutukumaravel (Cost Engineer, Midland Metro Alliance).

There was another crop of exceptional entries for the RISINg STAR award, which went to David Randall from the Arup Consultancy for his work with the Luton DART project. He joined the company in 2015, and was key to ensuring that the system’s opening day was a success, especially as one of the visitors was King Charles III.

Other candidates were Hans Cruse (Director of Spårvagnsstäderna, the Swedish Light Rail Association), grace Falconer (Site Agent, Midland Metro Alliance), Alvaro Raya (Engineer, Metro de Malaga), Luke Taylor (Customer Experience Manager, Nottingham Express Transit), Leonard Ofori-Atta (Competence Development Specialist, London Tram), Jamie Henwood (Divisional Director Infrastructure and Projects from Project Leaders), and Conor

(Infrastructure Project Engineer, West Midlands Metro).

The PROJECT OF THE YEAR UNDER EUR50m showcases inspiring and ground-breaking projects. The winners, Nexus and Smarttrax, were praised for replacing a complicated, worn out 50-year-old crossover at the heart of the Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle, UK, 30 metres underground. It all went to plan, within a tight budget of GBP3.4m (EUR4.1m).

RIGHT: Although there were a number of high-quality nominations for the Employee of the Year award, the winner was ultimately Tram Operations Limited’s Leonard Ofori-Atta.

Highly Commended was Transit9, which advises on just about everything from organising operations, staff, safety, incidents and passenger information. The judges learned of the successes in Sydney, Australia, where Great River City Light Rail is a new and highly successful 12km (seven-mile) system.

The PROJECT OF THE YEAR OVER EUR50M trophy has gone to Colas Rail for its work in Vietnam, the first time the Asian country has featured in the Global Light Rail Awards. Hanoi is regarded as one of the world’s most polluted cities, but the first phase of the new 12.5km (eight-mile) Metro Line 3 is making a difference. Twelve stations have opened, three years early, and they handled half a million people in the first ten days. The joint project formed by Alstom and Thales, along with British and French divisions of Colas, supplied the track and power supply equipment.

The Highly Commended prize went to Luton DART and Ethos Farm, who have created an automatic light metro link to one of the UK’s busiest airports that is only a mile (around 1.5km) from an electrified main line, but which had never had more than a slow bus link as a connection. The line carried 2.7 million people in its first year of operation.

There were standing ovations for the two recipients of JUDgES’ SPECIAL AWARDS

Moon

ABOVE: Metro de Sevilla won a Team of the Year accolade for continuing its excellent performance while under pressure.

ABOVE: The overall Team of the Year winners were UKTram – Centre of Excellence members.

BELOW: Guests at the Awards toasting wins in a celebratory spirit.

ABOVE: The Rising Star winner for 2024 was David Randall, Arup, in recognition of his work on the Luton DART project.

ABOVE: The Project of the Year under EUR50m award went to Nexus / Smarttrax, for their work on the Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle.

Highly commended Team of the Year

World Class

Light Rail Solutions

We have over 40 years‘ experience in designing and delivering Light Rail systems in more than 50 cities around the world.

We deliver design, construction and maintenance for light/metro rail projects.

Our range of skills and experience affords us the capability to offer our customers a flexible service, focused to meet their specific needs.

As principal contractor of the Midland Metro Alliance, we are proud to be delivering the largest light rail programme in the UK.

Global Light Rail Awards 2024

Tony Young is credited with driving forward the business case that led to the opening of Manchester Metrolink, the UK’s first new-generation street running tramway. He has given 50 years of professionalism, dedication and passion to the transport industry as a planner and thinker, and this is what his old boss, Chris Mulligan, former Director General of Greater Manchester PTE, said: “Our prospering street-running tramway has gone from being a gleam in his eye in the early 1980s to become the beating heart of our city, and everyone ought to acknowledge that it was his brainchild.”

Tony was for many years the secretary of the UK Passenger Transport Executives’ Light Rail Group, helping to establish

partnership working and the sharing of best practice that we now take for granted in UK Tram. He has also advised on many other schemes, including LUAS in Dublin, as well as Blackpool, Rome and Zagreb.

The second JUDgES’ SPECIAL AWARD went to gavin Lloyd, senior engineer at West Midlands Metro. He has worked for it since the system opened in 1999, and despite suffering from the cruel and debilitating motor neurone disease, has steadfastly refused to step back.

Gavin has built up an amazing reputation as the ‘go-to man with a spanner and screwdriver’ on any matters relating to the tram fleet, and is still working, albeit from home, undertaking the audit of all the current Level 5 maintenance programme. He was not well enough to travel to the ceremony, so the presentation took place in front of his appreciative colleagues at Wednesbury depot.

The OPERATOR OF THE YEAR award was divided into two sections, one for the UK, and the other for overseas.

The UK OPERATOR OF THE YEAR trophy was landed by Keolis Amey Metrolink, which has broken passenger records (4.1 million tickets last year), has high levels of customer satisfaction, its lowest ever level of fare evasion, seen a significant drop in anti-social behaviour, and has sound industrial relations. The operator is so valued that it has been awarded a three-year extension to its contract until 2027.

ABOVE: Tony Young was awarded one of the two Judges’ Special Awards, for his longterm contribution to the industry and Metrolink in particular.

RIGHT: Gavin Lloyd was unable to make the Awards ceremony, but was awarded a Judges’ Special Award in a surprise presentation at Midlands Metro.

ABOVE: Colas Rail scooped the Project of the Year over EUR50m award for its work in Vietnam.

Connecting communities

We are proud to support the Global Light Rail Awards demonstrating our light rail expertise. For more than 40 years, we’ve been helping our clients deliver efficient, affordable and environmentally friendly light rail systems, making travel easier for all.

Global Light Rail Awards 2024

Highly Commended was West Midlands Metro, which has fared well through the tribulations of a major extension, and the judges were impressed with how it coped with a two-week closure to install a new delta junction, using the valuable down time to carry out a wholesale programme.

It is quite an honour to be named WORLDWIDE OPERATOR OF THE YEAR , and Transdev Ireland was the clear winner. This system was stretched to the absolute limit in November 2023 when a stabbing incident in Dublin turned into a full-scale riot. A tram and several buses were set alight, and overhead wires came down.

People said it might take five days to put things right, but the truly magnificent team had services back to normal – in Dublin – the very next day. The outstanding teamwork has won respect from across the world.

From a long list of entries, Qatar Rail was Highly Commended , having been named as both Operator of the Year and Vision of the Year in 2023. This time, there is recognition for a 100% service on one of its routes for 338 consecutive days, resolving 95% of all faults within five minutes, and achieving 100% customer satisfaction rates for nine months. Qatar was the venue of the 2022 World Cup, but last year’s ridership of 51.4 million was still at this high level.

The 2025 Global Light Rail Awards will be held in London on 1 October 2025.

Transdev Ireland Awarded Global Light Rail Awards 2024.

“Worldwide Operator of the Year"

“ “ A

s a trusted partner for twenty years in Dublin’s urban mobility, we are dedicated to providing a safe, reliable, punctual and customer-centric Luas service that meets the needs of our client Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the evolving needs of Dublin City and suburbs.

We are proud of this award and proud to be at the forefront of innovation and excellence in light rail. We look forward as one team – team Luas to continue to serve TII and the people of Dublin with pride.

Ben Dwars CEO, TDLR, Luas.

ABOVE: Host Nick Owen bids goodnight to the room.

ABOVE: KeolisAmey Metrolink picked up the UK Operator of the Year award, for breaking a number of records.

ABOVE: Worldwide Operator of the Year went to Transdev Dublin Light Rail, for pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and triumphing over adversity.

partnering for progress

Hitachi rail spoke at this year’s UKLrC about the value of partnerships – here, the company expands on how these can be the key to a successful light rail system.

At the 2024 UK Light Rail Conference in Leeds, we talked about the power of partnerships.

Technology partnerships are the backbone of driving efficiency and sustainability in light rail.

From maximising lifespan to ensuring long-term challenges are anticipated and addressed, bringing together the right stakeholders can make all the difference.

In our experience, technology partnerships have played a crucial role in driving change and optimising the value of light rail systems.

By collaborating closely with customers, we, at Hitachi Rail, develop strategic plans and roadmaps that align with the project goals. This collaborative approach extends to requirements specifications, ensuring they are well-aligned to business needs and minimising risk.

So, what makes a technology partnership impactful? Based on our conference session, we’ve outlined some of the factors that the industry, particularly decision-makers shaping the future of light rail, should consider when it comes to technology partnerships.

Brilliant basics:

The components of light rail systems

Light rail systems are inherently multidisciplinary and require a ‘system of systems’ approach towards their design, build, operation and maintenance. The light rail vehicles, civil infrastructure, track, depot, traction power supplies, overhead line equipment, signalling, telecoms and operational control room passenger information, CCTV and ticketing are all systems in themselves.

Brought together in harmony, they make up our light rail system.

Each of these systems are further composed of subsystems and equipment. For example, signalling systems typically include room equipment, trackside components and onboard subsystems.

Traditionally, new light rail systems are delivered as a ‘project of projects’. Multiple stakeholders come together to align on the needs for the light rail system, and multiple disciplines come together to align on the way in which the needs are to be fulfilled by design at the overall system level.

Suppliers are engaged and contracts are established for the timely delivery of the constituent systems, each with their own clearly defined scope of work.

Navigating silos

In large-scale projects, even when collaboration is encouraged, suppliers can become isolated, focusing solely on their individual delivery rather than the broader system goals. This siloed approach can hinder project progress and compromise the operator’s vision, especially when dealing with complex systems comprised of numerous interconnected components.

This can result in unforeseen integration challenges, with the worst outcome being a collection of disparate systems, with bespoke interfaces, not quite coming together in a way that fulfills the operator’s vision for the overall system. This is also likely to require bespoke maintenance processes and skills to effectively damage-control. Examples include cluttered desks in the operational control room, with multiple HMIs covering multiple systems – workable, but certainly not optimal.

Overcoming the challenge of varying lifespans

A major challenge in light rail systems is the varying lifespans of components. For instance, the lifespan of light rail vehicles and fixed networks can be quite different. With vehicles and infrastructure having distinct lifecycles, replacement and upgrades can become complex. While some equipment can be directly replaced, major system components like signalling or points control

Left: Manchester Metrolink: a system of systems. All images courtesy of Hitachi Rail.

Partnerships

may require interventions that are more extensive.

Integrating these replacements seamlessly into the existing system can be challenging, often affecting overall functionality.

These challenges are often exacerbated by the rate at which hardware and software components become obsolete, and by the rate at which cyber security vulnerabilities are exposed. While solutions like hardware re-platforming and software updates can mitigate these challenges, they require significant effort and expertise, especially as systems age, particularly towards the end of the lifecycle.

Often, remedial actions can extend well beyond the immediate issue, resulting in system operating restrictions, degraded system performance and even potential downtime.

Managing these challenges demands specialised skills and knowledge. Retaining experienced teams can be difficult, as attractive learning opportunities attract people to new projects.

Modern technologies, such as virtualisation, cloud, IoT, digital trust, data analytics, machine learning, and more offer potential solutions. However, adopting these can be challenging for operators without the necessary expertise.

The power of technology partnerships

By now, at least some of the benefits of working in collaboration with a technology partner should be obvious.

Technology partnerships offer two main benefits:

1. Strategic technology guidance: The pro-active application of the breadth and depth of know-how to the selection

and deployment of the most suitable technologies is needed to underpin a transport vision. It’s also essential for system evolution and lifecycle management.

2. Collaborative problem-solving: Ultimately, this is about partnering to address specific pain points and deliver the best possible passenger experience.

The focus on strong partnerships is integral to how many companies do business. In fact, working in collaboration with customers, suppliers and communities helps drive the innovation and adaptability that keeps a business at the forefront of technological advancements.

A unified platform for light rail systems

The right technology partnerships help establish foundations that result in a consistent customer experience across different applications. For instance, Hitachi Rail proposes a ‘platform approach’, which streamlines light rail operations by consolidating various systems into a single, scalable infrastructure. This versatile approach can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, offering high availability and flexibility.

Applications, including network management, passenger information, signalling control, and supervision systems, can be seamlessly integrated onto the platform. This unified approach not only enhances integration, but also system efficiency and scalability, leveraging commercial off-the-shelf technologies, striking a balance between cost-effectiveness and innovation.

The platform is then deployed onto the infrastructure to establish a set of common

services to be used consistently across all applications, whereby several light rail systems can then be deployed, ranging from tram network operational information and management systems to control systems, CCTV and supervision systems.

Ease of interfacing and adjustment

The platform approach offers interfacing advantages too. For example, by utilising a shared database and a consistent user interface, operators can smoothly access and manage different functionalities.

Similarly, the platform’s scalability allows it to adapt to systems of varying sizes, from small-scale to large-scale operations. It can be expanded incrementally as needed, accommodating growth and replacing outdated systems.

Helping future-proof systems

In a world where technology is advancing rapidly, using commercially available or off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies can help bring benefits from economies of scale and future-proof systems. This approach balances COTS hardware and software with domainspecific applications, ensuring adaptability and leveraging the latest advancements.

Technology partnerships represent a win-win approach.

Operators can focus on what they do best – the delivery of the best possible transport services to the passengers, and technology partners like Hitachi Rail can focus on leveraging its global experience, deep knowledge of technology and its deployment expertise.

Together, operators and technology partners can help create an unrivalled passenger experience, contribute to economic growth, and deliver true social value.

aBoVe: Control room systems

rigHt: onboard systems far rigHt: trackside systems.

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systems factfile No.206

Düsseldorf’s legacy tramway was developed into two formats which see continuing development under the long-established Rheinbahn identity.

Rheinbahn-Düsseldorf, Germany

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital of Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW), Germany’s most populous state. The city’s dominant feature is the Rhine, here at great width with long meanders and a near-constant flow of cargo and tour vessels.

Today’s visitor encounters a cityscape that includes reconstructed prized buildings lost during World War Two. Many of the plainer, functional replacements have given way to more individualistic and generally taller structures. The city’s comprehensive light rail operations have roots in a tram service that began in 1876 and became electrified from 1895.

The proximity of NRW’s many urban areas brought concentrations of roads and railways. Düsseldorf’s government identified a population of 643 753 at the start of 2022.

From a joint procurement contract with Köln’s KVB placed with Bombardier in 2015, the now Alstom Flexity HF6 vehicles entered Rheinbahn service in May 2020. A 2024 delivery, 4344 leads an HF6 pair through the Belsenplatz junction on 23 July. The nearby Brauhaus Alter Bahnhof restaurant is a reminder of Rheinbahn’s origins in local railways.

There were 272 000 daily inward commuters, with about 93 000 residents moving outside for work. Named in reference to the city, Düwag/Duewag rail vehicles – from a company incorporated with Siemens – had for years symbolised industrial prowess. Production in Düsseldorf ended by 2001, relocating to the Uerdingen (Krefeld) site. Through ownership and name changes, Düsseldorfbased Kiepe Electric remains a major rail electrical equipment supplier. The city’s continuing prosperity has however become more based on service activities.

Düsseldorf expanded from the Rhine’s eastern (right) bank, thus the city centre - broadly speaking the Altstadt (Old Town) plus adjoining business and retail areas - is not centrally placed in

the urban spread. About 1.8km (1.3 miles) from the riverside Rathaus (old town hall), Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) handles long-distance and regional trains. Also present at the Hbf and using main line tracks, S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr is important for local journeys, with several stations within the city, also in Neuss. A municipality which once had its own tramway, Neuss adjoins Oberkassel district, a proportionally small part of Düsseldorf located on the Rhine’s western bank. A railway company with passenger and freight interests, Rheinische Bahngesellschaft was responsible for the Oberkasseler bridge, opened in 1898, which enabled longer distance services. The company took over tram operations and evolved into today’s public sector Rheinbahn, the principal urban transport operator. Effective from November

Words and pictures by Neil Pulling

Düsseldorf

Once dominated by an overhead motorway and

removed,

THE FLEET

All trams which work over the approximately 80 km (50 miles) of route are uni-directional. Built 1996-99, the oldest are threesection, 28.5-metre long, 70% low-floor Siemens NF6 2101-2147 (2148 accident withdrawal). Combino -based but differently styled and launched under the Silberpfeil (Silver Arrow) identity in 2000, the 40-metre, fully low-floor seven-section Siemens NF10 (2001-2036) was followed two years later by the fivesection 30-metre NF8 (2201-2215). In service by 2007, well before the Wehrhahn tunnel opened, the 30-metre, double-sided Siemens NF8U (3301-3376) with capacity for 170 (50 seated) are used in back-to-back pairs. They are the exclusive type for services through that tunnel. The silver livery introduced on the first Silberpfeil has been maintained on subsequent deliveries and in some form applied to older trams and some Stadtbahn vehicles. External panel and all-over promotional liveries have become more widespread on Rheinbahn. The Düsseldorfbased ERGO insurance group sponsored 2024 UEFA European Championship schemes, whereby each group stage team had a suitably national representation on a Rheinbahn rail vehicle.

2019, Rheinbahn holds a 22.5-year contract with the city authority. Consistent with Düsseldorf itself, most Rheinbahn activities are east of the river.

Rheinbahn bus (over 400 vehicles) and 1435mm-gauge light rail serve some neighbouring municipalities and have inter-urban operations to Krefeld, 23km (14.4 miles) from Düsseldorf Hbf, and the 41km (25.6-mile) line U79 to Duisburg. Like the counterparts for those cities, Rheinbahn is in Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), a transport association active since 1980. The cross-mode VRR tariff system covers a population nearing 7.8 million.

Rheinbahn has two light rail formats, Stadtbahn and Strassenbahn (tram). Once distinguished by line designations, this no longer neatly applies. Although U-prefixed lines were once specific to high-floor Stadtbahn services which in part used central Düsseldorf tunnels, those tram services which became channelled through the newer Wehrhahn tunnel from 2016 became similarly designated (now U71-U73 and U83) throughout their mainly street-running routes. The ‘U’ denotes the system’s separate aspect, not underground siting, with U-signs used irrespective of the track

LEFT: Effectively replacing Jan Wellem Platz, Schadowstrasse has a Wehrhahn tunnel stop and surface platforms on the north-south line. The dramatically styled building in the background is part of the Kö-Bogen II development.

RIGHT: A convergence of lines creates an intensive service through the Wehrhahn tunnel: these are the sub-surface platforms at Schadowstrasse.

position; tram and bus stops have H (Haltestelle) signs. Rheinbahn’s interactive map however uses H for both tram and Stadtbahn stops.

Stadtbahn lines have boarding from high platforms, some newly added as on the U75 Neuss line. There are also some low Stadtbahn platforms or, as at Golzheimer Platz, boarding from street level, this being a widespread feature on tram routes. Although reserved space features more on the Stadtbahn, both have some fully segregated alignments and both have some street running. The formats mainly use separate tracks, but as towards Vennhauser Allee terminus, some track and stops handle both. This is enabled where different platform heights are installed (as at Südpark) or by using the folding steps which remain a standard fitting, even on the latest Stadtbahn vehicles. Stadtbahn uses the south-east to north-west tunnels through central Düsseldorf which branch at each end. A short section had opened in 1981, but in 1988 the city centre and the Hbf gained a sub-surface Stadtbahn connection. Heinrich Heine Allee, just east of the Altstadt, became the main central interchange. The south-eastern tunnel was extended from Hbf to just beyond Oberbilk

in June 2002. Stadtbahn access to central Krefeld, primarily served by a metre-gauge tramway, is over a short section of dual-gauge track. The other interurban service, line U79 is jointly operated by Rheinbahn and Duisburg’s DVG, with throughrunning by both of the operators’ vehicles.

Demolishing the viaduct known as ‘Tausendfüßler ’ (centipede – a reference to the roadway’s multiple supports), putting roads into tunnels and the Kö-Bogen building projects have greatly changed central Düsseldorf in the 21st Century. The Wehrhahn tram tunnel including Heinrich Heine Allee as one of six underground stops was part of the transformation. Opened in February 2016, the 3.4km (2.1-mile) tunnel ends near S-Bahn stations; Wehrhahn in the north and Bilk to the south. The former key central tram interchange, Jan Wellem Platz, was wholly removed during the redevelopment. Some tram lines (redesignated as U) took the Wehrhahn tunnel, intersecting with today’s north-south surface tram line at Schadowstraße stop, now in the core of the main shopping district. Rails made redundant by such changes remain visible, as with single tracks on narrow streets by the Altstadt

RIGHT:

the Jan Wellem Platz interchange, both now

this part of central Düsseldorf was drastically changed by Kö-Bogen projects and relocation of roads to tunnels.

To Krefeld

To Duisburg

Düsseldorf Flughafen

“Rheinbahn has two light rail formats, Stadtbahn and Strassenbahn (tram). Once distinguished by line designations, this no longer neatly applies.”

Düsseldorf Airport

Merkur Spiel-Arena / Messe Nord Freiligrathplatz

Am Seestern

Unterrath S

Am Röttchen

DOME / Am Hülserhof

Eckenerstraße

Elsässer Straße

Messe Ost / Stockumer Kirchstrasse

Großmarkt

An der Piwipp

Ratingen Mitte

Europaring

Gerhardstraße

PSD Bank Dome

Wahlerstraße / JVA

Rath S

Rath Mitte S Rotdornstraße

Am Schein

Haeselerstraße

Johannstraße

Tannenstraße

Spichernplatz

Golzheimer Platz

Comenius-Gymnasium

Belsenplatz

To Neuss

Essener Straße Dreieck

Nordstraße Sternstraße

Straßburger Straße Derendorf S

Morsenbroich Heinrichstraße

Hansaplatz

Rather Straße / Hochschule HSD

Schlüterstraße / Arbeitsagentur

Wehrhahn S

Vor der Hardt Pöhlenweg Staufenplatz

STOPS NEAR CENTRE

1. Venloer Straße 2. Marienhospital 3. Stockkampstraße 4. Brehmplatz 5. Jacobistraße 6. Pempelforter Straße 7. Uhlandstraße 8. Lindemannstraße 9. Charlottenstraße / Oststraße 10. Wetterstraße 11. Luisenstraße 12. Mintropplatz 13. Bilker Allee / Friedrichstraße 14. Morsestraße 15. Helmholtzstraße 16. Karolingerplatz

Strassenbahn Stadtbahn SkyTrain Main line

Gerresheim Krankenhaus

Auf der Hardt / LVR-Klinikum Heinrich-Könn-Straße

Friedingstraße

Von-Gahlen-Straße

Gerresheim Rathaus

To Neuss

Schadowstraße

Heinrich Heine Allee

Steinstraße / Königsallee

Landtag / Kniebrüke

Stadttor

Bilker Kirche Franziusstraße Medienhafen Kesselstraße

Völklinger Straße S

Düsseldorf Bilk S Luegplatz

Berliner Allee

Graf Adolf Platz Poststraße

Kronprinzenstraße

Hammer Dorfstrasse GeorgSchulhoffPlatz

Sudring

Südfriedhof

Josef-KardinalFrings Brücke

Aachener Platz

Hoffeldstraße Schumannstraße Flingern S

Worringer Platz

Düsseldorf Hbf

Engerstraße

Kettwiger Straße Stadtwerke / Düsselstrand

Fichenstraße

Flügelstraße Oberbilker Markt U

Lierenfeld Betriebshof

Kruppstraße

Gangelplatz

Volksgarten S Färberstraße

Redinghovenstraße

Auf’m Hennekamp

Kopernikusstraße

Moorenetraße

Merowingerplatz

Volmerswerther Straße Krahkampweg Hellriegelstraße

Südpark

Oberbilk

Am Stufstock

Provinzialplatz

Schönaustraße

Dörpfeldstraße

Hardenbergstraße

MorperStraße

Vennhauser Allee

Gerresheim

To Benrath

Universität Ost Botanischer Garten

LEFT: Light rail at Düsseldorf’s main station is present below ground with the original Stadtbahn tunnels and this tram stop on the main entrance’s forecourt.

RIGHT: With services building up early on 25 July 2024, a Flexity HF6 pair leave the northern depot access road at Lierenfeld, since 2017 also the location of Rheinbahn’s administrative centre.

N.B. Please note that due to space constraints, not all stop names are given.

Düsseldorf

LEFT: Street-level boarding of trams at D-Derendorf S-Bahn station, also a minor feature on Stadtbahn.

ABOVE: Rheinbahn grew from Rheinische Bahngesellschaft, promoters of the Oberkasseler bridge which opened in 1898. This cable-stayed successor dating from 1976 has lines to Neuss and Krefeld between the carriageways.

network facts

Opened: 1876 (electrification 1895) l ines: Stadtbahn 10; Tram 7

Depots: 2 (plus heritage stock storage) m ain frequency: Ten minutes Gauge: 1435mm

Power: 750V dc, overhead supply c ity network/operator: Rheinbahn www.rheinbahn.com

Regional network: Verkehsverbund Rhein-Ruhr www.vrr.de

c ivic and tourist i nformation: www.duesseldorf.de

LEFT: Modified from the original tram condition, a Duewag GT8SU formation leaves Luegplatz towards Oberkasseler bridge on 23 July. Panels below the doors conceal folding steps which remain standard on Rheinbahn Stadtbahn stock.

LEFT: A DVG Duewag B80C pair with an interurban U79 service approaching Provinzialplatz in Düsseldorf. The nearby Düssel river’s early settlements gave the city its name.

ABOVE: Six years before the Wehrhahn tunnel opened, Duewag GT8 2658 weaves through the southern worksite at Bilk on 9 April 2010. The tram transferred to Poland’s Poznan system later that year.

BELOW: During modified timetables on 27 July 2024, a Siemens NF8U pair leaves the Wehrhahn tunnel at Bilk, an interchange with trains at the nearby elevated Düsseldorf-Bilk station.

and at the former Graf Adolf Platz tram crossroads.

Opened in January 2018, the latest Rheinbahn extension is 2km (1.2 miles) of line 701 from D-Rath to D-DOME/Am Hülserhof where two stops serve the arena. In the northwest a new section was due to open for the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, giving direct access to the already Stadtbahn- connected stadium (Merkur Spiel-Arena/Messe Nord stop). The forthcoming 1.9km (1.2 miles) of track leaves the Duisburg line on a grade-separated junction north of Freiligrathplatz, heading east to Düsseldorf Airport. Now expected to open in 2025, this represents the first U81 project phase for a southwest to north-east line extending into neighbouring municipalities. The main airport building has an S-Bahn terminus, also a through-station on the Düsseldorf-Duisburg railway. These have been connected since 2002 by the 2.5km (1.6-mile) automatic free H-Bahn/Sky-Train suspended monorail.

Featuring Rheinbahn’s oldest and newest rail vehicles, the bi-directional Stadtbahn fleet is in transition. Dating from 1973, GT8SU conversions from Duewag trams remained into 2024. Around 100 Duewag B80D (‘Stadtbahn B’), mostly built in the 1980s, are the service mainstay and will remain so until the introduction of Siemens Avenio HF trains, expected during 2025. Düsseldorf and Duisburg placed

LEFT: This southern section of Stadtbahn tunnel opened in 2002: 4312 heads an HF6 pair at Oberbilk. A street-running tram stop is above, with an S-Bahn station nearby.

a joint order for 109 of these plus 48 options in October 2020.

From a joint contract with Köln’s KVB, the latest stock in service marked what now seems a temporary change from Duewag/Siemens supply. Rheinbahn’s two-section, airconditioned Alstom (originated with Bombardier) HF6 (59 ordered in 2015; 4301-series) are bi-directional – those for KVB have one cab. Assembled in Bautzen, they are 28 metres long and 2.65 metres wide, with 64 seats and 109 standing places. Delays and disputes preceded HF6 authorisation for passenger use in May 2022. Stadtbahn formations are mostly paired vehicles of the same type.

Handling trams and Stadtbahn vehicles, Lierenfeld district in the south-east has the system’s newest and biggest depot. In 2017 Lierenfeld became the location of Rheinbahn’s administrative centre, previously near Comenius-Gymnasium stop (formerly Rheinbahnhaus). Close to Handweiser stop and the border with Neuss, Heerdt depot dates from the 1920s and is distinguished by a brick entrance arch. Closed in 2011, Am Steinberg on the Merowingerstraße return loop has been used to store heritage vehicles. Like some other west European transport networks, Rheinbahn is having to address staff shortages, with recruitment measures including vehicle liveries.

“featuring Rheinbahn’s oldest and newest rail vehicles, the bi-directional Stadtbahn fleet is in transition. ”

ABOVE: The oldest normal service trams are Siemens NF6 dating from 1996. Rheinturm telecommunications tower appears above 2110 near Hammer Dorfstrasse, where the village street title remains appropriate given that some land is still under cultivation.

ABOVE: Representing the Czech football team, B80D 4204 carries a UEFA European Championship livery. The ‘! ZUB !’ sign denotes retrofitted tunnel control equipment. Like many Stadtbahn stops, Messe Ost-Stockumer Kirchstraße is sited between road carriageways.

ABOVE: Supporting the port district redevelopment, a 1.4km south-western branch from the Hamm line, with two stops including Medienhafen Kesselstraße terminus, was added in 2014.

ESSENTIAL FACTS

local travel: Rheinbahn information points opposite Hbf main entrance and below ground at Heinrich Heine Allee. DeutschlandTicket (EUR49 monthly subscription) covers Rheinbahn, but shorter term visitors have many options in the somewhat complex zone-based VRR range. Examples Kurzstrecke (short-distance: 3 stops/1.5km) at EUR1.90; 24-hour EUR7.60. If including other NRW systems such as Köln (Cologne), Essen and/or Dortmund with a Düsseldorf trip on the same day, the NRW SchönerTagTicket range from EUR30.60 may be the optimum choice (prices as September 2024).

What is there to see? The Rhine is the basis of many attractions, including local and longer distance river cruises, attractive promenades, the renovated former dock area and nearby Rheinturm (tower with observation deck). Sloping viewpoint on the Kö-Bogen II building near Schadowstrasse. More varied than its international ‘longest bar in the world’ reputation for raucous celebrations, the Altstadt includes more restrained multi-room venues for sampling the local specialty, Altbier (old style) beer – Uerige and Schumacher are excellent examples. University Botanical Garden (D-Uni Ost-Botanischer Garten stop).

ABOVE: S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr is a significant carrier within Düsseldorf. In a rare S-Bahn use of diesel, a Regiobahn Jenbacher Werke Integral (right) is at the elevated D-Hamm station which also has a surface terminus for tram line 706.

SYSTEM S faCT f I l E : p Ozna Ń, pOlanD

Richard Foster talks to Merseyrail’s

David Powell, who explains how light rail has influenced heavy rail operations around Merseyside.

Neil Pulling reports from Poznań in western Poland, a true tram city in having a comprehensive system modernised from legacy origins.

+ Mumbai: India’s largest city has huge plans to match

+ Classic Trams: Ostrava celebrates 130 years

Officially a part of the wider Karlsruhe tram-train network, Heilbronn’s design means that the town has its own tramway. Andrew Thompson explores.

+ The latest news and analysis, system and technical development

Worldwide Review

ARGENTINA

BUENOS AIRES. The 7.4km (4.6-mile) pre-metro system is being extended with a 2km (1.2mile) link between its two outer termini. Its seven locally-built bogie trams may be boosted by ex-Madrid Alstom Citadis 153 that has been stored since being demonstrated in the city in 2007-12.

The line opened in 1987 and provides a feeder service to metro line E. UTM

AUSTRALIA

BRISBANE. The Queensland capital’s Metro started running on 21 October. It is actually a 21km (13-mile) two-line bus rapid transit system that cost AUD1.7bn (EUR1bn) to build. It uses 60 three-section 24.4m Hess Lightram battery-electric buses, recharged from overhead gantries at each terminus.

B. Hancock

PERTH. Opening of the 21km (13-mile) Ellenbrook Line commuter railway is due on 8 December. The 1067mm-gauge line connects to Transperth’s Midland Line at Bayswater and boasts new stations at Morley, Noranda, Ballajura, Whiteman Park and Ellenbrook. Regular services are to start on 9 December. urbanrail.net

SYDNEY. Closure of the Sydenham – Bankstown line took place in the early hours of 30 September. It will be rebuilt as part of the Sydney Metro, under which it will become the Metro North West & Bankstown Line or Line M1.

The Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport line will use 12 automated three-car Siemens Inspiro GoA4 trains operating at 25kV AC. B. Hancock, RGI

AUSTRIA

GRAZ. A first test tram ran over line 5’s new double track on 9 October. Services on the new track are due to start in November. tramwayforum.at WIEN (Vienna). Alstom had delivered Flexity trams up to number 389 by the end of September, with 390 and 391 being delivered in October.

Passenger security is to be improved at the five tram subway stations by 2029. Some 142 CCTV cameras and two barrier-free emergency exits are to be installed at a cost of EUR4m. tramwayforum.at

BELGIUM

ANTWERPEN (Antwerp). PCCs 7061, 7088 and 7139 have

been scrapped, but coupled sets are still in service on line 7. T-2000

BRUXELLES (Brussels). Opening of two new lines has led to a redistribution of the fleet. The new 14.9km (9.3-mile) line 10 requires 25 4000-series trams, while the 6.1km (3.8-mile) line 35 needs 12 trams, which will be provided by a mixture of 2000-series and 3000-series vehicles.

Articulated PCC 7706 has received Tramway Bruxellois green livery. The repaint was sponsored by the commune of Jette.

Tracks in Avenue de Jette are being renewed between 9 November and 16 February. Lines 9 and 19 are affected. T-2000 CHARLEROI. Opening of tram line M5 has been postponed to early 2027. Work on the line started in the 1980s but never finished. A concerted effort to finish the line started in 2021.

T-2000

GENT (Ghent). Outstanding infrastructure work on the tram network was to have been completed by 20 November.

T-2000

OSTENDE (Ostend). All seven Hermelijn trams borrowed from Antwerpen and Gent for the summer had been returned by 4 September. T-2000

BRAZIL

BELO

HORIZONTE. Construction of the 10.5km (6.5-mile) metro line 2 (Nova Suiça – Barrewiro) started on

16 September. Completion is scheduled for 2029. An order has been placed with CRRC for 24 four-car trains. RGI

CANADA

EDMONTON. A Ledco/AECOM consortium has won the contract to build Phase 1 of the CAD1.34bn (EUR893m) Capital Line South light rail extension project. The 4.5km (2.8-mile) line from Century Park to Ellerslie Rd is due to open in 2029. IRJ OTTAWA. The three full days of test running on the Trillium Line held in mid-October have been deemed a success. The line closed in 2020 for major work, including creating a 10km (six-mile) extension. Re-opening is expected by the end of the year. Skyscrapercity

CHINA

CHENGDU. The first public metro train ran on the new 38.7km (24-mile) Ziyang Metro line S3 between Futian and Ziyang Bei Station on 29 September. urbanrail.net

TIANJIN . Metro line 5 and the Jinjing Line were connected on 28 September. Both required extending – by 1.3km (0.8 miles) and 13.4km (8.3 miles) respectively – to provide a through Liqizhuangnan – Jinghuadongdao –Tuanboyixueyuan service. urbanrail.net

WUHAN. The 15.1km (9.4-mile) metro line 7 extension opened on 1 October. Linking Hengdian to

Huangpi Square, it takes the total network to more than 500km (310 miles). urbanrail.net

XI’AN . Automated metro line 10 started trial operation on 26 September. Linking Jingshan Village in the south with Zhaohui Square in the north, the 34.4km (21-mile) route boasts seven underground and ten elevated stations. There is an interchange with line 14 at Xi’angongda Wudelu. urbanrail.net

CZECH REPUBLIC

PRAHA (Prague). Trams were able to cross Vaclavske nám (Wenceslas Square) again from 28 September after a new intersection was installed with the new under-construction line along the historic street. dopravacek.eu

DENMARK

AARHUS. Stadler is to supply eight new Tango LRVs. The workshop will need to be rebuilt to increase capacity.

Aarhus city council has approved the construction of Stage 2 of the system, from Hinnerup to Brabrand. SHS KØBENHAVN (Copenhagen). The Ishøj – Rødovre Nord section of the new orbital light rail line is to open in September 2025. Rødovre Nord – Lundtofte will follow in 2026.

A design study contract for metro line M5 to Østhavn has been awarded to Systra/ Rambøll/Gottlieb. dopravacek.eu,

A new Stadler LRV for the metre-gauge Locarno–Domodossola light railway (FART) was shipped to and from September’s Innotrans exhibition in Berlin on accommodation bogies. Stadler

Worldwide Review

FINLAND

TAMPERE. The city has signed a EUR25m contract with Škoda Group to extend 11 threesection 37.3m trams in order to cope with increased ridership. New 10m modules will increase the trams’ total length to 47.3m. Delivery will be in 2025-28, and the contract includes a ten-year service package.

Tampere’s two-line tramway opened in 2021; patronage is now at about 1m passengers/month. The extended trams will carry up to 345 passengers and the new modules will be built at Škoda Transtech’s factory in Otanmäki, Finland. Škoda TURKU. Consultation as a prelude for tendering for 13 standard-gauge low-floor doubleended trams has started. They are to work the 12km (7.4-mile) line that is to be built in 2026-31. TP

FRANCE

ANNEMASSE. Work to extend Geneva tram line 17 across the Franco-Swiss border and into the town centre is to start on 4 November. lineoz.net AVIGNON. The 5.2km (3.2-mile) tramway celebrated its fifth anniversary on 12 October. However, the plan to build Stage 2 of the system is still in abeyance. radiofrance.fr BREST. Rails for new line B that had been laid in July started to be welded together in September.

S. J. Morgan LYON. A tender has been issued for the appointment of a project management company for a new orbital tram line. Some 1.8km (1.1 miles) of its proposed 8.1km (five-mile) route from Vauix en Velin La Soie to Gare de Vénissieux will share tracks with lines T2 and T5. The EUR185m project is to be completed in summer 2030. lineoz.net

GERMANY

AACHEN. The federal government has allocated EUR5.5m to carry out planning for a 20km (12-mile) tram line from Aachen to Alsdorf, with a 6.5km (four-mile) branch to Würselen. Aachen’s first generation tramway ceased operation in 1974. RGI FREIBURG-IM-BREISGAU.

Lines 3 and 4 switch termini from the 15 December timetable change. Line 3’s new route is Zähringen – Auf de Haid, while line 4 becomes Messe – Vauban. DS LÜBECK. The city council decided on 6 October that no further planning into the re-introduction of trams should take place. The anticipated costs of the proposed four-line network, including the supply of vehicles, exceeded likely funding sources. luebeck.de MÜLHEIM/Ruhr. Single-ended trams will no longer be able to run on line 112 after the turning circle at Hauptfriedhof was replaced by a stub terminus on 7 October. DS

STUTTGART . Line U5 was extended by 700m from Leinfelden Bhf to Leinfelden Neuer Markt on 17 October. urbanrail.net

WOLTERSDORF. The purchase of a fourth low-floor bogie tram from Modertrans has been confirmed. It is to be delivered in December. cs-dopravak

HUNGARY

BUDAPEST. The first of 51 new CAF Urbos 3 trams was delivered on 4 October. They’re being assembled in the BKV railway workshops using body shells and parts supplied from Spain. RGI

INDIA

DELHI. Alstom Transport India delivered the first of 52 six-car Metropolis automated metro trains built at Sri City on 23 September.

They will be used on lines 7, 8 and 10. RGI

MUMBAI. Prime Minister Modi formally opened the 12.7km (7.9-mile) metro line 3 on 7 October. Called the Aqua Line, it links Aarey JVLR to BandraKurla Complex via CSMI airport. There is an interchange with line M1 at Marol Naka. urbanrail.net

PUNE. Metro Line 1 was extended by 3.3km (two miles) from District Court to Swargate on 29 September. urbanrail.net

ITALY

MILANO (Milan). The 7.8km (4.8-mile) western extension of metro line 4 from San Babila to San Cristoforo opened on 12 October. An eastern extension from Linate Airport to Segrate is planned to open in 2028. The metro system now totals 111.8km (69 miles) with 134 stations. RGI TRIESTE. A meeting in Roma on 3 September failed to obtain the necessary clearance to reopen the Opicina tramway. It has been suspended since 2016. Another attempt will be made before the end of December. mobilita.org

KAZAKHSTAN

ASTANA (NUR-SULTAN) . Concrete infrastructure for the 22.4km (14-mile) elevated light rail line linking the city’s railway station and the international airport has been completed by China Construction Engineering Corporation. transphoto.org

NETHERLANDS

AMSTERDAM. Planned infrastructure renewal or refurbishment scheduled on the Radhuisstraat – Rozengracht – De Clercqstraat – Jan Evertsenstraat section will lead to diversion of tram lines. Details have yet to be confirmed. OR

DEN HAAG (The Hague) . A contract was signed with Stadler on 1 October to increase the order of TINA trams by six to 62. Zoetermeer LRV 4058 has been given the yellow/blue livery of a Nederlandse Spoorwegen Sprinter to advertise an NS app. Stadler, OR ROTTERDAM. Track renewals around Kruisplein and Mauritsweg will result in major diversions and service curtailment until 17 November. OR

NIGERIA

LAGOS. Commuter rail service on the 27km (17-mile) Red Line from Oyingbo to Agbado started on 15 October. Its eight stations are served by diesel-hauled trains built by Talgo that were originally destined for Wisconsin in the USA. urbanrail.net

POLAND

BYDGOSZCZ . Plans are being made to reinstate the dismantled tramway to Babia Wie ś in 2027-28. TP ELBL Ą G. A tender has been issued for ten new trams. The requirement is for some to be low-floor and not more than 24m long, with space for 120 passengers. Delivery is required within 24 months. TP GORZÓW WIELKOPOLSKI. Plans have been announced to reinstate double track along the full length of Sikorskiego. Work should start in 2025. TP GRUDZI Ą DZ. Modertrans is to deliver three more Moderus Beta low-floor trams in 2026. DS KATOWICE. PESA was the only bidder for a contract to build an unspecified number of new articulated low-floor trams. However, its price of PLN170.5m (EUR39m) is well above the budgeted PLN136.7m (EUR31.4m). TP OLSZTYN. An order for six new trams (with an option for

A new type of Chinese bogie tram delivered to the Kazakh city of Temirtau. Qarmet

Alstom has released a impression of the next batch of Citadis trams it is building for the French city of Strasbourg. Alstom

a further eight) has been placed with Saatz. It is understood that this company, hitherto only a tram repairer, has come to an arrangement with PESA to build the new vehicles, which are based on the Jazz Duo design supplied to Warszawa in 2013-15. cs-dopravak

POZNA Ń. Tests by a consortium of five research institutes are being carried out at Franowo depot to assess the possibility of introducing driverless trams.

N. Pulling WARSZAWA (Warsaw). Tram testing at the new Wilanów terminus started on 14 October. It is hoped to start passenger service in early November. Use of the new Annopol depot will now not start until the new year. TP

ROMANIA

ARAD. Ex-Essen Düwag eightaxle vehicle 1850 has been turned into a café tram. skyscrapercity

RE Ș I Ț A. Regular passenger services on the 9.5km (5.9-mile) line from Kaufland to Pia ţ a Republicii started in October. Services are provided by 13 Durmazlar Panorama two-section 18m double-ended trams.

RUSSIA

LIPETSK . The first section of the tramway to be renovated (Poligraphicheskiy Complex –Microrajon 21) was re-inaugurated over the summer. The entire project involves updating 40.8km (25 miles) of tramway, plus laying 5.2km (3.2 miles) of new line. Its depot and substations will also be renewed. Total cost is approximately RUB14.5bn (EUR139m) and the work is to be completed by 2026. N. Semyonov MOSKVA (Moscow). Tram lines between Cheryomushkinsky Rynok and Universitet were restored from 19 October.

This enabled lines 14, 26 and 29 to revert to their normal routes. transphoto.org NIZHNY NOVGOROD. Tram line 7 returned to its original P-shaped route from 2 September, with a one-way loop around Sormovo industrial area and then running to metro Mokkovskaya. Line 6 still terminates at Depot 2 due to problems at the old substation. N. Semyonov UFA. The first ex-Moskva PESA Fokstrot tram entered line 5 passenger service on 1 October. TP VOLGOGRAD. PKTS delivered the first of 12 71-932 Nevskiy articulated trams on 30 September. It is being tested from Depot 5. skyscrapercity

SINGAPORE

MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY. The 1.7km (one-mile) NEL metro extension from Punggol to Punggol Coast is to open on 9 December. urbanrail.net

SPAIN

BARCELONA. The new tram line along Avinguda Diagonal was to open on 9 November. It is served by line T4 between Plaça de les Glòries and Verdaguer station. In readiness for the opening, T4 was cut back to Glories – Estació de Sant Adria on 21 October. T5 and T6 were extended to Vila Olímpica. skyscrapercity JAÉN. The Junta de Andalucia has promised that trial operation on the completed but never used tramway will start before the end of the year (TAUT 1037). Jaén hoy MURCIA. The government is allocating EUR32m to the 2.2km (1.4-mile) tramway extension from Plaza Circular to El Carmen in the city centre. The extension is expected to boost patronage and so new trams will be needed. UTM PALMA DE MALLORCA. A new 27.4km (17-mile) metregauge metro line is to connect

Palma with the airport and Llucmajor. It is to diverge from the existing line at Son Costa and run underground for 7.3km (4.5 miles). Construction of the EUR690m project will run from 2028 to 2032. amp.ultimahora.es

TARRAGONA. The first stage of the TramCamp tram-train project will be a 14-stop line from Cambrils Nord to Vilaseca via PortAventura. A depot and workshop is to be built at Vila-seca. Seven LRVs will be ordered. Eventually, the system will reach 46km (29 miles) with 47 stops. UTM

SWITZERLAND

LUZERN – LENZBURG. The S7 rail service will benefit from 11 new seven-section Stadler trains from 2029. Costing CHF140m (EUR149m), the new stock will be based on the FLIRT design but with a narrower profile. EA

UKRAINE

DONETSK. After several months of refurbishment work, tram services on lines 1 and 6 from the railway station resumed on 15 October. transphoto.org

LVIV. Ex-Bern Vevey Be4/8 trams 736 and 742 arrived on 9 October. Four more are expected before the end of the year. DS

ODESA. The latest K1T306 trams to appear on test were 7019/20 on 16 October. V. Stolyanov

UNITED KINGDOM

BLACKPOOL. Blackpool Transport submitted a planning application on 4 October to demolish the existing paint and body shops at its Rigby Road depot in order to build a 25-vehicle parking area and a new service yard. The application also covers re-roofing and fitting new roof lights to the existing Fitting Shop. The future of the main tram shed is still not clear.

EDINBURGH. Strike action has been called off after agreement on rest breaks for drivers. The Union Unite said that running times on services between Edinburgh Airport and Newhaven had stopped workers from taking necessary comfort breaks.

GLASGOW. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is working with three project partners to put together the Case for Investment for the proposed Clyde Metro. The work is expected to be completed in mid-2027.

GREATER MANCHESTER.

From 23 March, passengers will be able to seamlessly change between Metrolink trams and Bee Network buses using contactless payment, with the fares automatically calculated with a daily price cap. Metrolink was to suspend services on 28 October for the upgrade of ‘tech systems’. The suspension was due to start at 09.00 with a full timetable resuming from 10.30.

A Stagecoach Magic Bus and Metrolink M5000 3053 were involved in a head-on collision at Piccadilly Gardens on 18 October. The incident took place in the early afternoon and emergency services had to cut one of the bus passengers free. An investigation is underway.

A man was killed by a tram in Salford on 20 October. Greater Manchester Police believe that he collapsed or fell onto the lines before being hit by a tram.

INDUSTRY. The Light Rail Safety & Standards Board has prepared new papers for the Department for Transport focusing on obstacle avoidance, pedestrian crossings, and AI machine learning for risk modelling. The LRSSB has also integrated Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations and Rail Accident Investigation Branch reporting systems into

The first HyundaiRotem trams were used to run tests on the new line to Wilanow in the Polish capital, Warszawa, on 14 October. R.Cupryjak

The annual Carris parade in Lisboa featured ten trams, led by 1902 Brill maximum traction bogie toastrack car 283, shown in 1940 condition. E. Kers

Worldwide Review

its upgraded Tram Accident and Incident Reporting System.

LONDON (UNDERGROUND).

Transport for London opened a new Bakerloo Line ticket hall at Paddington on 21 September. The new entrance was built on the site of a Royal Mail sorting office. Facilities include 11 ticket gates and lifts to the platforms, giving the first step-free access at a Paddington Underground station.

DragadosUK has won the contract to design and build new passenger tunnels at Elephant & Castle. These will link the new entrance hall and ticket office to the existing platforms. This will allow the existing entrance hall to be decommissioned. Work is due to be completed in 2027.

NOTTINGHAM. Nottingham Express Transit has offered students cheaper tram travel in a bid to reduce the numbers of 16-21 year olds caught travelling without a ticket. NET says that 42% of fare evaders are in this age bracket. Students had until 20 October to secure an annual academic pass.

NET tram 230 has been named after Beeston-born fashion designer Sir Paul Smith. NET has named its trams after local celebrities, ranging from Robin Hood (211) and The Boots Company founder Sir Jesse Boot (210), to sports stars and writers. SHEFFIELD. Network Rail has closed the 12.8km (eightmile) branch from Sheffield to Deepcar. This remaining stub of the Manchester-Sheffield – Wath electric railway remained open after 1983 to serve Stocksbridge steelworks, but steel traffic has ceased. However, the now-mothballed line is being considered as part of Sheffield Supertram’s plans to extend its tram-train network (TAUT 1043). South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority is undertaking a feasibility study into extending the reach of its tram-trains.

TYNE & WEAR. Pointwork replacement at Pelaw Junction means that Tyne & Wear Metro trains were suspended between Gateshead Junction, South Shields and South Hylton from 28 October-1 November. Renewing this junction is part of a GBP43m (EUR51.6m) package of infrastructure improvements being made to the system.

USA

AUSTIN, TX. A ruling in the 15th Court of Appeals has dismissed the Texas Attorney General’s appeal against the trial over the validity of the city’s light rail plan. The matter may now go to the Texas Supreme Court. Nawdry BOSTON, MA. Seven passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries on 1 October after a Green Line train derailed departing eastbound from Lechmere. Investigations continue. Services resumed between North Station and Medford/Tufts on 3 October. A federal grant of USD472.3m (EUR436m) will go towards the replacement of the bascule bridge between Boston and Cambridge that carries commuter rail trains over the Charles River.

R. Barrows, Mass Transit CAMDEN – TRENTON, NJ. A diesel LRV struck a fallen tree north of Roebling station on 15 October, killing the driver and leaving 23 passengers injured. Service was suspended between Florence and Trenton for a day.

R. Barrows

CHICAGO – SOUTH BEND, IL/

IN. Hammond Gateway station on the South Shore Line opened on 18 October, replacing the old Hammond station. J. May DENVER, CO. The increasing global demand for copper has been blamed for the 21 cases of overhead wire thefts that have disrupted the RTD light rail system since April. The total value of the stolen copper is estimated at USD110 000 (EUR101 624).

Mass Transit

DETROIT, MI. The QLINE city tramway was transferred from M1-RAIL to the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan on 30 September, ending the operation of the line on a private basis. Mass Transit KANSAS CITY, MO. CAF double-ended tram 811, the fifth of eight new trams on order, was delivered on 17 October. The first of the batch, 807, has now been certified for passenger service.

J. May

LOS ANGELES, CA. The new light rail station at Aviation/ Century was opened on 4 November and became the new terminus for Lines C (Norwalk) and K (Redondo Beach). A bus link provides the connection between the new station and Westchester/Veterans, the southern terminus of the other part of Line K. This will last until the completion of LAX/Metro Center station next year.

Caltrans has awarded LACMTA a USD51.3m (EUR47.4m) grant to expand services on light rail Line E.

The light rail extension from Glendora to Pomona was due to be completed early in 2025.

LACMTA has published details for an 80-day Games Enhanced Transit System in 2028. The Olympic and Paralympic Games will require 25 park-andride sites and 2700 buses.

J. May, Mass Transit NEW YORK, NY. The first R211S five-car metro train entered service on the Staten Island Line on 8 October. Kawasaki is building the 75 new cars. Mass Transit TAMPA, FL. The arrival of Hurricane Milton on 9 October forced the suspension of service on the TECO Line Streetcar heritage tramway. HART

MUSEUM NEWS

first phase of a planned repaint completed. Further work will take place in early 2025. Both it and Sheffield Corporation Transport 264 will have the condition of their tyres assessed over the winter. This will decide which has its trucks overhauled first.

BIRKENHEAD (UK). Wirral Council has decided to reallocate its GBP4.5m (EUR5.4m) contribution to the proposed Transport Shed museum to Wirral Transport Museum instead.

The ‘Wirral Transport Show’ took place on 6 October in the museum’s Pacific Road building. Although it concentrated mainly on buses, Birkenhead tram 7 was on display, as well as the horse-car built by Starbuck Car & Wagon Co. in 1876. All other trams are in store in the Taylor Street Museum building.

IZHEVSK (RU). A local enthusiast has installed Tatra T3 1212 at his house. It was built in 1969 and withdrawn in August 2022. N. Semyonov ŁÓD Ź (PL). Tramway operator MPK is to assume responsibility for the museum tram depot at Brus. This should permit infrastructure renovation work to take place. TP LOFTUS (AU). The Sydney Tramway Museum has received funding under the NSW Transport Heritage Grant programme to fit touch display screens in the display hall. G. Sutherland MANCHESTER (UK). The Heaton Park Tramway is closed until 2025. Following a substation failure during the summer, Manchester City Council and Manchester Transport Museum Society decided to renew it; the tramway cancelled its September and November events.

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

S. J. Morgan

ASTORIA (US). The Oregon museum line has acquired ex-Melbourne two-axle M class 183. Built in 1917, it was imported to the USA by Gales Creek Enterprises in 1980 but was gutted by a fire in 1981 while on display in Portland. After years in storage, restoration started in 2005. It arrived in Astoria in November 2023, and is being fitted with an under-floor battery pack so that it will not need a generator trailer. The vehicle should enter service in 2025.

AUCKLAND (NZ). The Dockline heritage tramway is now expected to keep running into 2025 as plans to build apartments on the depot site are in abeyance. NZRO BEAMISH (UK). Sunderland Corporation Tramways 16 has returned to service, with the

Acknowledgements are due to amp.ultimahora.es, cs-dopravak, dopravacek.eu, Drehscheibe (DS), Eisenbahn Amateur (EA), HART, International Railway Journal (IRJ), lineoz.net, luebeck.de, Mass Transit, mobilita.org, Nawdry, NZRO, Op de Rails (OR), radiofrance. fr, Railway Gazette International (RGI), skyscrapercity, Tram-2000 (T-2000), tramwayforum.at, transphoto.org, Transport Publiczny (TP), urbanrail.net and Urban Transport Magazine (UTM).

The latest locally-built K1T tram, 7019, on test in the Ukrainian city of Odesa. V. Stolyanov

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

Fact-checking in australia: a mends to articles

Further to the item on page 351 of the September 2024 issue (TAUT 1041) regarding the Sydney Metro, the information provided is not correct.

The Sydney Metro extension opening was slightly delayed, but it was extended to Sydenham on 19 August 2024.

The original fleet was 22 six-car Alstom GoA4 trains built in India. For the extension a further 23 six-car sets were delivered, making 45 trains in all. They operate on the overhead system at 1500V dc.

The Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport line will use 12 three-car Siemens Inspiro GoA4 trains operating at 25kV AC. These were wrongly attributed in the news item to the original Sydney Metro.

Basil Hancock, by e-mail

A minor point, but the statement on page 379 (TAUT 1042, October 2024) that Adelaide’s Glenelg line was ‘built as a 1600mm-gauge horse tramway’ is incorrect. Adelaide did have Australia’s largest horse tramway network, but this line was built as a steam railway of 1500mm gauge, opened by the Adelaide, Glenelg & Suburban Railway Co. in 1873.

A second steam railway, to the north of this line and running to Adelaide’s station on North Terrace, was opened by the

Jarrow Tramways museum theft

I would like to advise that a theft of a Jarrow Tramways cap cadge has taken place at the Museum and Art Gallery in South Shields at the end of August – the photo (right), is copied from The Journal story of 19 Sept. The cap badge is from the British Electric Traction Company, and is of a gilded colour with the appearance of a horseshoe and a wheel combined in the centre of the badge. I would be grateful if you could kindly share this unpleasant news in the magazine so that fellow enthusiasts can be made aware of it. I dare say that the item could be offered for sale without the possible buyer being aware of the background.

Duncan Anderson, Tyne and Wear

Supertram stops

Excellent read as always. There is an error in the article, ‘The Key is Supertram’, in the second paragraph on page 423. Supertram goes nowhere near the Northern General Hospital. As for the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, this is served from the University tram stop, albeit the walk from there to the hospital is about a half mile.

John Burgin, by e-mail

Holdfast Bay Railway Co. in 1880. Both amalgamated as the Glenelg Railway Co. in 1881 and were sold to the South Australian Railways in 1899. The South Terrace line was, as mentioned in the article, converted to electric tramway, re-opening on 14 December 1929. At the same time, the North Terrace line (originally proposed to also be converted to a tramway) was closed.

Richard Horne, Croydon, by e-mail

While it was great to read about Australian light rail developments, the article contains a couple of errors.

The picture of the tram in Glenelg is not a Bombardier Flexity Classic but is an Alstom Citadis. Adelaide obtained these from Madrid, which was cutting back its light rail plans, leaving it with surplus trams.

The article also incorrectly states that the Glenelg tram line started as a 1600mmgauge horse tram line. It started life as a 1600mm steam rail line.

Another small error, the first electric trams on the Glenelg line were known as H Type trams, not type H trams.

The caption on the P class tram omits to mention that it was a Melbourne P class tram (it’s a tram I know well, I’m a conductor on the Bendigo talking trams).

James Proctor, Victoria, by e-mail

ABOVE: A terminating train crossing over and arriving at Sydenham station on 10 September 2024. Basil Hancock

ABOVE: Taken on 9 October 2019 when trains were only operating to Chatswood; a Sydney Metro train entering the reversing siding (now the through track to Sydney) and being passed by a Sydney Trains Waratah double-deck EMU, one of 78 such eight-car sets (plus a further 43 Waratah B sets). Basil Hancock

GRAAKALBANEN CELEBRAt E s 100

Norway has few tramways, but a survivor celebrated its centenary with a low-key but delightful event in September. Today it is the world’s northernmost tramway. Mike Russell made the pilgrimage to Trondheim to witness the special day. 1

The Graakalbanen was not the first tramway in the historic Norwegian city of Trondheim. That honour belonged to the municipal tramways, whose first line opened on 4 December 1901 using electric traction from the outset. The system developed to one of three lines, and from 18 July 1924 this network was complemented by a privately-constructed line linking the city with the outer district of Munkvoll. However, the Graakalbanen has survived to outlast the municipal tramways, which were unfortunate victims of local political oscillation in the 1980s.

Local entrepreneur

The Graakalbanen line was the brainchild of a local entrepreneur, Nils Bøckman; his vision was to provide a light railway linking the city with its mountainous outskirts, providing weekend recreational opportunities whilst also meeting the weekday transport needs of city workers living in those districts. Strategic acquisition of local real estate greatly enhanced the line’s traffic potential. Originally, the line started in St. Olavs gate and ended at Munkvoll, where the depot and workshop were situated. A short extension in 1925 projected the line to Ugla, with a final extension to Lian (the present-day terminus) in 1933. Mr Bøckman was the company’s Director from 1924 through to 1966 when, on his retirement, its entire assets were acquired by the Trondheim municipal authority. This took the opportunity to integrate the line with its own local tram network. From 1968 this integration became more evident to the public, when local line 3 was closed and some rolling stock transferred to the Graakalbanen. Trondheim’s city system fell on hard times from the 1950s. A catastrophic conflagration at the Dalsenget depot in October 1956 resulted in the death of three staff members and destruction of 43 tramcars, 12 of which were newly-delivered the year before. Although the city council ordered replacement stock just weeks after the fire, the tramway later came under political pressure, resulting in the closure of the Elgeseter line in 1983 and later a move to disband the remaining system completely. That was despite recent investment (1980) in a fleet of 11 new articulated tramcars. Disregarding fierce local objections, the council closed the city line in June 1988 and advertised the newest cars for sale, but there were no takers. The situation became something of a local scandal and when the tramway museum group offered to take over

the remaining line to Lian with some of the rolling stock and operate it on a no-cost basis for the council, the pendulum swung back. In 1990 the old Graakalbanen line to Lian was reopened amidst much local rejoicing.

In 1979 a local tramway museum group, Sporveishistorisk Forening (SHF), had been formed and given permission to operate heritage trips from the old Voldsminde depot. Trondheim was one of only a few tramways that did not discard its old tramcars on withdrawal, but stored them at Voldsminde; after the Dalsenget depot fire several were pressed into all-day service to replace fire losses. This also resulted in their surviving long enough to be taken over as museum cars by the SHF. Immediately after the 1988 closure they were transferred in convoy to Munkvoll, where a tramway museum was to be established. Today these veterans, from both the local (Trondheims Sporvei, or TS) and Graakalbanen fleets, offer an almost complete panoply of tramcars serving the city from 1901. Most are in operable condition, with others being under restoration.

Varied fleets

From the Graakalbanen (GB) fleet the collection includes three motor and two trailer cars. Oldest is bogie motor car 3 of 1924, one of four built by HAWA of Hannover for the opening. HAWA also then built singleended bogie trailer cars 51/2 but these did not survive the cull of 1967-8. In 1942 increasing traffic levels demanded the addition of two further vehicles and car 5, built by Norwegian manufacturer Skabo, represents the original motor car of this pair; the same builder supplied trailer 53 in 1943. This was delivered with the intention of conversion to a motor car, which was achieved in 1950 with its conversion to car 6. One further tramset was added to the GB fleet in 1955, and both motor and trailer are preserved. Motor car 7 and trailer 55 (now 54) were built by HØKA. Many cars were renumbered in the course of their career, but restored specimens have regained original fleet numbers.

Representatives of the city fleet are more extensive, reflecting the greater size of the tramcar roster. Oldest is car 12, built by Skabo in 1903. This unvestibuled car (despite the harsh winter climate, windscreens were not added until 1908) survived to be paraded under the fictitious fleet number 1 in the 1951 50th anniversary celebrations, at that time restored to original unvestibuled condition. It is currently displayed with this numeral on one dash and its authentic number 12 on the other. Next in chronological order is Skabo-

built car 21, dating from 1914. In 1922 HAWA delivered a series of additional cars and two examples exist, namely 26 and 33. The latter vehicle was for some years used as a works car on the GB line. TS car 8 dates from 1930. It was rebuilt at Dalsenget as a salt car in 1957 and used up to 1982 under fleet number 47. One of the first bogie vehicles operated by TS was car 6, built in 1942 by Skabo but not used after 1960. It was designated a museum car in 1980, and later renovated to take part in the 2001 centenary celebrations.

Of the cars ordered from Strømmen as fire replacements and delivered in 1957-8, four are included in the museum fleet; these are 14, 19, 22 and 29 and are the backbone of the heritage fleet, not only to work the summer season weekend supplementary service of museum cars but also for year-round charters. Car 19 retains a multiple ski-carrying nearside section. They are all presented in forms representing different eras, and 22 has been restored to original interior layout with seated conductor’s post and single front door. Trailer car 58 dating from the same order for fire-replacement stock is also included.

Another two trailers should be mentioned. These include 69 of 1922, built by HAWA. Arguably of more interest though is 71, named Leopold, one of three acquired from the Belgian SNCV, and built in its Hasselt works in 1951. They were originally intended to be numbered 19500-2; 19502 was lost in the Dalsenget depot fire. Car 71 is operational and often used on private hire duties.

An unrestored exhibit is the body of a horse car built in 1875 by John Stephenson of New York and transported to the museum in 1991. It is of a type operated in Oslo and suggested as being suitable for Trondheim, but the proposal was not pursued and electric traction was chosen.

Credit to staff

The centenary celebrations were focused at Munkvoll, where static members of the museum fleet were displayed, parts of the depot and works were open to visitors, a model passenger-carrying tram layout was in operation, and tram driving opportunities were offered on the depot track. In addition to the usual 30-minute Sunday service, operated by the fleet of six serviceable LHB articulated cars of 1984-5, extra trips between St Olavs gate and Munkvoll were operated 12.00-15.00 using two heritage sets (GB 7+54 and TS 22). It was a good recognition of a milestone in the history of this survivor amongst Norway’s tramways, and a credit to personnel who organised the event.

1. The oldest complete electrically-powered car in the collection is this example, originally numbered 12, built for the city tramways in 1904 by Skabo. In 1930 it was relegated to shunting duties at Voldsminde depot until restored to original form for the 1951 50th anniversary parade, when it received the fictitious fleet number 1.

2. Although acting as a trailer car behind Trondheim city car 21, Grakallbanen 5 is a motor car built for the company by Skabo in 1942; a similar car (6) was delivered as a trailer with a view to its later conversion to motor car. This image shows it at Munkvoll loop, alongside LHB articulated car 99, operating on the normal passenger service between Lian and St Olavs gate.

3. Seen on manoeuvres on the track outside the Munkvoll museum building is Trondheim Sporvei car 21, built by Skabo in 1914. Sister car 18 survives in Sweden.

4. The rake of the Grakallbanen’s last new motor car, no. 7 built by Høka in 1955 with 1947 trailer 54, departing from the city terminus in St Olavs gate. The curve leading into Dronningensgate is now the most northerly piece of tram track in the world.

5. The oldest surviving member of the original Grakallbanen fleet is bogie car 3 of 1924, one of four built by HAWA of Hannover for the line’s opening. It normally resides in the museum building at Munkvoll.

6. Tucked away at the back of the depot and not normally accessible to visitors is the body only of this former Oslo horse tramcar dating from 1875, built by John Stephenson in New York and recovered from Hitra island in 1991.

7. Grakallbanen bogie trailer 54 was built by Skabo in 1947 and renumbered 74 before reverting to its original number following restoration in 1984. Here it is being hauled by 1955-built Høka motor car 7 at Bygrensen loop on the descent from Munkvoll to the city centre.

8. One of two surviving former SNCV trailer cars built to a striking design in the Belgian company’s Hasselt works in 1951 is no. 71, seen here in the main running shed at Munkvoll. A third car of the same batch perished in the Dalsenget depot fire of 1956.

All images taken on 31 August/ 1 September by Mike Russell .

A busy weekend for Charleroi AGM

Over 50 members and friends attended a very successful AGM weekend in Charleroi at the end of September.

The weekend started with a meal in the Novotel hotel (in the centre of the town) on the Thursday night, followed by an opportunity to ride the system on Friday morning. The afternoon was given over to the AGM, during which the usual reports from the Chair, Treasurer and functional groups were given. This was followed by a presentation by Laurent Galland, the Strategic Director of the Charleroi System. He gave an overview of the current network, including plans for expansion/ completion of a line first developed over 40 years ago. Copies of his excellent presentation can be found on the LRTA website.

In the evening members visited Le Bois de Cazier where there was a special tramway exhibition followed by an excellent meal.

Saturday saw a full day excursion to the Tramway Touristique de l’Aisne, which operated Vicinal auto rail and trailers.

There was also a small museum at Pont d’Erezee. This was featured in the November 2023 issue of TAUT, and was much enjoyed by members.

The AGM Dinner in the evening included the announcement of the results of the elections to Council. Tim Kendell was re-elected unopposed as Treasurer.

Dave Andrews, Martin Dibbs (Editor of TR) and Carl Isgar were elected to Council. Both Dave Andrews and Martin Dibbs are first-time members of Council – an important refreshment of the Council.

Members also heard that the Secretary Dave Connor had to resign owing to illness, and a plea was made for a volunteer to step forward as a replacement. Colin Brazier offered to take on this important role, and

MEETINGS & EVENTS

DECEMBER

Tuesday 3. Southampton 19.30. Martyn Davies: Miscellaneous railway slides. Junction Church (Former Railway Institute), Eastleigh. GBP3. (LRTA/SEG)

Monday 9. Leeds 19.30. Ian Smith: More Middleton Railway. Engine House, LS10 2JG. GBP1 (inc. light refreshments). enquiries@lths.co.uk. (LRTA/LTHS)

this was due to be ratified at the November Council.

Sunday saw a visit to the ASVI Museum at Thuin and a ride on both the lines to Lobbes and to Biesme sous Thuin. On the way back to the hotel the coach stopped at several points to view the work being undertaken to develop line 5.

Commenting after the weekend, LRTA member Reg Harman said: “I thoroughly enjoyed getting together with fellow LRTA members, and also enjoyed the chance to see the city of Charleroi and its trams. The talk from TEC was good, but the Charleroi system certainly gets my vote as the weirdest system I have encountered –though it has plenty of character!”

Further photos of the weekend can be found on the Association’s website.

Next year’s AGM will be in Sheffield on 13 September. Make a note in your diary!

Tony Young wins GLRA Judges’ Special Award

Long-standing LRTA member Tony Young was the recipient of the Judges’ Special Award at the recent Light Rail Awards in London.

The award is given annually to recognise a person who has made a special contribution to the light rail industry. It was presented by LRTA Chair Paul Rowen, who was one of the judges. Paul said: “Metrolink would not have happened but for the skill and tenacity of Tony. Those of us fortunate enough to live in Greater Manchester owe him an immense depth of gratitude. This award is long overdue for a faithful light rail servant.”

For a full report on this year ’s Global Light Rail Awards and winners’ photos, please see page 461 of this issue.

Saturday 21. Nottingham 14.00. Tramway films. Beeston Scout Hut, NG9 1GA. Contact: alo@tlrs.info

JANUARY

Tuesday 7. Southampton 19.30. Mike Russell: The LRTL tour to Czechoslovakia and

Hungary in 1972. Junction Church Eastleigh, GBP3. (LRTA/SEG) Tuesday 21.

London 14.30. Bob Hodges: Video presentation – Mainly Belgium. The Model Railway Club, Calshot Street, London, N1 9DA. GBP2. (LRTA)

ABOVE: LRTA members enjoyed a jam-packed weekend of events at the Charleroi AGM. Ian Longworth

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

The Tramways of Upper Silesia

A Guidebook

Tells the story of a truly remarkable network in a region of Poland rich in mineral resources, which has survived the risk of closure and become an important player in the regional transport infrastructure.

> A4 softback, 240 pages, 300+ black & white and colour pictures plus large-scale folding track plan.

£38.50 (UK); £45.00 (outside UK); £49.50 (Airmail Z1);

£55.00 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £3.50 discount

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); £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

Around the Edinburgh Tramway System

With Peter Mitchell

The late photographer amassed a prolific range of tramway images, and this collection reflects his visits to the Scottish capital in 1951 – when the bulk of the system was still running – and in 1955, the year before its final closure.

> A4 hardback; 260 pages; 245 black & white pictures.

£34.00 (UK addresses); £44.50 (outside UK); £58.00 (Airmail Z1);

£63.50 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £3.00 discount

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

Might Have Been Trams and Tramways

This fascinating book details all the UK tram schemes that failed to see the light of day.

> A4 softback; 192 pages; 116 colour and 119 black & white pictures; 117 maps.

£23.00 (UK); £30.00 (outside UK);

£37.50 (Airmail Z1); £42.00 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £2.00 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

Tram Atlas Mitteleuropa | Central Europe

Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia

Second edition of this useful Robert Schwandl handbook, covering 28 cities in these four countries. Tram and metro systems are described with service and fleet details, plus trolleybuses where they operate alongside trams. German & English text.

> B5 softback, 160 pages, 200+ colour pictures, 72 maps.

£24.00 (UK addresses); £29.50 (outside UK); £33.00 (Airmail Z1);

£36.50 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £2.10 discount

European Light Rail Congress

TWO days of interactive debates... TWELVE hours of dedicated networking... ONE place to be

Barcelo Hotel –Malaga, Spain

Join key decision-makers, professionals and industry experts as they gather for two days of debate centred upon how new technologies are driving progress in sustainable transport.

For 2025 we are taking the European Light Rail Congress to the historic and wonderful Spanish city of Malaga, home of the Metro de Malaga urban transport system. Celebrating its 10th anniversary of operation, the metro runs throughout the city across two lines providing modern and efficient public transport, with safety and the environment being key factors which contribute to improving the quality of life of the citizens of Malaga and the surrounding areas.

As an attendee, you will experience:

• Two days of presentations, panel debates and discussion from some of the sector’s most innovative and forward-thinking suppliers, manufacturers, and operators

• An expansive exhibition hall within the Barcelo Hotel - Malaga

• An evening networking reception for delegates to maximise their networking opportunities

• An exclusive behind the scenes depot tour hosted by Metro Malaga

• Convenient travel and accommodation to and from the venue With bespoke sponsorship and exhibition packages also available, there has never been a better time to place yourself at the very heart of European light rail.

Scan the QR code to register your details or to book for the event.

19-20

March

ORGANISED