November 2024

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NEWS

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West Midlands Dasher offered low-cost alternative; Liège tram extensions dropped.

INNOTR a NS RE p ORT

TAUT rounds up all the news and fresh releases from this year ’s show.

TORINO

Home to Italy ’s oldest tramway system, Torino is looking to extend its networks. Andrew Thompson looks at the plans.

LIGHT R a IL DaY

408

413

417

David Walmsley reports on the Finnish rail event.

a NDY BY f ORD IN NEW YOR k 418

Richard Foster talks to ‘Train Daddy’ about his time in New York, one of the world’s most recognisable metro systems, plus future plans and moral principles.

SHE ff IELD TR a M -TR a IN up DaTE 421

Melanie Corcoran from SYMCA reveals how the eight-year Supertram programme will be key to Sheffield’s revitalisation.

SYSTEMS faCT f ILE : GER a 425

Andrew Thompson visits the German legacy tramway that has plans for future growth against the odds.

WORLDWIDE REVIEW

431

Studies for new Lyon tramway commence; First rails laid for Strasbourg extension.

M a ILBOX

435

A judgement on fossil fuels; reason to doubt the UK will get more trams?

CL a SSIC TR a MS: p L z E Ň

436

Not to be overlooked in celebrating its 125th anniversary, Plze ň hosted a weekend of events to mark the occasion.

Well done Dublin, Worldwide Operator of the Year

It’s an old adage that public transport would run a whole lot better if we didn’t have to contend with passengers spoiling things. However, it was certainly no joke in Dublin last November when a city centre stabbing incident turned into a full-scale riot. Shop windows were smashed, a tram and several buses were set alight, and the overhead wires came down.

The Irish capital’s emergency services were stretched to the absolute limit, but they thankfully – and quickly – managed to bring the situation under control. However, the LUAS tram network, key to Dublin life, was in a complete mess. People predicted it might take five days, or longer, to get it running again, but the truly magnificent team pulled together and services were back to near-normal the very next day.

This outstanding example of everyone pulling together has won respect from right across the business, so it was most appropriate that TransDev Ireland was named Worldwide Operator of the Year at the 2024 Global Light Rail Awards held in London on 2 October.

This event continues to reach new heights, and it was enlightening to see managers from systems as distant as Australia, India and the United Arab Emirates (as well as the UK) gathered in one place to congratulate the great and the good, share gossip and discuss best practice. There was also a welcome new entry this year from Hanoi, Vietnam, and you can learn in detail how the system fared in the next issue of TAUT

NOVEMBER 2024 Vol. 87 No. 1043 www.tautonline.com

EDITORIAL

Edi T or – Matt Johnston matt@mainspring.co.uk

A SS oci ATE Edi T or – Tony Streeter tony.streeter@mainspring.co.uk

WorldW id E Edi T or – Michael Taplin miketap@mainspring.co.uk

S E nior c on T ribu T orS –Howard Johnston , Neil p ulling

WO rl DW i DE C ONT ribu TO r S r ichard Foster, Andrew Grahl, Andrew Moglestue, Herbert Pence, Mike russell, nikolai Semyonov, Alain Senut, Andrew Thompson, Witold urbanowicz, bill Vigrass, Thomas Wagner, Philip Webb.

Produc T ion – Lanna Blyth Tel: +44 (0)1733 367604 production@mainspring.co.uk

d ES i 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 13 o rton Enterprise centre, b akewell road, Peterborough PE2 6X u u K

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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 Transit Association.

lrTA WE b S i TE A nd di 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 Secretary ( d ept T06), 38 Wolseley road, Sale M33 7Au, u K. Tel: +44 (0)117 951 7785 membership@lrta.org Website: www.lrta.org f OR c OR p ORATE sU bsc RI p TIO ns v I s IT www.mainspring.co.uk

LRTa REGISTERED Off ICE 13 o rton Enterprise centre, b akewell road, Peterborough PE2 6X u, u K Private company limited by guarantee, no. 5072319 in England and Wales.

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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.

pRINT

The Manson Group l imited, St Albans,

Johnston, Editor

Barely a conversation can now be held anywhere without the magic words ‘Artificial Intelligence ’ cropping up, and the concept is gathering such momentum that a whole area at InnoTrans 2024 in Berlin was created to attempt to understand the phenomenon. Never mind passengers, how long will it be before light rail systems are managed without people? Matt

COVER: The Škoda ForCity Smart Bonn on display at this year’s InnoTrans show. The city of Bonn in western Germany is ordering 28 of these vehicles. Tony Streeer

Tony Streeter

Sash Margrie Hunt/unsplash

Extreme weather hits public transport

Heavy rain in mid-September caused some of the worst flooding that Central Europe has experienced in 30 years. The effects of Storm Boris brought widespread disruption from Austria to Romania, and public transport systems were affected.

Some sections of Wien’s (Vienna’s) U-Bahn was flooded on 14-15 September, with normal services resuming on 18 September. Production of T3R PLF trams for Praha (Prague) was disrupted when KOS Krnov’s factory in the Czech town of Krnov was flooded. In Praha itself, the weather forced the Petrin cable car to be suspended on 13-14 September on safety grounds.

In Budapest, high water levels on the Duna river, caused by torrential rain upstream, resulted in the cancellation of service on the riverside tram lines from 17 September. Electrical systems were affected in Bratislava on 15 September, which brought tram and trolleybus systems to a standstill for several hours.

Grant gives San Fernando green light

A USD893m (EUR772m) grant from the US Department of Transportation means that the proposed East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project in Los Angeles can be made a reality.

The 10.7km (6.7-mile) line is to be built along Van Nuys Avenue. Its 11 stops will serve the communities of Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta and Pacoima, where many residents rely heavily on public transport.

Utility preparation on the USD3.57bn (EUR3.2bn) project has already started. Construction is to begin later this year with a view to completion in 2031.

KeolisAmey wins 2033 Docklands contract

Introduction of delayed new train fleet is priority as deal is renewed

KeolisAmey has won the lucrative contract to carry on running London’s Docklands Light Railway network until at least 2033, but it comes with some major challenges.

The deal, which starts on 1 April 2025 and can be extended by a further three years, is worth an estimated GBP140m (EUR167.2m) a year. It has been expected because Transport for London has been pleased with how it runs the 40km (25-mile) automatic system through the

Bremen finishes depot rebuild

Completion of a four-year, EUR100m project to rebuild the 100-year old Gröpelingen depot in the German city of Bremen was marked at a ceremony on 20 August.

The new-look facility now includes a two-storey office block, electrical and mechanical workshop, roof work platforms for maintaining low-floor trams, lifting jacks, pits, a crane system and an underfloor wheel lathe. There is a washing hall and an area for refilling sanding systems as well as a social area for staff, complete with changing rooms.

The project even extended into the local area and involved a new police station, 800m of cycle and pedestrian paths, 3600 bicycle parking places and car-sharing spaces. Bremen tram

regenerated eastern side of the capital city.

The franchise, which also covers maintenance, is a feather in the cap for the joint venture between Keolis (70%) and Amey (30%). Patronage is recovering after a severe knock during COVID, and on target to return to 100 million a year.

KeolisAmey is grappling with the introduction of 54 new CAF trains and completion of the new depot extension at Beckton, both significantly behind schedule. The ambition is to increase

service frequencies and improve passenger safety in stations during major events, but some trains are currently running in short formations to extend the life of the old Bombardier stock.

Keolis is the world’s leading automated metro business with a dozen systems, including the longest in Dubai. In the UK, it also manages Manchester Metrolink and Nottingham Express Transit, and has three heavy rail franchises, Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern.

operator BSAG has also acquired a 35 000 square metre site that will be developed as a depot for battery-powered buses.

Bremen has operated electric trams since 1892, and the eight-

line system extends to 79km (49 miles).

Gröpelingen is the terminus of four tram lines and eight urban and regional bus routes; 24 000 passengers/day pass through.

Dresden bridge collapses in flood

Around 100 metres of the Carolabrücke in Dresden (Germany) carrying tram tracks and a walkway, fell into the River Elbe on 11 September. The incident took place at 03.08, 18 minutes after the final tram of the day had crossed. Traffic on the road half of the bridge was halted. There were no injuries, but central heating and drinking water pipes were broken. Demolition work on the damaged spans started on

12 September because of a flood warning, with trams diverted via the Albertbrücke. Elbe river traffic was suspended.

Investigations into the cause are ongoing, but commentators have suggested that corrosion caused by salt application during the winter months might be responsible. When opened in 1971, the structure was the longest pre-stressed concrete bridge built in the then-German Democratic Republic.

ABOVE: The opening party at the rebuilt depot with a Siemens Avenio in the background. BSAG

BELOW: The collapsed tram bridge in Dresden. Stadt Dresden

Frankfurt trials parcel delivery tram

The German city of Frankfurtam-Main is working with online retail giant Amazon to perfect a tram-based parcels delivery system. Duewag Pt eight-axle tram 749, built in 1977, has been modified to make the ‘LastMileTram’ concept a reality.

The tram will transport Amazon packages between the stops of Stadion and Zoo, and Gutleut depot. Amazon’s electric

E Transporter vans take packages from its distribution centre in Raunheim to Stadion; electric cargo bikes deliver them from Zoo and Gutleut to customers. The vans, tram and bikes have been funded by the Hesse Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport, Housing and Rural Areas.

Project manager Prof. Dr. Kai-Oliver Schocke from the

Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences said, “We can finally test and optimise the knowledge and processes gained in the previous project phases in real operation. We hope to be able to establish the concept permanently in Frankfurt… and also implement it at other locations in order to significantly reduce road traffic in large cities.”

Bern bids fond farewell to Vevey trams with final run

Bern has bid farewell to what are often considered ‘the Rolls-Royce of Swiss trams’ – its 12 Vevey/ ABB/Duewag Be 4/8 threesection trams.

Bern’s Vevey vehicles were formally withdrawn from frontline services on lines 3 and 7 in early July 2024, when a major construction site at Kocherpark required a reconfiguration of all tram services in the west of the city. However, local tram club TVB organised an official farewell run on 1 September. This took car 734 over the whole network, including branches which were not regularly served by Vevey cars.

One, 735, will remain in Bern, where it will be externally restored to its original olive green and cream livery but, internally, will be kitted out as a lounge tram for private charters and social events. The remaining

11 are being donated to Lviv in Western Ukraine.

The first units are expected to be transferred there by early autumn. This has been arranged by the Swiss State Secretariat for

Tecforce turns 30

Derby-based corrosion, fatigue and modification specialist Tecforce celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The organisation was formed when a management buyout took over the Materials Department at Derby Litchurch Lane works in 1994, when the site was operated by Swedish–Swiss multinational ABB.

The company, now part of the MCT Group, currently employs 60 people and can offer “full turnkey offerings, from one-offs, through to fleet wide solutions, undertaken on depot, or within our shared facility, utilising our multi-skilled teams, from welding and non-destructive testing activities”.

Tecforce has a wide range of key accreditations such as BSEN 15085, 3834, RISAS, RISQS – all integrated within its ISO 9001 quality management system. This enables it to work with heavy rail rolling stock leasing companies and train operators, as well as light rail and OEM customers.

As part of its celebrations, the company is planning a re-brand.

Four bid for TfL trams Alstom, CAF, Hitachi Rail and Stadler Valencia have all responded to invitations to tender to build 24 new trams for London Tramlink. All four can now, a statement from Transport for London said, “proceed to the next stage of the procurement process”.

The new trams would replace the Bombardier CR4000s delivered to what was then called Croydon Tramlink in 2000. The contract will also include an option to replace the 12 Stadler Variobahns delivered in 2011-16.

However, TfL added, “The contract to design and build the new trams is subject to securing a suitable funding package. TfL continues to discuss its capital funding requirements with the [UK] Government.”

Moskva service expanded Line 2 in the Russian capital Moskva (Moscow) started operating the new tramway along Sergius Radonezhsky Ulitsa on 23 September.

Economic Affairs.

The Vevey trams were Bern’s first accessible LRVs when they were introduced in 1989-90. They are being replaced by new Stadler Tramlink low-floor cars.

Seven trams provide a 10-15 minute service between 3rd Vladimirskaya Ulitsa and Kursky railway station via Metro Shosse Entuziastov and Ilyich Square. Metro line 1 was also extended by 1.9km (1.2 miles) from Novomoskovskaya to Potapoovo on 5 September, while a 7.2km (4.5-mile) section of new line 16 opened on 7 September.

The rest of the 25km (15.6-mile) line should open in 2029.

ABOVE: The modified Pt tram for parcel service meets electric distribution cargo bikes. 1401

ABOVE: Bern 734 is at the Brünnen Westside terminus of Line 8 during the farewell tour on 1 September. A. Thompson

Wallonia drops Liège tramway extensions to save money

Belgian city decides against further LRT expansion and opts for buses instead.

Belgium’s Walloon Regional Government has cancelled 5.8km (3.6 miles) of new tramway construction around Liège. Instead, the suburbs of Herstal and Seraing will be connected by new bus routes.

Construction of 11.7km (7.2 miles) of new tramway, from Sclessin and Coronmeuse, started in 2018-19. However, this first section was intended to be the core of a system that would eventually be extended by 2.6km (1.6 miles) from Sclessin to Seraing and by 3.2km (two miles) from Coronmeuse to Herstal. Planning work on the extensions started earlier this year. However, Wallonia’s new

Bruxelles tramway extension opens

Services on the new 5.5km (3.4mile) extension to the Bruxelles (Brussels) tramway commenced on 23 September. The extension from Heembeek to Hôpital Militaire has been incorporated into line 10, which now runs from Churchill to the hospital.

Belgium’s King Philippe attended the extension’s inauguration ceremony two days previously.

The start of new line 10 services meant that line 3 was withdrawn..

government, which came to power on 9 June, announced that it was no longer willing to finance the EUR350m project.

Instead, two priority bus lines will be built, at a cost of EUR264m. The opposition party has condemned the decision.

The first test tram reached the city centre (Place St Lambert, Opéra and Gare de Guillemins) on 20 August where it was greeted by politicians and local people. It is the first to run through the city’s streets for 60 years. Regular testing through the city centre starts this autumn, and the line is due to open on 31 January.

Liège’s first-generation Seraing - Flemalle interurban tramway was abandoned at the end of 1961. The new one is being built and operated as a PublicPrivate Partnership with the Tram’Ardent consortium, which has a 31-year contract. CAF has supplied 20 low-floor trams, each 45.4m in length.

As funding withdrawn, is Calgary’s Green Line dead?

The Canadian province of Alberta withdrew its CAD1.53bn (EUR1bn) funding from Calgary’s Green Line LRT project on 3 September, leading to the city council voting to wind the project up on the 17th.

The province made its move in the wake of spiralling costs and the decision to move the proposed terminus from Shepard to Lynnwood/Millican (TAUT 1042). If built in its entirety, the 46km (28.6-mile) line

would have been the largest infrastructure project in Calgary’s history.

Construction started in April 2022 and CAD1.3bn (EUR863m) has already been spent on the scheme. A further CAD850m (EUR564m) will be needed to shut the project down.

However, The Calgary Herald has reported that Mayor Jyoti Gondek “had a productive meeting with [Alberta] Premier Danielle Smith and

Sacramento’s new Siemens LRVs enter service

Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen” on 18 September.

Calgary Construction Association President Bill Black said “We might have turned a corner. We had called out the need... to sit down and set aside politics and salvage a project on Calgarians’ behalf.”

Unlike the city’s two existing high-floor light rail lines, the Green Line was to have been operated by 28 CAF Urbos 100 low-floor trams.

Sacramento Regional Transit’s

20 new Siemens S700 lowfloor LRVs entered service in September. S700 401-20 started on the Sacramento Valley –Iron Point Gold Line on 1 September and on the 7th/ Richards – 13th Street Green Line the following day. They are to run on the Folsom Line between Iron Point and Historic Folsom once new passing loops are completed.

The new low-floor LRVs are 28.9m long and can operate as up to three-car trains. Each car can accommodate 225 passengers (74 seated) and four bicycles.

Eight more will be delivered in 2025 and a further 17 in 2026, bringing the fleet up to 45. There is an option to increase this to 76.

ABOVE: CAF tram 5117 was the first to use the new tracks through the city centre.

Ville de Liège

Dublin calls for ‘speedy’ Luas expansion

Transport Infrastructure Ireland Chief Executive Peter Walsh has said the body is ready to submit a planning application to Ireland’s authority An Bord Pleanála for Dublin’s Luas extension to Finglas “immediately”.

Proposals for the 4km (2.5-mile) line, which would connect with the Green Line at Broombridge and continue

through Finglas to Charlestown Shopping Centre, were submitted to government over the summer. Public consultation on the route ended in September.

The National Transport Authority’s Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042 suggests that construction of the Finglas extension might not start until 2031. However, speaking

earlier this summer, Walsh said that if the government backed the project, “the preliminary design is in existence so it would be a matter of weeks to have it in with An Bord Pleanála”.

Dublin City Council’s head of traffic Brendan O’Brien has said that the local authority “would very much welcome the speedier expansion of the Luas network”.

British Ambassador visits Cairo monorail

Gareth Bayley, the UK’s Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt, visited Cairo’s monorail on 11 September, where he saw one of the Alstom four-car Innovia 300 trains that have been built in Derby.

The first part of the Cairo Monorail system is due to open

in October. There are to be two lines: one, 56.5km (35 miles) long, between East Cairo (metro interchange) and the New Administrative City. The other, between 6th of October City and Giza, is 45km (28 miles) long. It’s hoped that part of the system will open just after this issue

Seattle’s Lynnwood light rail opened

Seattle’s Sound Transit (US) opened its third extension of 2024 on 30 August. The 13.6km (8.5-mile) extension takes Line 1, mostly on an elevated alignment, from Northgate to Lynnwood. This is the first time Sound Transit’s Link light rail has extended into Snohomish County. It puts Lynnwood within 26 minutes of central Seattle (where the University Street stop has been renamed as Symphony). There are four new stations, with a fifth due to open in 2026.

Some USD1.9bn (EUR1.7bn) of the project’s cost came from

raising local taxes; the remaining funding came from a USD1.2bn (EUR1bn) Federal Transit Administration grant, while USD658m (EUR589m) of federal loan paid for the rolling stock and support facilities.

The line will be worked by some of the 152 Siemens S700 LRVs that Sound Transit has on order. They will provide a peak headway of 4-6 minutes. The latest extension is expected to attract about 50 000 daily riders by 2026, while new park-andride sites could take 3500+ cars off the congested Interstate 5.

RIGHT: A train of Siemens S700 LRVs at Shoreline

day. Sound Transit

New trams for Pavlodar JSC Pavlodar Tram Management Company has issued a tender for up to 25 new trams for the Kazakhstan city, which will be partly financed by a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development.

Delivery of the first 15 airconditioned, single-ended, partly low-floor bogie trams is required in 2025. They are required to have a battery capacity to run up to 20km (12.4 miles) away from an overhead power supply.

Parramatta contract won

John Holland has won Australia’s AUD322m (EUR199m) contract to build the first 1.3km (0.8mile) section of Stage 2 of the Parramatta Light Rail system.

This includes a 320m bridge over the Parramatta River. Design and preparatory work will start later this year. Construction of the new bridge in the western Sydney suburbs is due to start in 2025.

TAUT reported last issue that opening of the 12km (7.5-mile) Stage 1 has been delayed after testing revealed several issues.

An opening date is awaited.

Budapest wins top prize Tram drivers from Budapest have won the European Tram Driver Championships in Frankfurt-amMain. Some 26 teams competed on Willy-Brandt-Platz on 14 September (lines 11 and 12 were temporarily diverted).

closes for press.

Ambassador Bayley said: “This project is an excellent example of the growing UK-Egypt trade co-operation and highlights the UK’s support for Egypt’s ambitions in providing greener and more sustainable solutions and services to its people.”

The contest’s tasks include bringing a tram to a precise emergency halt, and starting and stopping a tram without spilling water in a bowl. The Budapest team accumulated 3850 points.

A team from Bruxelles (Brussels) came second, and Kraków third.

Of the teams from the UK (West Midlands Metro, Edinburgh Trams and Dublin Luas), WMM won, coming 14th overall.

The competition started in 2012 and has run most years since.

North station on opening

ABOVE: Test running in progress on the Cairo Monorail in September 2024. Alstom

AI tA kes the le A d At 2024 Inno t r A ns show

Geoff Butler looks at some of the groundbreaking new products displayed to a vast audience at the latest international transport exhibition in Berlin.

Below: exhibitors from 59 countries

for the

Exhibitors from 59 countries displayed the very best of urban transit at the 2024 InnoTrans international rail fair in Berlin, Germany, between 24-27 September. Over 170 000 visitors were attracted from 133 countries.

The big themes at this year’s event included sustainability, electrification and digitalisation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) had its own brand new exhibition area, and many companies demonstrated its growing importance in the fields of robotics, data protection and cybersecurity.

Leading rolling stock manufacturers and global operators commented on just how good this year’s show was for them with so many people looking at the trends across the industry and the innovations. Exhibition stands within the many halls were busy every day, as were the many outdoor displays where new trams, trains and vehicles were parked for inspection.

No other manufacturer brought as many vehicles to InnoTrans as Stadler Rail – a total of eight ranging from trams and narrowgauge tailor-made solutions through to heavy main line locomotives. Alstom also displayed the new low-floor tram for the Berliner Verkehrsbetreibe (BVG), a 50 metre-long formation and the longest tram seen in Berlin.

Shorter in length but also eye-catching was Škoda’s 30-metre ForCity Smart unit, which has two bogies under each of the two end cars and a floating middle section. Stadwerke Bonn has ordered 28 of them to replace 30year old trams, with the design aimed to meet the exact needs of the historic city as well as modern safety and environmental standards.

rIGht: stadler displayed the VDV TramTrain, which can run on both railway and tram tracks, and is intended for the saarbahn in saarbrucken. Tony Streeter

gathered

urban rail event in Berlin, Germany; while the show also welcomed visitors from 133 countries. Geoff Butler

The tram was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award 2024.

The Twist from PESA Bydgoszcz , being delivered to Wrocław in Poland, is a three-car unit with three bogies, one on each vehicle.

Stadler’s VDV TramTrain, which can run on both railway and tram tracks, is intended for the Saarbahn in Saarbrucken, the first of 246 trams ordered for various regions.

Looking at new technologies across the vehicle sector, it was hard not to be intrigued by the hydrogen battery-powered tram from Hyundai Rotem. Its body is 35 metres long and 2.65 metres side, and in five sections, multi-articulated with four chassis and four fuel cells, each with an output of 95kw. The drive is supplemented by buffer batteries. The hydrogen tanks are positioned on the roof, and the vehicle has a range of up to 200km (125 miles). A fleet of 34 trams will be delivered to the 40km (25-mile) Daejeon system in South Korea by July 2028. The manufacturer is also managing vehicle maintenance, and signalling technology.

Efacec, a leading Portuguese exporter, has expertise in transformers, switchgear, automation, transportation, and electric mobility, and is working with the Lisbon Metro, and Jutland in Denmark. The Efarail command centre platform is a web-based idea. Efacec is also working on metro and light railway systems in Lisbon and the Porto Metro, and similar projects in Messina (Italy), Tenerife and Cádiz (Spain), Algiers, Oran and

Constantine (Algeria), Nottingham (UK), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Dublin (Ireland), Bergen (Norway) and Odense (Denmark).

Special focus was given to the battery train charging stations recently ordered by Midtjyske Jernbaner and Banedanmark, both railway operators in Denmark. Efacec will contribute for the changing from diesel to electric operation of the new battery-powered trains acquired by these two operators, by supplying the charging stations that will allow the trains to charge while stationary.

This new project consolidates Efacec as a key player to develop and supply railway and metro solutions, playing an increasingly crucial role in promoting sustainable mobility.

Austrian innovator Kruch displayed its Energy Flow System (EFS), hanger and feeder clamps for catenary systems. The software simulates energy flows in different scenarios, analysing the returns on investments, problem solving, increasing the reliability of power supplies, and meeting latest CO2 reduction requirements. EFS customers can simulate their own energy balance in their networks very easily. When it comes to trolleybuses, most quality assurance depends on the sliding contacts touching the overhead wire, and up to now, breakages and worn items needed daily checks and were replaced when required. This process is time-consuming and dangerous, and Kruch has developed a unique fully

automated inspection unit that uses 3D laser scanning technology.

The measurements are taken at defined checkpoints during each survey journey, and these determine whether the sliding contact is fit for use or needs maintenance. This eliminates the need for manual daily checks, and Kruch spacer clamps used for the electrical and mechanical connection of parallel running wires were also on display. Worldwide coverage was promoted by Elektroline of Prague, including projects in The Hague, Melbourne (Australia), and Tallinn’s harbour line. It continues to work with Blackpool Transport on its signalling, and works with Colas Rail supplying OCL systems for the trams in Edmonton.

ABoVe: Portuguese company efacec was busy promoting its sustainable mobility solutions with many clients across the event. Efacec

The company is active across Italy, in Turin, Milan and Verona, and is also collaborating with Alstom in Bologna on depot signalling materials, which will be delivered in 2026. Work continues in Naples with small tram operations, trolleybuses, and OCL.

Wabtec had its (as usual) packed exhibition stand offering many solutions including light rail overhaul, repairs, and maintenance.

Italian company Overhaul supplies concrete components for infrastructure projects, both for heavy rail and urban transport. Some recent projects include tunnel segments and slabs for Rome’s Metro Line C, and sleepers for work on the Ancona, Rome, Naples and Cagliari networks. Also on display at InnoTrans were the company’s new insulated rail joints.

Spanish company Electrans is currently active in Tel Aviv, and has new projects in Barcelona, where two tram lines could be connected. It is also working with Alstom on signalling projects in Denmark, and level crossings in Norway. Its CAS-E automated train protection system controls and coordinates the position and speed of the rolling stock, a protection against collisions. It is suitable for main lines, stations, shunting areas, and depots. The CAS-E system comprises on-board, outdoor and indoor equipment, and is designed to work on viaducts, in tunnels or at street level.

One of the busiest exhibition areas at this year’s InnoTrans was that of Alstom, which was promoting the overall passenger experience, and its commitment to a low carbon future by developing innovative and sustainable transport ideas.

Alstom has a wide-ranging portfolio ranging from high-speed trains to metros, trams, and monorails, plus turnkey systems,

services, infrastructure, signalling and digital mobility. It has a presence in 64 countries and focuses its design, innovation, and project management skills on areas in which solutions are needed most.

Via its elevated passenger experience system, Alstom highlighted how passengers can benefit from using Navilens software. Used with a smartphone it allows for a seamless efficient journey. There were examples of how the system works in a variety of situations, suiting regular travellers to the less frequent, and also the visually impaired. The Alstom stand showed many innovations for enhancing the passenger experience, including lighting, materials, seating modularity, sound management, connectivity, train movement, passenger guidance, and information. Outside the main halls was the new large low-floor tram for Berlin.

Polish manufacturer PESA Bydgoszcz gives constant attention to innovation in technology to retain its strength in markets across Europe. It works not only in its home country, but also in Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Italy, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Germany, Russia and Bulgaria. It is currently enhancing tram fleets across Poland, and constructing more new vehicles for the Warsaw metro. On its stand, PESA promoted its range of Swing, Jazz, Twist and Foxtrot vehicles that have proved popular across many countries.

As could be reliably expected, leading Spanish-based manufacturer CAF had a packed stand, showing off its hydrogen and battery traction ideas, its new CBTC system called OPTIO, and its LeadMind digital solution for rail fleets. The ALIVE platform was also demonstrated for the autonomous future of transit operations.

GHH-Bonatrans is a premium supplier of wheelsets for light and heavy rail vehicles worldwide. It also manufactures wheelsets and independent wheel axles for metro cars, trams, locomotives and freight wagons. It can be seen at such diverse locations as Berlin, Vienna, London, Paris, New York, Istanbul and Hong Kong.

A tram wheelset with independent wheel axles was of great interest to many. Such wheelsets can be found on metro vehicles on the London Underground, Newcastle, Shanghai, and Kochi and on trams and LRV vehicles including the Moderus Gamma, Citadis and Flexity Linz fleets.

TSL Escha from Germany promoted many essential specialist products, including handrails, door opening push buttons, signal lights, indicators, display devices and lighting for the front of vehicles as well as along the side as in the case for the Magdeburg trams. Also on display was a range of speakers for audio announcements.

Over 35 years of experience in developing and manufacturing products for the transportation sector allows the company to push the boundaries of technology with its products. Since 2021, TSL-ESCHA has been part of Mafelec, an owner-managed French group specialising in HMI, lighting, and sensors for many markets. This collaboration allows for the expansion of inventive transport technology solutions to meet the increasing demands of transport operators.

Vossloh exhibited its wide range of advanced rail technologies that include state-of-the-art track components, intelligent monitoring systems, and proactive digital maintenance. Intelligent Track Monitoring was covered on the stand, showing how sensors and analytics can monitor rail

Below: Astra Vagoane Călători unveiled a prototype carbon steel-bodied tram at Innotrans 2024. the two-module standard gauge prototype was specially manufactured for display at the event. Tony Streeter

conditions, detecting issues early to enhance safety and extend infrastructure lifespan.

Sustainability is also at the forefront of Vossloh’s products, including rail fastening systems to minimise noise and vibration, enhancing comfort and longevity. Vossloh connect is the name of a digital platform that offers a set of rail infrastructure solutions tailored for specific customer targets. They range from asset monitoring to track measurement and asset management.

The benefits include enhanced availability with predictive insights into asset health, improved cost efficiency with optimised maintenance and better life cycle costs and safety through 24-hour real-time data collection and analysis. The Engineered Polymer Sleeper (EPS) – Vossloh’s ecological alternative to wooden sleepers with creosote impregnation – was also on display. Made from secondary raw materials, the EPS has a lifecycle of around 50 years, and is 100% recyclable.

The many benefits include a flexible moulding concept that enables an ecologically, economically and technologically efficient direct rail fastening system to be used on main lines. It has a stable track gauge due to a low thermal expansion coefficient, and reduced risk of track buckling due to high values of lateral sleeper resistance and frame track stiffness. Founded in 1901, Robel has developed and manufactured track construction machines that are clamed to improve operator safety and economic efficiency. Today, companies of the Robel Group design maintenance processes on track and within the areas of railway infrastructure,

track maintenance, rail treatment, rail logistics, track measurement technologies,

ABoVe: stadler’s busy stand highlighted its signalling technology and rail vehicles, shown together on a joint stand for the first time. Geoff Butler

ABoVe: one of the track displays shown by Voestalpine this year, detailing its sustainable and customer-oriented solutions. Geoff Butler

ABoVe: Alstom’s stand was one of the busiest at this year’s show, while outside the company showcased its new low-floor tram destined for Berlin. Tony Streeter

Below: PesA brought its Twist, which is being delivered to wrocław in Poland. Tony Streeter

ABoVe: CAF had a packed stand throughout the show, demonstrating its hydrogen and battery traction ideas. Geoff Butler

leFt: electrans showcased its CAs-e automated train protection system controls and coordinates the position and speed of the rolling stock, a protection against collisions. Geoff Butler

InnoTrans 2024

process automation and full machine lifecycle service.

The portfolio includes hand-guided, railbound and robot-supported rail construction machines and measuring systems. Robel displayed hybrid track vehicles, measurement vehicles, power wrenches and its laser-based transverse profile measuring system.

Romania’s Astra Vagoane C ă lători unveiled a prototype carbon steel-bodied tram at InnoTrans 2024, and the two-module standard gauge prototype was specially manufactured for display at the event. Astra Vagoane says it is targeting both the domestic and international market. The 100% low-floor tram features an anti-collision system, and has a carbon steel body with Siemens bogies and traction inverters from SAERP, which is part of the Astra group. Astra Vagoane says it can build the trams in standard or metre gauge variants, and with two to six modules.

UK-based Hepworth Rail highlighted its range of bespoke wiper equipment, and of particular interest were the ones for LRV, trams and metros, including the Toronto Streetcar. All its projects are developed in partnership with customers, using Hepworth Rail’s project management process to ensure compliance and technical requirements.

Spanish simulator company Lander

showed some of its simulators at InnoTrans, including the Centralized Traffic Control (CTC), which offers training for all situations related to traffic management. Show attendees were invited to try the portable railway simulator, which trains drivers and pledges to improve general safety worldwide. It has been designed with flexibility and efficiency in mind, allowing instructors to quickly adapt the configuration to different types of trains and scenarios without the need for heavy infrastructure or fixed installations.

For over 70 years, RAILONE has played an active international role in providing sustainable and economical solutions for the most complex passenger and freight transport requirements.

With more than two decades of successful operation and continuous technological development, Rheda City is a universal ballast-free track system for all urban conditions. Its special plastic fibre concrete structure comprises a small number of highquality core components, embracing a wide range of high quality and reliable variations on green tracks and in tunnels. It can be covered with asphalt, concrete, and paving blocks, and is designed for long life in all weather conditions.

Pandrol is involved in connecting more towns and cities with high speed, conventional, metro and light rail vehicles. It specialises in long-term planning and increased emphasis on eco-friendly public transport on rails. Pandrol sustainable resilient systems are being adopted worldwide thanks to their resilience properties and green credentials, including addressing noise and vibration issues, grooved rail welding, and the QTrack embedded track fastening that reduces vibration and wear, and stray currents.

Sealable demonstrated its products and services, including its Rail Comfort System (RCS) where track can be insulated without the need for complex longitudinal sealing. The company’s noise and vibration products on show included VeloGeis, which helps prevent cyclists getting their wheels stuck in rail grooves, and reduces the risk of slipping in poor weather

conditions.

ABoVe: Polish manufacturer PesA highlighted its range of trams including the Swing, Jazz, Twist and Foxtrot trams on its stand. Geoff Butler

ABoVe: the 13.5m-long Aachen rail shuttle (Ars) from the Institute for rail Vehicles and transport systems (IFs) generated a lot of interest at this year’s event. the design has been produced to offer an alternative to conventional trains.the vehicles can run autonomously every 10–15 minutes on low-traffic lines. Geoff Butler

Below: Ghh Bonatrans’ tram wheelset with independent wheel axles proved to be of great interest to many attendees. Geoff Butler

ABoVe: hyundai rotem showcased its hydrogen fuel cell tram for the city of daejeon in the republic of korea on its stand. Geoff Butler

ABoVe: hegenscheidt showed its wheelset turning machines and highlighted wheelset diagnostics. Geoff Butler

Tr AN sf O r MIN g T O r INO

Although Torino can boast Italy’s oldest tram system, it hasn’t stood still in all that time – and new plans seek to extend both tramway and Metro even further. Andrew Thompson finds out more.

As the regional capital of Piedmont and one of Italy’s most important manufacturing centres, the industrial city of Torino (Turin) has relied for decades on its expansive tramway as the backbone of public transport.

Horse trams first ran through the storied streets in 1871, with electrification following from 1893 onwards. This gives Torino Italy’s oldest tram system, and at its zenith in 1949 the network featured a total of 23 lines. Although this was reduced to only 13 lines by 1966, the system recovered and started to grow slightly again by the 1970s.

A major reorganisation followed in the 1980s, when the former radial line concept was restructured into a grid system and several lines were merged and thereby lengthened. At that time the grade-segregated lines 3 and 9 were introduced as accelerated Metrotranvia services, locally being considered as ‘light metro’ equivalents.

As part of the preparations for the FIFA World Cup in 1990, a short tram branch was

ABOVE: On 23 March 2024, the new Hitachi car 8007 is in use on line 9 as it approaches Torino Porta Nuova station. All images by Andrew Thompson

ABOVE: The sleek rear of the Hitachi Sirio 8008 with customised

of line 9 near Esposizioni.

Ospedale

Stampalia

rIgHT: The doubleended Cityway on the northbound single-track section of line 4 at Duomo.

In the historic Old Town, a number of lines have loop-like alignments with lengthy single-track sections.

built to the Stadio delle Alpi in the west of the city. This former multi-purpose stadium was replaced by a football-only ground for the local home team Juventus in 2011, but services still run on this 1.2km (0.7-mile) spur off of tram line 3 on match days and for all other events at the stadium.

At the same time, the municipal operator GTT also took delivery of its first accessible trams, with the 53 partially low-floor type TPR LRVs being introduced from 1989-92. Locally classified as 5000-5053, these cars from the consortium of Fiat and Stanga are therefore also known as Serie 5000

Another major project was successfully undertaken in the early 2000s, when the important north-south tram line 4 was extended in stages at both ends and eventually lengthened from 10-18km (6-11 miles) by 2002. Especially at its northern end, en route to the Falchera district, line 4 features a significant degree of grade-separation and makes use of a purpose-built tram tunnel that runs beneath

both the main line railway to Novara and Milano, as well as the A4 highway. At Stura station, tram line 4 offers interchange to suburban commuter trains, running on this main line section also known as Passante.

In preparation for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, which Torino hosted together with the Alpine ski resort of Sestriere, construction work started on an underground Metro in 2000. Based on the rubber-tyred VAL system, as previously built in Lille and Toulouse, the automated Metropolitana di Torino features stations that are 60m long, 16m wide and typically about 16m below surface. The platforms have glass-enclosed barriers with automated screen doors.

The first 7.5km (4.7-mile) section of the Metro from Fermi to XVIII Dicembre in the west of the city opened just in time for the Olympics in early February 2006. In October 2007, a 2.1km (1.3-mile) eastern extension from XVIII Dicembre to the main railway station Porta Nuova followed with

two intermediate stations. Three and a half years later in March 2011, a 3.8km (2.4-mile) southern addition from Porta Nuova to Lingotto was opened, the site of Fiat’s famed automotive factory from 1923, replete with roof-top test track, made famous by the 1969 blockbuster The Italian Job. In April 2021 another two more stops and 1.7km (1.1 miles) of track beyond Lingotto were added, with the short extension to Bengasi.

Currently Torino’s Metro is 15.1km (9.4 miles) with 23 stations. The system will continue to grow in the future, as construction has been underway since 2019 for a 3.4km (2.1-mile) western extension from the current terminus Fermi to Cascine Vica, with three new intermediate stops.

In the long term, plans call for the Metro to continue from Cascine Vica westward to the centre of neighouring city Rivoli, in Torino’s western suburbs. In order to prepare for the Cascine Vica opening by the first half of 2026, four new trainsets were ordered from Alstom in February 2022, with an option for 12 more.

Stazione

Superga (Basilica)

Bengasi

M2

Since 2015, planning has been underway for building a second Metro line. M2 is to run from the neighbouring commune of Orbassano through the southwest of Torino to the city’s northeast, covering all those districts presently not served by line M1. Interchange between both Metro lines is to be at Porta Nuova.

In the northeast M2 is to feature two branches, one to Rebaudengo and a longer one to Pescarito. The Italian government initially approved EUR828m of funding for the Rebaudengo to Novara section, and in May 2022 approved EUR1bn for continuation of the route from Novara via Porta Nuova to Politecnico. According to current planning, the Rebaudengo to Politecnico first section of M2 could open by 2029.

The further development of Torino’s tram network will not remain static either. Although various parts of the tramway closed as a consequence of Metro construction and inauguration, chief among them line 1 south of the city centre and line 18 to the north, the next few years will see additions to serve new areas and improve connectivity.

The signature project is the new tram line 12, which is currently budgeted at EUR221m. This trunk route will link the Juventus football stadium in the northwest with Corso Lepanto in the south, while passing through the city centre in between and sharing the existing downtown tracks of line 4. At its heart, line 12 will utilise the recently abandoned tunnel between Dora and Madonna di Campagna, which was formerly used by the Torino – Ceres commuter railway. This suburban link is in the process of being upgraded and rerouted to intersect with the Passante corridor. Excluding existing sections

ABOVE: The new Hitachi LrVs are replacing the older stanga high-floor cars. These articulated, single-ended trams were produced in two series. 2800–2857 were delivered from 1958-60, and then 2858–2902 in 1982. The orange colour scheme also dates from the 1980s, when there were concerted efforts in switzerland and Italy to use orange as the main brand for public transport. On 24 June 2023, car 2873 from 1982 is seen passing the Duomo, Torino’s landmark cathedral. Ten of these articulated cars of the Serie 2800 will initially remain in Torino as reserve vehicles, and some will then be moved into the heritage fleet.

The type TPR partially low-floor tram 5041 at

boasting the typical silver, blue and dark yellow livery that has been used by gTT since the 1990s.

The bright passenger compartment with attractive skylight.

ABOVE:

Piazza Castello,

LEfT:

ABOVE: since 2001, the modern backbone of the fleet has been the boxy fiat Cityway modular low-floor trams. gTT has 6000-6005 as single-ended units and 6006–6054 as double-ended variants. When production ended in 2003, it also marked the conclusion of fiat ferroviaria’s rail business, as the company had already been taken over by Alstom in 2000 and was then gradually integrated into the french company. Here the double-ended Cityway 6041 is seen passing fiat’s automotive headquarters at Mirafiori with a southbound line 10 service.

of the network, line 12 will boast about 5.5km (3.4 miles) of new, reserved track. Construction work is expected to commence in 2025.

On the rolling stock front, GTT is currently in the process of implementing the squadron introduction of the new Series 8000 from Hitachi. In spring 2020, the municipal operator ordered a total of 70 new low-floor trams from Hitachi’s Italian division. In a first batch, 30 vehicles are being delivered. These sleek single-ended LRVs are 28 metres long, offer 36 seats and have a maximum capacity of 218 passengers. The dark blue colour scheme with yellow band matches the appearance of the latest urban electric buses and thus differs from the silver-blue colour scheme of the Fiat Cityway trams (6000 series) from 2001-03, or the TPR articulated trams (5000 series) from the early 1990s.

The contrast is even stronger with the almost-nostalgic orange of the 1970s and 80s, which is still used in Torino for the Stanga

articulated trams (2800 series). These highfloor vehicles, which were delivered in 195860 and then again in 1982, are now being replaced by the new Hitachi LRVs. The first vehicles of the 8000 series were introduced to revenue service in September 2023, and since then have mainly been deployed on the east-west line 9 from Valentino to Stampalia. Production is taking place at Hitachi’s plant in Napoli (Naples) in southern Italy.

The Japanese corporation took over the producer AnsaldoBreda in 2015, securing a strong position in the Italian market. According to Hitachi, the new low-floor units are an updated development and evolutionary continuation of AnsaldoBreda’s Sirio tram, which were first launched in 2002 and continue to operate in Milano, Bergamo,

“Vehicle design and body styling have always been very important in Italy, and it is not surprising that heightened public expectations are being met.”

Firenze (Florence), Sassari on Sardinia and Napoli, as well as several other cities internationally.

Just like the previously-produced AnsaldoBreda Sirio and Sirietto single-ended trams in Milano, the new Hitachi Sirio in Torino have a different design for the front and rear, which may seem quite unusual today, because many modern low-floor trams of the newer generation are often designed symmetrically, regardless of whether they are built as single-ended or double-ended units. However, vehicle design and body styling have always been very important in Italy and it is therefore not surprising that heightened public expectations are being met. The sleek exterior design of the Hitachi cars has been conceived by the renowned Italian design studio Giugiaro.

As part of this refined design, the newest Sirio for Torino have also been fitted with clerestory skylights in the cabins, giving ample light and better views for standing passengers, almost like in panoramic dome cars on main line trains. Otherwise, the interior features 1+1 seating with comfortable plastic bucket seats, maximising the multipurpose space for pushchairs, bicycles or standees. Only in the last vestibule to the rear are there three seats directly next to each other. The powerful air conditioning is also indispensable for the Italian climate and a comfortable way to cool down in the hot city during the summer months.

With all of these infrastructure projects in the pipeline and mid- to long-term enhancements soon to be shovel-ready, the next five to ten years will prove quite busy in Torino, yet ultimately help transform the city, while accelerating rapid transit and providing unprecedented connectivity.

principal landmarks, has

and

to

ABOVE: The size of Torino’s tram network is officially listed as 88km (55 miles), although not all existing sections of track are used by the normal revenue lines and several longer stretches of track are only travelled over by tourist line 7 and gTT’s special fleet of dining car trams. This includes the attractive Piazza Carlo Emanuele secondo, where there is a full tram circuit. On 23 March 2024, the green heritage car 2592 from 1933 calls at that Piazza for a private charter ride. To the rear is the tall spire of the distinctive Mole Antonelliana, which is one of the city’s

a height of 167.5m

was built between 1863-89. Taking into account the mothballed sections of the network, which were closed due to the trams being replaced by the new Metro, the actively-used size of the tram system equates

about 58km (36 miles).

Light Rail Day

Tampe R e L igh T

R ai L Day

This year’s Light Rail Day, the largest gathering for tramway professionals across the Nordic nations, was held in Tampere, the second city in Finland. David Walmsley reports.

Tampere is the largest inland city in Finland after Helsinki, lying on a narrow isthmus, just over 1km wide, between the Pyhäjärvi and Näsijärvi lakes. The river between these lakes runs through an area known as Tammerkoski (Tampere Rapids), and with a fall of 18 metres it makes for the ideal site to supply power to a number of former industrial premises. Tampere’s prosperity was built on cotton and owes much to Scottish engineer James Finlayson, who established a mill in the Rapids area. The city’s nickname of ‘Manse’ reflects its status as the ‘Manchester of the North’.

The narrow isthmus constricts city traffic to a narrow corridor, making it an ideal location for the tramway which opened in 2022. The tramway is 16km (ten miles) long and operates 26 Škoda Artic X34 vehicles, similar to those in Helsinki. There are two lines: Line 1 which runs from Kauppi campus area and Tampere University Hospital (TAYS) in the east of the city to Santalahti in the west, and line 3 from Hervantajärvi to Sorin Aukio square (with the potential for extensions). A deep red colour, the trams reflect the colour of the local bricks used for Tampere’s industrial buildings.

The conference took place on 27-28 May between the modern Ilves Hotel, and the Finnkino cinema at the Plevna building, one of Finlayson’s original cotton mills. Opening the day, Event Manager Bernd Reuss announced a new record with more than 150 delegates from 13 different European countries.

Presentations at the conference covered two broad themes, one of which was the various tramway developments taking place in Finland. Several speakers focused on the development of the Tampere system, covering its planning and building, its contractual arrangements through the Tampere Tram Operation Alliance, and its role in city planning and development. Others described proposed tramway projects in West Helsinki, Vantaa, Turku and over the water in Tallinn, Estonia.

The second theme was the construction, operation and maintenance of tram systems. Topics discussed included the TURMS

(Tampere Urban Rail Mobility Services) innovation cluster to bring together actors from various sectors to create new products for city mobility, and the Lyyli Living Lab, which can collect data on rail conditions using a tram in regular passenger service. Other topics covered rail surface maintenance and the influence of ultraresilient wheels on ride quality.

Many of these topics would apply to tram operations everywhere, but one of particular relevance in the Nordic countries was the challenge posed by winter conditions. Some solutions used on the Škoda Artic trams in Helsinki and Tampere included curved roofs to avoid snow build-up, car bodies and bogies covered with corrosion-proof material, insulation designed to reduce condensation, and floor materials designed to cope with melting snow from passengers’ boots. But high temperatures can also be a problem: cars with glass roofs stabled in the open during the long northern daylight hours can reach temperatures up to 50 degrees, so air conditioning is essential.

At the conference dinner, Ville-Mikael Tuominen, Development Director of the Tampere Tramway, gave the laudation to the Nordic Light Rail Prize to Ali Huttunen of the Tampere Tramway. This was in recognition of his lifelong dedication and contribution to rolling stock development, with a special focus on the Tampere Tram vehicle project.

The Tampere tramway is just one of a number of urban rail projects planned or recently completed in Finland. In the Capital Region, which comprises the cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, these include:

• Line 13 of the Helsinki tramway, a new 4.5km (2.8-mile) suburban tramway running from the Pasila transport hub north of the city to Kalasatama, to be transformed into a green residential area.

• Line 14, known as the West Helsinki line, a 5.5km (3.4-mile) extension to

Kannelmȁ ki from the current line 4 terminus at Munkkiniemi. The project also includes 2.5km (1.6 miles) of new tramway into the city centre to relieve capacity on the Mannerheimintie.

• Line 15, the ‘Jokeri’ light rail line, loops for 25km (15.5 miles) through the northern suburbs of Helsinki from Keilaniemi in Espoo to Itäkeskus in eastern Helsinki. The line has interchanges with the metro at each end.

• The Crown Bridges (Kruunusilla) project will provide a new link to the island of Laajasalo. The project, which is due to open in stages between 2027-28, includes three bridges, one of which will be the longest in Finland at 1.2km (0.7 miles). The bridges will carry a tramway, plus cycle and pedestrian lanes, but no lane provision for private cars.

• The Helsinki Metro has been extended under the harbour and across the neighbouring city of Espoo. The final underground section opened in 2022.

• Vantaa Light Rail is a project to build a 20km (12.4-mile) tramway from HelsinkiVantaa Airport through the centre of Vantaa to the northern terminus of the Helsinki Metro at Mellunmäki. The line will also serve the airport business park at Aviapolis, the railway hub at Tikkunla and the sports complex at Hakuaila.

In addition to these projects in the Capital Region, further tramway developments are planned in Tampere, and plans are in place for a new tramway in the western city of Turku.

Thanks are due to the conference manager, Bernd Reuss, and the main sponsor Škoda Group.

The next Light Rail Day will be in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 25 February 2025, with a special focus on automated tram driving and the automated depot; see www.lightrailday.com

Tampere tram at Kauppi terminus. David Walmsley

‘ Train Da DDy ’ an D T he Big a pple

andy Byford talks about about his time at new york City Transit authority, plans and principles.

The New York Subway is one of the most famous metro systems in the world. It has starred in numerous films and TV shows, where ‘baddies’ meet gruesome ends and ‘goodies’ are rescued from a similar fate just in the nick of time.

For New Yorkers, however, the real Subway is a world away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood portrayals.

On 30 June 2021, the state of emergency that had been declared on the Subway was officially ended. It had been renewed 49 times since it was declared in 2017 after a number of serious derailments and infrastructure failures. The incidents in 2017 meant that it had been called the ‘Summer of Hell’.

However, things don’t appear to have improved much. The National Guard was deployed in March in a bid to reduce serious crime on the system. Then, in June, Governor Kathy Hochul ‘paused’ the start of a new congestion charge for the busiest part of Manhattan days before it was due to be launched. The USD15 (EUR13.53) per day charge for private motorists would not only aim to improve air quality over the city but would also provide vital funding for Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Now, MTA faces what some news outlets have reported as a USD15bn (EUR13.5bn) funding gap. This means that expansion projects and urgently needed infrastructure upgrades have been put on hold.

One person who was not surprised to see the change of plan was Andy Byford.

“It was like history repeating itself,” he said. Byford has a lot of sympathy for MTA Chair Janno Leiber.

“Literally, with a few hours’ notice, what [Janno] had been faithfully pushing for, because those were his orders… suddenly the rug was pulled out from under his feet and he was suddenly faced…[with] having to explain ‘what do we do now’.”

Andy Byford has had a career like no other. He’s worked for UK main line railway companies. He was Operations Director for Railcorps in New South Wales. He was CEO of Toronto Transit Commission.

As Commissioner for Transport for London,

leFT: andy

Byford became the first non-US citizen to run nyCTa, overseeing the Big apple’s transit systems including the Subway. pictured is Queens in new york. Luca Bravo/ Unsplash

righT: nyCTa president andy Byford launched the comprehensive ‘Fast Forward’ plan for modernising new york City’s transportation network. Courtesy of MTA – via Flickr / CC BY 2.0

righT: The new york Subway declared 49 states of emergency between 2017-21 after a series of derailments and infrastructure failures. andy Byford joined nyCTa in 2018 with a plan to address many of these issues. pictured is 71, Forest hills gardens on the new york City Subway. Pom, Flickr/ CC BY-SA 2.0

he made sure that the Elizabeth Line was ready to be opened by HM The Queen on 17 May 2022 as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. He currently works for Amtrak, tasked with bringing high speed rail to the US.

Not bad for someone who joined London Underground as a graduate.

But, in 2018, he fulfilled his dream when he was appointed President of New York City Transit Authority. It gave him two unique claims to fame: firstly, he became the first non-US citizen to run NYCTA and, secondly, he’s the only person to run the largest transit systems in Canada, the US and the UK plus, on a day-to-day basis, Australia.

“I’m very proud of that,” he says.

How did the boy from Plymouth end up with the Holy Grail of public transport jobs in the ‘City That Never Sleeps’?

“Obviously there was a vacancy and I’m sure they talked to many other people, but I was invited down to New York and I went through this quite extensive interview process at MTA HQ.

“Then I was asked to go to what we call the ‘Chambers’ in New York, which is the governor’s offices, and I met his lawyer [and] his secretary. That seemed to go pretty well and my ‘minder’ said, ‘I think we’re done for the day’ and I went down to the lobby. [Then] someone came running down and said, ‘The governor wants to see you’.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo talked to Byford

about how tough New York is as a state and that the city is very “straight talking, very demanding”. This meeting was taking place after the Summer of Hell, when punctuality had fallen to 59%. The meeting over, Byford was about to step out into the street once again when the minder received a text. It simply said ‘HIRE HIM’.

“I went to LaGuardia [airport], had a beer, phoned my wife and said, ‘I think we’re moving to New York’.”

Big City plans

Having a Brit run NYCTA was a massive deal for the city. And while the communications team had prepared Byford for the press interest on his first day, he was still taken

andy Byford has joined amtrak as Senior Vice president of high-Speed rail Development programs. pictured is an Acela II passing through halethorpe on its way to Washington. The company has issued new plans this summer for high speed rail across the country, including a corridor between Dallas and houston. Amtrak

aback at the “phalanx of reporters at Bowling Green [station]”.

Byford makes a point of using public transport to get to work and New York was no exception. Bowling Green station was opposite 2 Broadway, MTA’s headquarters. Having alighted from the train, the comms team told him that he would walk from the station to 2 Broadway where he would give a press conference.

“You’ve got to be a professional, [so] the night before I’d gone down there… and I walked the route from the platform to the exit. You don’t want to be that idiot who doesn’t know where they’re going.

“I got off the train, cameras flashing. It was insane, the media interest. People are getting pushed out of the way.”

At the press conference, Byford said that he was honoured to be the new president of NYCTA. Then he revealed the four key tasks which he and his team would undertake.

Firstly, the 1940s fixed block signalling would be replaced with CommunicationsBased Train Control.

Secondly, to reverse the decline in bus ridership, the bus network would be “reimagined”.

Thirdly, the Subway would be made fully accessible.

The final task would be to create a vision that NYCTA staff could believe in, that they would feel they have “skin in the game”.

“Success can only be delivered through excellent customer service, through cherished, respected colleagues,” he said.

Byford and his team put together a strategic plan called Fast Forward. Meanwhile, VicePresident for Subways, Sally Librera – the first woman to hold that role – would deliver a programme called Save Safe Seconds. This turned the 59% on time running into

82% “and climbing” when Byford left NYCTA in 2020.

“We did nearly 100 ‘town halls meetings’ to promote the Fast Forward plan to get the money we needed for it. And we did. The legislature approved USD40bn (EUR36bn) for Fast Forward, which is now the capital programme that’s still being executed. That’s the legacy. Fast Forward may not exist as a name but it’s been subsumed… they’re still doing all the various things that we identified needed to be done.”

So why did Byford leave his dream job on 21 February 2020? Some of it, he believes, was a result of his high profile (he was featured in The New Yorker magazine and on the CBS show 60 Minutes). “I don’t seek publicity, but the job kind of draws you into it unless you sit in the office”, he said, “[But] you can’t run a transit system sat behind the desk.”

But the final nail in the coffin was the planned work to repair 14th Street Tunnel on the L Line. This was the last tunnel to be tackled in the programme of work to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, which had struck New York some six years previously.

“[It was the] most tricky. L Line… has the daily ridership of something like 750 000. It’s immense. But that was a project I inherited. It was going to be a nightmare,” Byford recalls. “The governor had actually said to me, ‘This is not your issue, you didn’t come up with that original plan, stay out of it’.”

A mammoth bus replacement service across the Williamsburg Bridge was planned and Byford had to manage it. But then the plan changed at the last minute. The damaged walls would be encased in glass reinforced fibre and the cables could be slung from the tunnel roof. It was deemed a quicker fix and would minimise the disruption.

Politicians and public alike “went absolutely crazy” and as the public face of NYCTA, Byford had to start fielding questions. Such as: is this new process safe?

“I’m a former safety director and as a safety director, you have two key principles. You must exercise due diligence, which is to make sure that you’ve upturned every stone… that you’re taking every possible precaution,” Byford explains.

The other principle is to act upon guilty knowledge: “If you have guilty knowledge, if you know that something’s happened or that if something might not be safe, you can’t ignore it.”

Byford called for an independent safety review, to check that the new repair method was safe. This did not go down well.

“I think from that day on, my card was marked. I found myself progressively sidelined… my job was cut in half. Fast Forward was taken away overnight.

“I just felt that it wasn’t going to work, so I resigned.”

New York was not going to let him leave without saying goodbye; Byford describes his send-off as “the most humbling thing I have ever experienced”, but such was the press interest, that he and his security detail got off the train early, hid in a New York City Transit Police station “and then went for a drink”.

A return to the US

When news came that Byford would be returning to the US, this time for Amtrak, Americans were delighted to see the return of ‘Train Daddy’. The origins of the nickname are “still a mystery to me”.

“Someone, somewhere, came up with these stickers… my head superimposed on the front of a train… and the idea of calling me Train Daddy. People would stop me in the street and say, ‘Yo, Train Daddy, how you doin’?’

“[It] was very nice… but I don’t seek that. I’m a railwayman. I just wanted to do my job for New Yorkers. But somehow that resonated with them. And I did, tenaciously, stick up for New York City Transit in the face of pretty awful political attacks.”

This is an edited and abridged version of an interview Andy Byford gave to Green Signals. You can view the whole interview, where Byford also talks about TTC and TfL, at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg32DzQuJIk

aBOVe:

Th E k E y i S Su PE rT r AM

TAUT talks to Melanie Corcoran about the eight-year Supertram renewal programme which aims to drive economic growth across Sheffield and its surrounding area, with the tramway at its heart.

We’re going to refurbish the trams, we’re going to buy a new fleet, we are re-railing, we are looking at signalling, depots, workshop upgrades – everything.” Manchester opened Britain’s first secondgeneration tramway in 1992. Sheffield’s followed in 1994. Cross-Pennine rivalry is still strong in the UK and Sheffield has watched Metrolink’s network expand and receive new vehicles. Meanwhile, it’s seen patronage on its own Supertram drop from a peak of 16m in 2013-14 to 8.6m. Its fleet is failing and stretches of the 35km (22-mile) system use rail that was first laid in the 1990s.

The only area where Supertram has overtaken Metrolink was when it implemented 5.5km (3.4 miles) of tram-train operations over Network Rail metals in 2017.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) Executive Director of Transport Melanie Corcoran told delegates

at the 18th Light Rail Conference in July that this is why SYMCA is undertaking an eight-year, GPB642m (EUR761.8m) renewal programme. It should leave Supertram in similar condition to its cross-Pennine neighbour but it comes at a cost: SYMCA is heavily subsidising Supertram - GBP7m (EUR8.3m) in 2024 alone.

Why? Because Supertram is key to economic growth.

2024 has been a year of great change. Until 21 March, trams were operated by Stagecoach, which had run the system since 1997 when it was brought in to revive its fortunes.

On 22 March, trams became operated by South Yorkshire Future Trams Ltd (SYFTL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SYMCA.

SYFTL made some immediate changes. The new Travel South Yorkshire App had 17 500 downloads in its first month.

“30% of our retail now comes through the app,” Corcoran says.

That ageing track required more and more emergency repair work. One key objective was “to get to a point where we are doing major planned renewals.”

While renewals started in May, they were greatly accelerated between 20 July and 1 September: 1km (0.6 miles) of embedded track was renewed (over 6% of the total embedded track), along with 461m of segregated track (3% of the total segregated track).

“We know that when we do renewals, the patronage drops off,” Corcoran says.

“We know we will have to subsidise the network while we go through this renewals programme. We’ve committed to GBP36m (EUR42.7m) over the next six years, by which point we think it will be breaking even.

But we should see public transport as a public service.”

The fleet will also undergo changes. Starting in January 2025, the 25 DuewagSiemens trams (built in 1994) will be

ABOVE: During the final year of Stagecoach operation, the two Supertram types cross near Fitzalan Square/Ponds Forge. The emblematic Park Square Bridge created for the system is in the background All images by Neil Pulling

Sheffield Supertram

riGhT: use of Class 399 relates to the vehicle's wheel profile. Away from the designated tram-train route, 399207 descends infirmary road towards central Sheffield on 9 September 2023.

BELOW riGhT: With gradients as steep as 10%, the system demands powerful vehicles. Long inclines are widespread: this short underpass avoids a main intersection next to university of Sheffield stop.

refurbished, followed by its Stadler Class 399 tram-trains.While this is on-going, the procurement process to replace the entire fleet, including the 2014/15-built tram-trains, will start. The intention is to have this new fleet operational within eight years.

“At the moment, we’re in Year 1,” Corcoran explains. “We’ve started the work [and] we’ve got suppliers on a framework that we are already using.

“We are still specifying some of the work: what do we want at the depot, what do we want at the workshops. And eight years, if we want to refurbish the fleet and then order a new fleet, is actually quite challenging. But we’re up for the challenge.

“The reason it’s over eight years is because the funding was set out over eight years. If the funding was available quicker, we’d look at how we could accelerate [the works programme].”

BELOW: in the final Stagecoach livery but shorn of the former operator's name, tram 113 passes near the Castlegate redevelopment area on 2 August 2024.

The current network already connects key areas, such as Sheffield’s city centre and what’s been dubbed the ‘Innovation Spine’, as well as its ‘Advanced Manufacturing District’. It also connects three football grounds, sports and shopping centres, and country parks. However, Corcoran says that the system could be made to “work harder”.

A decision is expected in February 2025 as to whether Sheffield will follow Manchester’s lead in taking bus franchising back in house. This could improve situations where bus routes currently compete with Supertram; redistributing buses to more rural areas would improve connectivity while driving more people onto Supertram.

The eight-year renewal programme provides the foundation for the ultimate aim of Supertram: to drive economic growth across Sheffield and the surrounding area.

“When we took control, we asked the public what they wanted to see… [and] the number 1 thing was to extend the route. People want it in their area. ‘Come to my neighbourhood and I’ll use the tram’. So that’s the premise on which we are working.”

Sheffield City Council plans to build 20 000 new homes in five new zones. All but one of those zones is close to the current network. Parking restrictions in these zones will mean inhabitants will need access to public transport. Therefore, SYMCA is investigating the construction of what Corcoran describes as a city-centre loop, with a spur to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital (Supertram already serves Northern General Hospital). This new loop would pass through the zone currently isolated from Supertram.

“We really are joining up people with opportunities. And then the spur out to the hospital could be for workers, it could be for visitors, it could be for patients and we all know how expensive it is to park at a hospital. So lots of opportunity.”

Another opportunity involves the freightonly railway that serves the steelworks around Stocksbridge, to the north-west of the city centre. This is the eastern remnant of the formerly electrified Manchester –Sheffield 'Woodhead Route' railway which closed as a through route in 1981. It was being considered for re-opening by Network Rail’s Restoring Your Railways scheme, which was cancelled on 31 July.

“We cannot grow our economy if we do not have a reliable transport system that is moving people around effectively, efficiently and inclusively.”

Could light rail be an alternative way to re-open this line to passengers?

Tram-trains could link Stocksbridge to a rejuvenated Sheffield Victoria station (closed in 1970 and demolished in 1989) before heading south to Chesterfield, utilising the freight-only railway via Killamarsh and Barrow Hill.

“We already run tram-train,” Corcoran says. “Why would we not want to look for other opportunities… in our area?”

Work to turn these schemes into serious proposals is ongoing. But Corcoran didn’t rule out further future tram-train extensions that might have an impact on Doncaster and Barnsley, towns that are part of the SYMCA.

“We are still exploring,” she said of both the city-centre loop and the proposed tram-train expansion “[and] funding is not secured.

“[But] we cannot grow our economy if we do not have a reliable transport system that is moving people around effectively, efficiently, inclusively, and Supertram is the best mode for that.”

ABOVE: having called at the low-level area created for Supertram at rotherham Central, 399202 heads north past the main line platforms.

ABOVE: A Stadler tram-train leaves the reserved siding at rotherham Parkgate to join the main line as far as a junction with the original Supertram tracks near Meadowhall South / Tinsley stop.

ABOVE: Cathedral stop, the Sheffield terminus of the tram-train route. The destination screen on tram 106 indicates yellow route coverage.

Comprehensive

Available

systems factfile No.205

Gera, Germany

Andrew Thompson visits the former East German city where a legacy system has survived the odds and remains an asset for its residents.

Located about 60km (37 miles) south of Leipzig and 70km (43.5 miles) west of Chemnitz, Gera is one of five cities in the German Land of Thüringen to boast a tramway. This is in addition to nearby Jena, the regional capital Erfurt, as well as Gotha and Nordhausen further afield. With a population of about 95 000, Gera is a mid-tier regional centre that features one of eastern Germany’s smaller tramways. The X-shaped network is about 18.5km (11.5 miles). Served by three regular lines, the metre-gauge tramway was last expanded by 6km (3.7 miles) south to Zwötzen in 2006. Before that, the previous extensions were built in 1989 to Bieblach Ost and in 1979 to Lusan Zeulsdorf, each time linking up newly-developed residential neighbourhoods.

ABOVE: In what is easily the most famous and recognisable scene from the Gera tram network, Alstom car 202 passes the city’s premier landmark, the stately Theater from 1902.

All photos by Andrew Thompson on 25 August 2023.

Due to damage incurred during World War Two, Gera has a mixture of historic architecture and socialist structures, a legacy from its 40+ years behind the Iron Curtain in communist East Germany. Arriving in town by train, passengers are greeted by the elegant platform canopy at Gera Hauptbahnhof, an Art Nouveau landmark dating from 1911.

Incidentally, the main railway corridor from Weimar via Jena to Gera is not electrified, nor is the spur via Zeitz north to Leipzig or south to Plauen. This makes it apparent that Gera is in a bit of a proverbial backwater, and the municipal authorities actually had to lobby Deutsche Bahn (DB) hard to get two direct Intercity train connections a day. These long-distance services run to and

from Köln and Dortmund respectively. Gera Hauptbahnhof is well integrated for local public transport though, and serves as a tram and bus interchange. Located on the branch of line 1 north to Untermhaus, Gera Hbf is also adjacent to one of the city’s premier attractions, the elegant theatre Grosses Haus, a turn-ofthe-century icon dating from 1902. Generally, the northern branch of line 1 is one of the most scenic sections of the Gera light rail system, as it passes through a well-preserved historic district that is centred around the vibrant square FriedrichNaumann-Platz, and also passes the beautiful Orangerie palace which dates from the early 18th Century. The other attractive stretch of tram track in the Altstadt (Old Town) is from the main junction Heinrichstrasse via Leipziger Strasse

Gera

GERMANY

as far as Herderstrasse. This is along the northern branch of line 3 to the housing estate at Bieblach Ost. At the other end of the system to the south of the city, the tram branch to Lusan is the only section of the network served by two lines, with both lines 2 and 3 running from the junction at Fussgängerbrücke to the southwestern terminus at Lusan Zeulsdorf. Incidentally, line 2 is also the only route not to pass through the centre or serve the main interchange at Heinrichstrasse, as it simply acts as a

shuttle service between Lusan and the secondary Gera-Zwötzen rail station, where onward regional connections are available.

Gera’s tramway traces its origins to February 1892. Quite remarkably, it was electrified from the outset, thus making it the second-oldest electric tramway in Germany, only surpassed by Werner von Siemens’ pioneering test case in the Berlin suburb of GrossLichterfelde, which opened in May 1881. Initially operated by a private company, the Gera tramway moved to

public ownership in December 1905. When operations started in 1892 the tramway featured two lines, but only a year later a third line was added. As a novelty, the tram system was also used for local freight transport from 1892 to 1963, and then again briefly between 1982-85.

Plans were developed in the 1920s to build a new branch to the eastern district of Leumnitz, but due to the hilly topography with 6% gradients, these were eventually abandoned in favour of a trolleybus solution.

Duale Hochschule

Tinz

Heidecksburgstr.

Hilde-Koppe-Str.

Ernst-Abbe-Str.

Bieblach Ost

Grüner Weg

Straße des Bergmanns

Ernststr.

FriedrichNaumann-Platz

Otto Dix Hbf / Theater

Puschkinplatz

Heinrichstr.

Südbahnhof

An der Spielwiese

Oststr.

Südfriedhof

Schenkendorfstr.

Keplerstr.

Fußgängerbrücke

Lusan / Laune

Lusan / Zeulsdorf

Herderstr.

Friedrich-Engels-Str.

Leipziger Str.

Sorge/Markt

Schmelzhüttenstr.

Erfurtstr.

network facts

Opened: 1892

length: 18.5km (11.5 miles)

Depots: 1

Bf. Zwötzen

Wintergarten

Pforten

Lasurstr.

Zwötzen

Betriebshof GVB

Gleisdreieck Lusan

Zeulenrodaer Str.

Brüte

Bruno-Brause-Str.

In November 1939 electric trolleybuses were launched on a 4.7km (2.9-mile) route between the city centre and Dornaer Strasse in Leumnitz, making this the 8th German trolleybus system at that time. At first two trolleys supplied by bus builder Büssing were used. More German and Czechbuilt vehicles would be gradually supplied after World War Two in 1946, 1954, 1956 and 1960. Despite being extended by 3.1km (1.9 miles) to reach a local hospital in 1964, the Gera trolleybus network was abandoned and converted to diesel operation in September 1977, after less than 40 years in use.

approx weekday hours: Rather unusually for a smaller German city, operating hours of the tramway are quite extensive! During the school year, tram line 3 runs all day, including during the night; tram line 2 runs from 05.00-20.00; and tram line 1 from 04.00 – 01.00.

l ine frequency: Intervals vary by line and time, on week days between every 7-8 mins, every 15 mins or every 30 mins

Gauge: 1000mm

Power: 600V dc, overhead supply c ivic and tourist information: https://www.gera.de

The main reason for this decision was the cost of maintaining or replacing the lifeexpired trolleybus fleet, as well as extensive urban rebuilding in the city centre, which directly affected the electrified trolley route and would have required the relocation of overhead wires.

The tramway fared marginally better, as during the 1960s and early 1970s it was the policy of the cashstrapped East German government to gradually reduce or outright close tram systems in cities with under 200 000 residents. By 1971 the Gera network had therefore been reduced to just one line. However, the global oil and energy crisis in 1973 forced a rethink of these plans and finally created a turnaround for the benefit of public transport.

Generally, smaller and mid-sized tram networks in East Germany survived or withstood the global closure waves of the mid-20th Century much better than comparable systems in West German cities. In the end, the East German government only axed the small tramways in Stralsund in 1966 and in Eisenach as late as 1975.

In Gera, the political decision to build new housing estates on the northern and southern peripheries of the city gave the tramway a new

THE FLEET

Gera’s tram network is designed for single-ended vehicles and all termini are fitted with turning loops. At present the fleet includes of 21 articulated high-floor Tatra KT4D. These are 19m long and date from 1978-90. They are numbered 303-316, 355-360, 362-363. The six retrofitted KTNF8 with low-floor centre modules have the numbers 348-353. The 12 Alstom NGT8G are classified as 201-212. The future Stadler TINA will carry the numbers 601-606, and with 101 seats and 169 standing spaces, be the largest LRVs ever to operate in Gera.

LEFT: Sporting an advertising livery, an Alstom NGT8G 211 runs through historic city-centre surroundings near Leipziger Strasse, on a northbound line 3 service to Bieblach Ost.

“By 1971 the Gera network had been reduced to just one line. eventually the global oil and energy crisis in 1973 forced a rethink of these plans.”

LEFT: To provide sufficient capacity on the popular and high demand line 3, the longer Tatra KTNF8 with low-floor centre modules are typically coupled with a high-floor Tatra KT4D Such a ‘tandem’ leaves the main interchange Heinrichstrasse with a southbound service to Lusan.

“the political decision to build new housing estates gave the tramway a new lease of life and updated perspective for growth.”

LEFT: The local city museum frames the scene as another Tatra doubleheader approaches Heinrichstrasse from the north, while running southbound on line 3 to Lusan.

BELOW LEFT: Sporting a green advertising livery highlighting the use of renewable energy to power the Gera tramway, Alstom car 209 arrives at FriedrichNaumann-Platz on the northern branch of line 1, near Orangerie.

A

a line 3 service.

BELOW: Aside from DB, Gera Hbf is also served by the train operating company Erfurter Bahn, which runs a regional service in this part of Thüringen. Here a Stadler RegioShuttle DMU is framed by the elegant platform canopy from 1911, the station’s signature architectural feature.

LEFT:

Tatra ‘tandem’ led by car 363 approaches the Heinrichstrasse junction while running northbound with

RIGHT: Alstom car 212 at Zwötzen, the southern terminus of line 1. This is on the network’s most recent extension, dating from 2006.

lease of life and updated perspective for growth, starting in the late 1970s. This was compounded with fleet modernisation in the 1980s and the phased introduction of the articulated, Czech-built Tatra KT4D between 1979-90. At the same time, the last single-track section of the network was eliminated in 1984 at Sorge, with city centre enhancements creating a pedestrian zone and an adjusted double-track alignment.

After German reunification in 1989-90, additional resources became available for public services and transport infrastructure, making it possible to withdraw the last four-wheeled Gotha cars in 1990, implement phased track repair or replacement, and introduce the first low-floor vehicles. From 1999 to 2003 a total of six Tatras were converted to type KTNF8 with the addition of 7m low-floor centre modules, and from 2006-08 a new series of 12 Alstom NGT8G was procured. These 27.5m vehicles have

since then formed the backbone of the accessible low-floor fleet.

Dynamic rolling stock modernisation is set to continue during the next three years, as in December 2023 the municipal operator GVB ordered six new TINA type LRVs from Stadler with options for three more. The first of these 44m single-ended, fivesection trams is scheduled for delivery in 2026. The new TINA will make it possible to withdraw some of the older high-floor Tatras from the 1980s.

On the infrastructure front, the size and scale of Gera’s network are unlikely to change during the coming years, as the system is generally fit for purpose. Although various extension schemes have been examined during the past 15 years, such as linking the Untermhaus terminus of line 1 with the campus stop Duale Hochschule on the northern branch of line 3, or closing the gap between Zwötzen and Bahnhof Zwötzen in the

LEFT: Tatra 353 passes through the Altstadt (Old Town) with a line 3 service with the tower of St. Salvator Church in the background.

south, these have not yet gained serious traction and are considered aspirational for the future. In essence these two projects would transform the layout of the currently X-shaped network into a figure-of-eight.

Plans for a 3km (1.9-mile) new-build route north to Langenberg and the corresponding introduction of a line 4 were initially delayed, and then indefinitely postponed, when the municipal utilities provider Stadtwerke Gera, as the parent company of GVB, went into insolvency and had to be placed under administration in summer 2014. Following organisational restructuring, all extension plans were placed on the back burner. For the schemes to move to the foreground again Gera would need to see population growth. While the number of city residents has been largely stable during the past 15 years, the current value of roughly 95 000 is much lower than the 129 000 from 1990 at the time of German reunification. Generally, many small- to medium-sized eastern cities experienced significant population decline in the 1990s, as young people in particular took advantage of new opportunities and moved to larger cities in the west or to Berlin.

BELOW LEFT:

Tatra T3 103 is used by GVB as an infrastructure maintenance vehicle for track grinding. It is seen at Untermhaus, the northern terminus of line 1.

In today’s Gera, the clean and efficient tram service remains a popular and comfortable way for locals to get around and to reach the centre or other points of interest. On average, annual ridership is just under 16 million passengers, with trams running for a grand total of 1.37 million kilometres per year. During regular weekday hours, the busies route, line 3, runs every 7-8 minutes, while the interval of line 1 is every 15 minutes and for line 2 every 30 minutes. Off peak and during early or late hours the headway can reduce to 30 minutes.

All in all, Gera is a typical example of a mid-sized city in Eastern Germany, where a legacy system has managed to survive both growth and contraction and remains a tremendous present-day asset for quality of life and ease of mobility.

ESSENTIAL FAc TS

local travel: Travellers without a Deutschlandticket or Thüringen Länderticket can purchase a local GVB day-ticket for all trams and buses for EUR6.90.

What is there to see? By train, Gera is reached in just 1hr 3 mins from either Erfurt or Leipzig. The city is not as vibrant as the nearby university city of Jena, but still makes a pleasant day trip for tramway enthusiasts. The attractive sites along the northern end of tram line 1 at Theater, Orangerie and Naumann-Platz in particular are well worth a visit and ideal for photography. The old town and city centre around the main interchange Heinrichstrasse have pleasant corners and noteworthy historical buildings. Riding all three tram lines can be comfortably achieved within a morning or afternoon.

lHi METrO: a nuMbErS GaME

Richard Foster explores this world-class network that covers almost 400km across 12 lines, in the world’s second-most densely populated city.

SYSTEM S faCT fil E : dÜSSE ld Orf

Neil Pulling visits Düsseldorf in Germany where two generations of central tunnels have reshaped light rail services run by the long-established Rheinbahn.

+ Germany's Woltersdorf on the threshold of a new era

+ Classic Trams: Ostrava celebrates 130 years

SE l

The Swiss border city of Basel boasts the world's only tri-national tramway. The system is set to further grow by 2030, and is implementing rolling stock renewal.

+ The latest news and analysis, system and technical development

Worldwide Review

AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY. John Laing Group has bought Aware Super’s 62.5% share in ALTRAC, which maintains and operates the Sydney light rail network. This increases John Laing Group’s interest from 32.5% to 95%.

AUSTRIA

LINZ. The EUR665m budget for the proposed Regionalstadtbahn Linz has been agreed, with the Austrian state meeting 50% of the cost, the Bundesländer 42.5%, and Linz city 7.5%. A new rail bridge across the Donau river to link Linz Hbf and Mühlkreisbahnhof accounts for most of the cost. BS SALZBURG. Bus substitution on the Lokalbahn ended on 9 September with the opening of refurbished infrastructure between Bergheim and Weitwörth-Nussdorf. BS WIEN (Vienna). Alstom Flexity 388 was delivered on 19 September. The new trams have been introduced to line 62.

The use of E2+c5 high-floor trams on lines 2 and 38 ended on 2 September. They remain on lines 1, D, 25 and 26 (peak times only), 6, 11, 30 and 71. DS WIEN–BADEN (WLB). The Lokalbahn is to resume operation through to Ring/Oper in November. BS

BELGIUM

BRUXELLES (Brussels).

Alstom delivered new trams 3204/18/19 over the summer before its Wien (Vienna) factory closed for summer shutdown.

The city’s oldest operational tram, PCC 7703, celebrated its 53rd anniversary on 14 September.

PCC works tram 7019 has been scrapped.

Buses replaced trams on line 44 to allow track replacement. T-2000

CANADA

TORONTO. Major construction on the 18-stop Finch West light rail line was completed by 1 September, but an opening date is still to be announced. The budget for building the 11km (seven-mile) line, buying 18 LRVs and providing 30 years of maintenance, is CAD3.4bn (EUR2.3bn).

The federal government has indicated it is willing to consider CAD758m (EUR504m) in funding for 55 new metro trains. CBC

CHINA

SUZHOU. New 35.6km (22-mile) orbital metro Line 8 (Xijinqiao–

Chefang) was inaugurated on 10 September. It has 28 stations. urbanrail.net

WUHAN. The 15.1km (9.3-mile) Qianchuan line extension of metro line 7 passed its preoperation safety assessment on 23 September and is ready to open. skyscrapercity

CROATIA

ZAGREB. A contract for a second batch of 20 Koncar TMK2400 trams was signed on 3 September, bringing the total on order to 40. A further tender for 40 trams is planned for 2025. transphoto.org

CZECH REPUBLIC

OLOMOUC. Restored twoaxle tram 16, built in 1914, was used to carry passengers for the first time on 3-4 September with round trips from the railway station. BS OSTRAVA. The delivery of 38 Škoda 39T trams was completed on 30 August with the arrival of 1786-88.

The 130th anniversary of public transport in the city was celebrated on 7 September with a tram parade. This included newlyrestored Tatra K2 802 of 1967. cs-dopravak PLZE Ň (Pilsen). Modernised Tatra T3R.PV trams 198, 243-44/52-53/80-81 have been despatched to Kharkiv in Ukraine. BS

PRAHA (Prague). Tatra T3 tram 5572 now sports a flat area for advertising displays. It carried a Red Bull RB-19 Formula 1 car through the city in August. T3R.PLF 8759, fitted with a new KOS Krnov-built low floor centre door, entered service in October. Car 8755, rebuilt from T3R.P 8422, will follow. dopravacek.eu

EGYPT

AL-Q Ā HIRAH (Cairo). A consortium of Orascom, Colas and Hitachi has been awarded a EUR800m contract to upgrade the 44km (27.3-mile) long metro line 1. Finance is coming from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, the European Investment Bank and L’Agence française de développement. The work will take over five years to complete, with services being maintained throughout.

Line 1 was built in 1987-90. IRJ

FRANCE

AUBAGNE. Four more Alstom Citadis Compact trams have been ordered to boost the current fleet of eight. RGI CAEN. RATP Dev will take over operation of the Twisto network from Keolis on 1 January 2025. The six-year contract includes responsibility for the extension of line T3 and the all-new line T4.

RGI

LYON. Studies have started for a 17km (11-mile) tram line between Lyon with Crémieu via Meyzieu. It will require 100km/h (62mph)-capable trams. transporturbain.com GRENOBLE. Tram line D was extended to Gares from 2 September, thanks to a new triangular junction at Taillées. The service is provided by modernised TFS2 trams operating every 15 minutes. Y. Allain STRASBOURG. A ceremony on 26 August marked the laying of the first rails on the 4km (2.5-mile), EUR122m Tram Ouest extension. This will take line F from Comtes to Wolfisheim. It’s expected to open in December 2025.

Delivery of 12 Alstom Citadis 45m trams should start in spring 2025. There is an option for ten more. It will allow the withdrawal of the ABB EUROTRAM fleet, dating from 1998-2000.

CTS and La Poste initiated a trial parcels service on line B between Hoenheim Gare and Broglie from 16 September. It is to run until 26 October. RGI

GERMANY

BERLIN. A new timetable was introduced on the U-Bahn from 9 September to meet shortages of both staff and operable trains. New Stadler JK23 sets should enter service before the end of the year. BS

A temporary art installation permitted this view of Hauptplatz in Linz, Austria, this summer, with a Pöstlingberg tram at its terminus (left) and a Bombardier Cityrunner on the city tram line. S. Turnbull

Worldwide Review

DARMSTADT. Up to 12 Stadler TINAs were in daily service by early September.

The front section of ST-13 9858 has been replaced with that from classmate 9857. The surplus parts from both trams have been scrapped. BS DORTMUND. The company operating the H-Bahn peoplemover at the university was placed into administration on 10 September. Operation is now in the hands of the public transport operator DSW21. DS DÜSSELDORF. Alstom HF6 Stadtbahn cars, which arrived over the summer, are now operating on Line U79 for the first time.

Ten GT8SUs – 3202/14/1617/20-21/27/29-30/35 – remained in service in late September, mostly on Line U77. Withdrawal is imminent. BS FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN. The planned 2024 opening of the line U5 extension to Europaviertal has been postponed to 2027.

The next large infrastructure project is to be a 2.2km (1.4-mile) extension of line U4 from Bockenheimer Warte to Ginnheim via the university. The cost will exceed EUR400m. EM, Hessenschau HAMBURG. The opening of the U4-Ost extension to Horner Geest has been delayed due to water ingress in the new tunnels. It may not open until Autumn 2027. BS HANNOVER. The completion of 6229 at the end of August marked the end of the programme to make 40 eight-axle trams fit for a further ten years of service. BS JENA. Stadler delivered the first 32m Tramlink over the summer. Tram 851 arrived shortly after 813, the first 42m version. BS KARLSRUHE. GT8-100C 810 has been modified to carry parcels. Track scrubber 489 (ex-89) has been scrapped. BS

LEIPZIG. The first trials through the rebuilt Zeppelinbrücke underpass took place on 30 August. This allowed lines 3, 7, 8 and 15 to return to normal from 2 September. BS

LUDWIGSHAFEN (RNV). The coupled set of six-axle RHB cars ran for the last time on 1 September. Cars 1015+1055 have been withdrawn for scrap. BS MAGDEBURG. New Alstom Flexity 1401 was presented to the public during the 125th anniversary of electric trams on 21 September.

MANNHEIM (RNV). The first of 12 Škoda 38T trams was unveiled on 12 September. These 58.7m cars are numbered 1501/021523/4 and can carry up to 368 passengers. The new 38T was posed alongside 12-axle tram 1020 of 1967. The design had previously held the record for the world’s longest tram. UTM NORDHAUSEN. The undertaking is planning to replace its diesel engine-fitted Combino Duo trams by 2030. BS ROSTOCK. A display at depot 12 and a tram parade were to mark 120 years of electric tramways on 29 September. BS RUHRBAHN. Siemens Mobility has been awarded a EUR180m contract to digitise control and safety systems on the 28km (17-mile) light rail network that serves Essen and Mülheim/Ruhr. The existing system, which dates from the 1970s and includes Europe’s largest local transport signalbox, will be replaced by 2031. IRJ SCHÖNEICHE. The municipality’s four local authorities have agreed a 15-year extension to the tramway operating contract, but there is no money for new trams. The search is on for good second-hand examples. Düwag MGT6D 264 has been loaned by

Heidelberg for demonstration purposes. BS

STUTTGART. Light rail U5’s 800m extension from Bahnhof to Neuer Markt in Leinfelden was to open on 17 October.

The Wasenstrasse to Hedelfingen section was closed from 9 September to enable the track to be grassed. Lines U9 and U13 were cut back. The track is to re-open on 3 November. DS, BS WÜRZBURG. Tramway operation returned to normal from 10 September as more than half of its GTN trams returned to service. Up to four Düwag trams were still in use on Line 4. BS

GREECE

THESSALONIKI. Contracting consortium THEMA announced on 5 September that services on the automated metro operation linking New Railway Station and Neo Elvetia via the university would start on 30 November.

Work on the 9.4km (5.8-mile), 13-station line started as long ago as 2006, but was delayed by a change of consortia and archaeological finds along the route. Hitachi has supplied 18 four-car trains. skyscrapercity

HUNGARY

BUDAPEST. Tenders have been invited for a 2.2km (1.4-mile) tram line connecting lines 47 and 49 at Deák tér and lines 12/14 at Lehel tér. The project would include substantial reconstruction at Nyugati tér. A tramway along this section was closed in 1980. BBC, TR

INDIA

AHMEDABAD. Metro line 2 was extended by 15.4km (9.6 miles) – plus a 5.4km (3.4-mile) branch – from Motera to Gandhinagar Sector 1/GIFT City on 17 September. urbanrail.net

INDONESIA

BALI. A ground-breaking ceremony for the planned metro took place on 4 September. The first phase will be a 16km (9.9-mile) line, of which 6.7km (four miles) will be underground, from Gusti Ngurah Rail Airport to Cemagi. It is to go via the planned Central Parking interchange. Completion is set for 2028. IRJ JAKARTA. President Joko Widodo attended a ceremony on 11 September that marked the start of construction of east–west metro line 2. Also in attendance was Japanese Ambassador Yasushi Masaki; Japanese companies have loaned the venture JPY140.7bn (EUR880m). RGI

ITALY

MILANO (Milan). Line 7’s 1.5km (0.9-mile) extension to Quartier Adriano has been completed for some time, but an opening date is still not known. New Stadler Tramlinks had yet to enter passenger service by the end of August.

Metro line M4’s western extension (Blue Line) from San Cristoforo to San Babila was to open on 12 October. BS, urbanfile.org TORINO (Turin). Hitachi 8000-series trams entered service on line 10 from 3 September.

D. Quaglia

JAPAN

HAKODATE. 1961 bogie tram 721 has been modernised and renumbered 7002. Three more of this type are to be modernised. BS

LATVIA

RIGA. Škoda 15T trams can now run on line 7 after the overhead supply was modified to permit pantograph operation. This is the third route to be modified. You Tube

The inauguration of Brussels line 10 by HM King Phillippe took place on 21 September. STIB

The sad scene after the partial collapse of the Carolabrücke in Dresden, Germany. Radio Dresden

MOROCCO

CASABLANCA. Two new tram lines opened on 24 September. The 14.1km (8.8-mile) T3 and the 12.5km (7.8-mile) T4 are worked by 66 Alstom Citadis XO5 coupled sets. RATP Dev provides a ten-minute service between 05.30 and 22.30. RATP-Dev

NETHERLANDS

AMSTERDAM. Trams on lines 2 and 12 resumed using Leidsestraat in August after the completion of track renewal. The rebuilt stop Prinsengracht was opened on 31 August.

Lines 5, 13 and 19 were diverted from 8 September to allow for complete reconstruction of Marnixstraat. The work is due to finish on 15 February 2025.

Coupled tram sets were used on line 25 from 1 September. OR

PARAGUAY

ASUNCIÓN – YPACARAÍ. The 30-year concession for the planned USD597m (EUR535m), 43km (26.7-mile) light rail line has been cancelled after the Korean consortium, selected in 2021, collapsed. State railway FEPASA may take the project forward. IRJ

POLAND

KATOWICE. The completion of infrastructure work in Chorzów and Sosnowiec permitted lines 6 and 26 to return to their normal routes from 7 September. Temporary lines 10 and 40 have been cancelled. New line 11 (Katowice Sobieskiego – Chorzów Rynek – Chebzie P ę tla) has been introduced. TP KRAKÓW. Mayor Aleksander Miszalski announced on 16 September that a ‘Scientific and Technical Council’ would oversee the planning and design of the proposed metro. Construction of the first 6km (3.7 miles) should start in 2028, finishing in 2032. TP

TORU Ń The route of the 1.75km (one-mile) tramway extension to Motoarena was unveiled on 10 September. The project includes a PLN130m (EUR30.4m) depot beyond the new terminus to replace the 1891-built facility in the central area.

A PLN57.9m (EUR13.5) contract for four PESA Swing trams was signed on 28 August. TP WARSZAWA (Warsaw). A contract with Voessing Polska was signed on 19 September to design a new 6.5km (4.1-mile) tram line to Targówek, in the eastern part of the district of Białołęka. It could open in early 2028. TP

ROMANIA

BUCURE Ș TI (Bucharest). The start of construction on new metro line M6 on 24 August led to the withdrawal of tram lines 3, 24 and 45. New tram line 42 covers Vasile Pârvan – Piata Presei, while line 53 runs from Mezes to Cartier Damaroaia. DS

RUSSIA

SAMARA. A new leasing contract with PKTS means that delivery of 71 71-911EM Lyonok trams will start in February 2025. The last should arrive in April 2026. skyscrapercity

SANKT PETERBURG (Saint Petersburg). The Oktyabrsky Electric Railway car repair factory is assembling 76 three-section double-ended 71-431R Dostoevsky low-floor articulated trams with retro styling. They are to be leased to the city tramway.

The first of 22 71-932 Nevskiy trams for the Slavyanka tramway was unveiled at the PKTS factory on 1 September. The tramway is due to open between Metro Kupchino and Shushary in late 2025. The RUR12bn (EUR116m) cost is being financed by Gazprombank and Baltnedvizhservice LLC. transphoto.org

SLOVAKIA

KOŠICE. Pragoimex won the contract to modernise up to nine KT8D5 trams with a price of EUR1.6m per car. cs-dopravak

SPAIN

MADRID. Courier company

GLS Spain has joined forces with Madrid Metro to develop a pilot parcels service on line 12 using dedicated trains at off-peak hours. It can carry 700 packages a day. A second trial on line 3 is planned for later in the year.

Communidad de Madrid

SWITZERLAND

BASEL. The use of trailers coupled between motor cars on line 6 ended from 30 August. Previously susceptible to derailments, sets are now arranged ‘motor + motor + trailer’. BS

BASEL (BLT). The first four Stadler TINA trams entered service on line 17 from 3 September, eight months after the first were delivered.

THAILAND

PATTAYA CITY. Plans for an 11km (seven-mile) monorail were approved by the city council in September; it is hoped to start construction in 2027. IRJ TURKEY

SAMSUN. A 10.2km (6.3-mile) tramway extension from Kiliçdede to the main Sehir Hastanesi hospital has been included in the state investment programme for 2025.

UKRAINE

RGI

KYIV. Passenger services on the Lybidska – Teremky section of metro line M2 restarted on 12 September following completion of a nine-month waterproofing project. RGI LVIV. The 12 ex-Berlin Tatra KT4D trams now carry the numbers 1228-39. BS MARIUPOL. The three new Sputnik trams have been numbered 001-003. They had not yet entered service by the end of August. BS

UK

BS

The Aesch Dorf – Surbaum section was closed for rail replacement from 23 September. Muttenz Dorf – Pratteln Lachmatt will close during 2025 for the same reason.

BERN – WORB (RBS). Car 83 has become the first Be4/10 to be withdrawn. The remaining eight will be removed from service from the December timetable. BS

ST GALLEN (AB). Services on Line 24 between Altstätten and Gais resumed on 13 September. Buses had been running since August after a track fault started to damage tram wheelsets. EA ZÜRICH. Tram 4067 became the latest Alstom Flexity to be delivered on 5 September.

The last of the first batch of Tram-2000 cars to be withdrawn was 2028. Car 2005 is retained for driver training and is set to be preserved. BS

CARDIFF. Public consultation on the plans for the Cardiff Crossrail tramway has started. The sixweek consultation is to close on 27 October. You can voice your opinion at http://haveyoursay.tfw. wales/cardiff-crossrail

DUDLEY. The Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre has introduced monthly tours around its facilities at the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation. The tours take place on the first Wednesday of the month, between 10.00-12.00. To book, go to www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/facilitytours-behind-the-scenes-at-bcimotickets-967658301027

GLASGOW. The opening of the Govan – Partick footbridge across the River Clyde on 6 September now makes Glasgow’s Riverside

Appearing at the 130th anniversary celebrations in the Czech city of Ostrava was restored Tatra K2 tram 802, followed in the parade by the latest low-floor tram, 1758. P. Bolko

A rebuilt Alstom TFS tram in Grenoble passes the new junction facilitating the extension of line D. Y. Allain

The Russian city of Sankt Peterburg will soon have a third tramway operator on the new privately-built Slavyanka line. The trams are 71-932 Nevskiy cars from PKTS, whose city factory is in the background. transportSPb.com

Museum – home to several former Subway cars – a five-minute walk away from Govan Subway station LONDON. Speed limits on the Docklands Light Railway trains have been reduced by 5km/h (3mph) after a review of the signalling system. This will increase the safety margin between the speed of the trains and the maximum recommended speed.

MANCHESTER. Bombardier M5000 3049 derailed close to Cornbrook stop on 13 September. The incident occurred before 09.00 but it took most of the day to re-open the line. No trams ran between Deansgate Castlefield stop and Old Trafford, Firswood, MediaCity and Wharfside.

NOTTINGHAM. NET’s Alstom Citadis 223 was involved in an accident with a lorry on 19 September, leaving it de-railed. No trams ran between The Forest and Wilkinson Street, with services from Hucknall and Phoenix Park turning at Wilkinson Street and those from Toton Lane and Clifton terminating at The Forest.

Nottingham City Council has decided not to expand the parkand-ride car parks at Hucknall and Phoenix Park tram terminals. A report has shown that there is less demand now that more people work from home. Other transport projects will benefit from the GBP161m (EUR193) allocated to the project.

TIPTON. Midland Metro Alliance decided to honour the past when it replaced the steel bridge across Birmingham New Road in Tipton, by painting the new girders green with Hanson’s Ales branding. That decision won it a Heritage Prize from the Institution of Civil Engineers West Midlands.

TYNE & WEAR. Stadler has delivered two more Class 555s –numbers 555006/7. The first are still expected to enter service later this year with a full rollout in 2026.

Tyne & Wear Metro, the Shields Ferry and local buses carried a record-breaking 146 000 passengers on 8 September, the day of the annual Great North Run. YORKSHIRE. A team of 24 employees from CAF Rail UK completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on 13 September in under 12 hours. All monies raised were donated to The Poppy Factory in Richmond.

USA

BOSTON, MA. MBTA suspended services on the Red Line’s Braintree branch from 6 to 29 September in order to repair infrastructure and eliminate temporary speed restrictions. Bus shuttles were organised and free rides offered on commuter rail between South Station and Braintree. J. May DENVER, CO. L line light rail service returned between 20th/ Welton and 30th Downing from 29 September after safety improvements. Mass Transit KANSAS CITY, MO. Streetcar services were to be suspended for three weeks from 30 September to permit connection of the new tracks on Main Street. Mass Transit LAS VEGAS, NV. Alstom has been awarded a USD84m (EUR75m) contract to upgrade the automated people-mover at Harry Reid International Airport by 2027. It will require ten new Innovia APM R cars. RGI MIAMI, FL. The Miami-Dade county budget for 2025 takes USD16m (EUR14m) away from rail projects. That includes not paying into the taxing district for Metrorail and Metromover. Mass Transit MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL, MN . Ramsey County has cited public feedback in its decision to abandon a tentative plan for a USD2.1bn (EUR1.9bn) streetcar line between Union Depot in St Paul to Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. Star Tribune

NEW YORK, NY. Line G subway services resumed on 4 September after nearly ten weeks of shutdowns to permit major repairs and sign upgrades. Some evening and overnight closures continued through September. Mass Transit PHOENIZ, AZ. A construction contract for the 1.3km (0.8mile) Capitol light rail extension along 15th Avenue has been awarded to Southwest Transit Partners, a Sundt/Stacy & Witbeck joint venture. D. Drum PITTSBURGH, PA. Red Line service resumed from 1 September after suspension on 16 June for infrastructure upgrades. J. May SAN FRANCISCO, CA. Normal service on Muni’s L Taraval tram line resumed from 28 September after several years of bus substitution to permit infrastructure work. Mass Transit SAN FRANCISCO, CA (US)(BART) . A USD1.5bn (EUR1.3bn) refit of the 5.8km (3.6-mile) Transbay Tube has been completed. Mass Transit SEATTLE, WA. Service on the South Lake Union Streetcar resumed on 4 September after sub-station repairs were completed. Mass Transit WASHINGTON, DC. Red Line metro stations at Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen and Silver Spring were re-opened from 1 September after rehabilitation work.

MUSEUM NEWS

J. May

BEAMISH (UK). Sunderland 16 and Newcastle 114 were withdrawn over the summer for attention to their paintwork. Car 16 should have returned to service in October, but 114 has required additional attention to a faulty controller. The museum will concentrate on the overhaul of Gateshead 10 over the winter.

CRICH (UK). The museum has received a GBP83 000 (EUR99 400) grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help its supporting charity, the Tramway Museum Society, build its “business resilience”. The grant will enable the society to focus on audience data analysis, business planning, and volunteer support.

London County Council tram 1 – known as ‘Bluebird’ – entered service on 4 September after a GBP500 000 overhaul.

DÜSSELDORF (DE). Mettmann two-axle tram 9 moved to Rheinbahn’s Steinberg museum depot on 20 August. Built in 1909, the tram was unveiled to the public at its new home during an ‘Open Museum’ day on 8 September. BS GERA (DE) . København (Copenhagen) six-axle Düwag tram 815 has returned to the

Danish Tramway Museum at Skjoldenaesholm. It moved to Gera for a full overhaul, during which the rear body section was replaced with that from Ludwigshafen 128. BS GOTHA (DE). Two-axle Gotha ET55 tram 39 has been restored and was displayed for the first time at the 8 September open day. It had been withdrawn in 1991 and turned into a works car.

DS

SAPPORO (JP). The public transport museum near Jieitaimae metro station has reopened. It contains five metro cars, ten trams and four buses. Entry is free. It is open between mid-April and the end of October.

BS

SEATON (UK). A 381mmgauge tram car, built by founder Claude Lane in 1948-49, has been bequeathed to the tramway. Car 23 went on display at Seaton station from 14 September. It’s based on an ex-Darwen tram that was used on the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay tramway. Lane led the project to create a 838mm-gauge tramway on part of the Seaton branch.

ST KILDA (AU). The newest addition to the Australian Electric Transport Museum at St Kilda’s running fleet are Type A cars 14 and 15. The units were created in 1940 by coupling 1909-built Type As together. They became known as ‘Bib and Bubs’ after children’s characters. It took 20 years to restore them. They have been in regular service between April and September. Dr J. Radcliffe WASHINGTON, PA (US). The Electric City Trolley Museum at Scranton has donated 1906 Brillbuilt Philadelphia Rapid Transit 2282 to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. The tram last carried passengers in 1938. J. May

CONTRIBUTORS

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

Acknowledgements are due to BBC, Blickpunkt Straßenbahn (BS), CBC, Communidad de Madrid, cs-dopravak, dopravacek. eu, Drehscheibe (DS), Eisenbahn Amateur (EA), EM, Hessenschau, International Railway Journal (IRJ), Mass Transit, Railway Gazette International (RGI), skyscrapercity, Star Tribune, Today’s Railway (TR), Tram-2000 (T-2000), transphoto. org, Transport Publiczny (TP), transporturbain.com, urbanfile. org, urbanrail.net, Urban Transport Magazine (UTM) and YouTube.

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Reasons to doubt the UK will ever get more trams

In answer to the question ‘Where next for UK light rail?’ posed on the cover of the August issue of TAUT – sadly my reply would be: ‘Nowhere’.

One wonders why it is so expensive to construct tramways in the UK in contrast to France and Germany? Cost over-runs are the curse of infrastructure projects.

As for politicians – those who hold the purse strings – do not expect anything more positive from the new government or from Louise Haigh, the Transport Minister. It is all quite predictable, no matter which party is in power.

Remember Alastair Darling (Labour)

A judgement on fossil fuel output

Earlier this month, a year-long legal attempt to challenge a new oil project in Horse Hill, Surrey, resulted in victory – with implications for all new fossil fuel projects in the UK.

On 20 June, the Supreme Court, the highest court for civil cases in the UK, issued a majority judgement ruling that Surrey County Council acted unlawfully by granting planning permission for the project, because councillors did not consider the climate impact from burning the fuel.

In 2017, the council granted permission for a second borehole, a sidetrack well and for testing to commence. In 2019, the council granted permission for the project to start drilling for oil. The project was to include six oil wells, which would produce 3m tonnes of oil over a 20-year period.

In 2020, the Weald Action Group, a network of organisations opposing oil and gas in southern England, decided to challenge the council’s decision to grant planning permission in the High Court, with charity Friends of the Earth acting as the legal intervener.

They argued that the decision to permit the oil development was unlawful because the council did not take into account the climate impact of burning the fossil fuels produced by the project.

Under an EU directive that has been incorporated into UK law, any development that is likely to have a significant effect on the environment must carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) which must be considered by the decision makers responsible for allowing the project.

The legal challenge argued that the EIA for the Horse Hill drilling project only considered the climate impact from the process of dredging up the oil from the ground, rather than from burning the oil.

As with any fossil fuel project, the emissions from burning the fuel are far

pulling the plug on several promising schemes? Then there was Boris Johnson (Tory), who junked plans for the West London and Cross London Tram.

I fear what we shall see is the | promotion of the ‘Superloop’ electric bus, as backed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, as the solution for the next generation of urban public transport. So, places like Leeds and Liverpool may well have to put up with the ‘more affordable alternative’ to light rail.

Politicians, please prove me wrong! I shan’t hold my breath.

Robert J Harley,

by e-mail

larger than those from simply setting up operations. In the Finch case, the developer assessed that the operational emissions were around 114,000 tonnes of [carbon dioxide] equivalent (CO2 e). But then during the hearing, it was recorded that the end use emissions from burning the oil were over 10m tonnes. The decision maker had no information on this when they granted permission for the oil drilling in Surrey.

In December 2020, the High Court ruled that the council had acted lawfully.

The decision was appealed, and in November 2021, a Court of Appeal hearing resulted in a split decision which said that decision makers for fossil fuel projects are not prohibited from considering the emissions from burning the fuels. However, in practical terms, it was left it up to the decision makers whether to consider these emissions or not.

A further appeal led to a hearing before the Supreme Court in June 2023. Legal interventions were made by Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the Office for Environmental Protection, and representatives of the company behind a new coal mine in Whitehaven, Cumbria, which itself is facing a legal challenge from environmental groups. It was the first time the Office for Environment Protection had intervened in a court case.

The Supreme Court delivered a majority decision that Surrey County Council had acted unlawfully in permitting the oil project. Delivering the majority judgement, Lord Leggatt ruled that the decision to grant planning permission for the oil project was unlawful as the project’s EIA failed to assess the climate impact of burning the oil, and the reasons for disregarding this were “demonstrably flawed.”

Rejecting the arguments made by the council, the developer, and the government, that the emissions from burning the oil were not within their control, Lord Leggatt said:

“The combustion emissions are manifestly not outwith the control of the site operators. They are entirely within their control. If no oil is extracted, no combustion emissions will occur. Conversely, any extraction of oil by the site operators will in due course result in greenhouse gas emissions upon its inevitable combustion.”

The Supreme Court said any suggestion that local planning authorities are unable to consider climate change when making planning decisions is “misguided”.

It is the first time in UK legislative history that a judgement has ruled that decisionmakers should consider the emissions from burning fossil fuels, and not just those from the project’s operations. It follows a similar ruling made in Norway in January of this year.

In a statement, environmental charity ClientEarth lawyer Sophie Marjanac said the two judgements indicated that the world is “reaching a tipping point where countries and companies are going to have to comprehensively account for the impact of every fossil fuel project on the climate”.

In light of this ruling, it would appear that where any decision is taken without a current EIA, that planning permission is at least unsafe and illegal when Scope 3 Emissions have not been considered when planning a bus service/depot.

It is now also only a matter of time before the environmental activists take authorising bodies to court along similar lines.

James Harkins, by e-mail

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ABOVE: Will UK cities like Leeds ever get their longpromised trams, or will buses remain the usual sight? Julian Tong/Unsplash

Classic Trams PLZEŇ’S ANNIVERSARY

With an unfortunate tendency to be overshadowed by bigger systems, Plzeň took the opportunity to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the start of its tramway operation with a weekend of special events. 1

Plzeň is an important industrial city in the West Bohemian area of the Czech Republic (Czechia) and also home to one of the country’s seven tramway systems. Unfortunately it has a tendency to be overshadowed by bigger networks in both the national capital, Praha (Prague), and the capital of Moravia, Brno.

Although Plze ň’s network consists of just three cross-city routes, what it lacks in size it makes up for in intensity, with trams continuing to provide the backbone of public transport as they have done since 1899. So it was good that the undertaking marked the 125th anniversary of tramway operation by events mainly on Saturday 15 June 2024, with a tramcar procession on the next day.

Plze ň’s industrial base is world-famous. One of its principal products, from the brewery established in 1842, is consumed throughout the world. Indeed, in many countries a light blond beer is known as Pils, its name deriving from the German for this city: Pilsen.

In 1859 Count Valdštejn set up an engineering works in what was then a relatively small town; in 1869 the factory was bought by its chief engineer, Emil Škoda, whose name the company later bore. Its wideranging catalogue of products, encompassing military equipment and many forms of mechanised transport continue to be in global demand.

Representative base

Given the much earlier existence of a serious industrial base, it is perhaps surprising that Plze ň did not employ horse-drawn tramcars before the advent of electric traction. However, the fact remains that the city’s first tram routes did not open for public service until 29 June 1899, on a series of three short routes which, much extended, today remain at the heart of two of the city’s tram routes.

Of the initial fleet of 20 electric cars, one has survived and been listed as part of the undertaking’s historic fleet since 1955; this car was festively decorated to mark the start of tram operation. In the post-war period several cars from later generations have been added to form a representative collection of the city’s rolling stock.

On the Saturday, the recently rebuilt Slovany depot was opened to the public for the first time and its new and enhanced facilities were of great interest not only to locals but also visitors from afar, with over 4200 attendees on the day. Exhibitions, demonstrations and guided tours were staged.

The recent rebuilding works have allowed all tramcars to be stored under cover; the opportunity was taken to arrange a display of trams, including historic cars, in the covered area for public inspection. Among them was one historic specimen, currently unserviceable. This Ringhoffer car was formerly Praha 4223, acquired from the museum collection in the capital in July 2018, and will be restored as Plze ň 82.

A shuttle service was worked between Slovany depot and Anglické náb ř eží by Tatra T1 car 121 from the historic fleet.

With the event promoted as a multimodal transport festival, trolleybuses were included and some 3700 visitors attended their new Karlov depot. The fleet of 105 vehicles plays second fiddle to the tramways in terms of passenger numbers, but with ten current routes and an expansionist future programme this is an important part of the local transport network. This is a far cry from the initial installation of 1941, introduced as a wartime fuel-saving measure. K ř ižík tramcar 9 of 1899, converted to trailer status in 1937, was also displayed at Karlov depot.

Grand parade

Sunday morning brought the major public event, with a grand parade of 13 tramcars or pairs in close formation; members of the public could travel on the cars by prior registration only. This operation was on a ‘closed circuit’ basis, with all passengers boarding at the depot and alighting on return to the depot.

Departure from the depot was in close formation at 10.00. Close formation of the cars was maintained from the start at Slovany depot as far as the Malesická loop; the convoy was preceded by a police car and a tram despatcher’s car followed the end of the parade. All traffic signals on Klatovská t ř ida were switched off before passage of the convoy, giving total priority to traffic on this street at each crossing; police representatives achieved the same objectives by manual intervention at some other crossings.

Heading the line-up was 1899 car 18, built by local manufacturer Václav Brožík with electrical equipment by Elektrotechnické závody František K ř ižík; it may be recalled that K ř ižík had been the operator of the pioneer 1891 electric tramline in Praha.

Next in line was Tatra T1 car 121 of 1956, followed by T2R 133. This car started life in Ostrava as 612 and in 1995 passed to Liberec as 23, from where it was acquired by Plze ň in 2007. A coupled pair of Tatra T3 cars, 192+187, came next followed by double-ended

KT8D5 - RN2P 297 (repainted in a red/cream retro livery), and Škoda Astra 03T0 301.

The remainder of the parade comprised representatives of the more modern operational fleet: Tatra K3R-NT 311, a coupled pair of 329 (Tatra T3R.PLF ) and 265 (Tatra T3R.P); 342 (Vario LFR.S ); 361 (Vario LF2/2 IN ), 373 (EVO2) and 396 (Škoda 40T ForCity Smart). Last was works car 175, a Tatra T3R.P.

In common with May’s Gent 150th parade (see TAUT August and September) the Plze ň event was somewhat hampered by city centre track works. These have resulted in a temporary route network for much of 2024, with intense single-line working over sections of the trunk routes in the city itself.

To achieve any semblance of a regular public service, strict regulation has been in force with some convoy working instituted. On the section between Radnice Slovany and U Duhy on regular line 2, as well as on the eastbound tracks of lines 1 and 2 in the city centre (between náměstí Republiky and Zbrojnická), the regular route network was operating as follows:

• Line 1/2: Bolevec – Palackého náměstí –Skvr ňany;

• Line 2: Hlavní pošta – Slovany – Světovar –Radnice Slovany (only double-ended cars);

• Line 4: Operating normally.

The main part of the parade, travelling in close formation, left Slovany depot via line 2 to Hlavní pošta, then via Sady Pětat ř icátník ů and the tracks of line 4 to Univerzita, returning via line 4, Sady Pětat ř icátník ů and line 1/2 to Malesická loop. Departure from Malesická loop was via the temporarily combined line 1/2 to Hlavní pošta and then line 2 to Slovany depot. Every ten minutes, three or four trams departed in convoy, so that each group could follow one departure of line 2 on the single track from Hlavní pošta to Anglické nábřeží. Departures were:

• at 11.29: 18 – 121 – 133

• at 11.39: 192+187 – 297 – 301

• at 11.49: 311 – 329+265 – 342 – 361

• at 11.59: 373 – 396 – 175

The weekend’s events were excellently planned and executed. They represented a welcome tribute to this highly efficient municipal tramway company which, combined with local political support, provides dependable local transport, and with recent fleet renewals has demonstrated its intention to continue doing so.

This account has been assembled by Mike Russell from reports supplied by Luc Koenot and Zdeně k Kresa, together with official publicity issued by the Plze ň Municipal Transport Company.

1. Tatra three-section articulated car 297 of type KT8D5-RN2P carried a special retro red and cream livery, reminiscent of its early years in the city’s service, for participation in the event. It is seen here at Slovany depot on 15 June. TRAMAGIC

2. Tatra T1 121 leads a long line of heritage and presentday tramcars at the junction at Sady Pětatřicátníků. T1 cars customarily carried the dominant red star on their front roof dome during the communist era. Zdeněk Kresa

3. Plzeň operated a significant fleet of Tatra T2 cars but the preserved example is one acquired from Ostrava in 1995 and, following re-equipment, is now designated T2R. More recent products of the Tatra factory follow at a distance.

Luc Koenot

4. Seemingly too young to be considered a museum car and wearing the current yellow fleet livery is Škoda Astra 03T0 301, leading a selection of the varied components of the present-day fleet in Klatovská třida. Luc Koenot

5. The three oldest trams participating in the parade –Křižík car 18 of 1899, Tatra T1 121 of 1956 and T2R 133 of 1958 – start their return journey to Slovany depot at the end of the parade and pass along the single-track on the north side of náměstí Republiky.

Luc Koenot

6. A fine view of Sunday’s anniversary tramcar convoy, led by a police car ahead of decorated tramcar 18 of 1899 now fitted with the special pantograph head atop a trolley-pole. This image shows the closely-formed convoy at Sady Pětatřicátníků. Zdeněk Kresa

7. The totally rebuilt Slovany depot, with full covered accommodation for the entire tram fleet, was first opened to public inspection during the Saturday open day.

TRAMAGIC

8. On display in Slovany depot during the open day on Saturday 15 June was former Praha Ringhoffer car 4223 of 1929, in the Plzeň fleet since July 2018 and to be restored as car 82, which temporary fleet number it carries. Cars of this type were once operated by Plzeň but the one assumed to have been set aside for museum purposes was returned to Praha in 2000.

TRAMAGIC

Funding light rail will put UK on right track

The UK government is committed to ‘Net Zero’ by 2030, and to the highest per capita growth in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). To achieve these objectives will require major investment in transport infrastructure, including light rail. With the Chancellor Rachel Reeves about to introduce the first Labour budget for 15 years, there is an opportunity to put policy into practice.

So how will she find the billions needed? Will it see a return to the New Labour favourite – PFI? Off the books but giving private companies the power to own and control public infrastructure. Or will she opt for a more imaginative approach?

The LRTA has set a realistic objective of at least five light rail schemes for this parliament. Several like Leeds – Bradford were promised a mass transit scheme by the last government, and Coventry VLR only needs GBP40 million (EUR47.7 million) to proceed to the next stage. Its development opens possibilities for several similar towns and cities in the UK and a model for elsewhere –using automotive and aerospace technology for light rail.

So how will the money be found? Coming from Rochdale, the home of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers, I believe a modern co-operative model is available –municipal bonds.

It was public investment in the Manchester Ship Canal that paid for it to be built, allowing local people to put their savings into the scheme for a guaranteed interest rate (say 5%). With banks now lowering their interest

rates, this could raise an ideal opportunity to reintroduce a scheme that was abolished by Mrs Thatcher’s government. The public could be encouraged to invest alongside their public pension schemes, with schemes put forward and developed by metro/regional mayors. We have a win-win situation.

The Treasury won’t like it because they will lose control, but it would give local people a real say in developing their area.

If you look elsewhere to the USA and Canada, that is how public authorities fund major capital schemes. As most transport infrastructure is a long-term investment, it also forms a long-term financial return.

The ten-year national renewal that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has talked about needs bold cooperative policies. This is one!

MEETINGS & EVENTS

november

Tuesday 5. Southampton 19.30, AGM + members’ digital images. Junction Church (Former Railway Institute), Eastleigh. GBP3. (LRTA/SEG) Saturday 9. Coatbridge, 13.00. Scottish trams show and tell & talk. Summerlee Museum, ML5 1QD. Contact: scotland@tlrs.info. (TLRS) Monday 11. Leeds 19.30. Leeds trams

remembered from LTHS archives. Engine House, Middleton Railway, LS10 2JG. GBP1 inc. light refreshments. enquiries@lths.co.uk. (LRTA/LTHS)

Saturday 16. Taunton 14.00. Brian Boddy: New Zealand in 2024. West Monkton Village Hall, TA2 8NE. Contact: westofengland@tlrs.info GBP2 inc. light refreshments. (TLRS) Saturday 23. Nottingham 14.00. TBA Ken Follett. Beeston Scout Hut,

‘Bluebird’ reborn

Several LRTA members, including Patron Geoffrey Claydon KC and Vice Presidents David Russell and Andrew Braddock, joined TMS members for a very special launch event at Crich for London County Council 1, or ‘Bluebird’.

The tram was driven out of the Conservation Workshop and formally handed over to TMS President Jason Hardy by the Chair of the London County Council Tramways Trust, LRTA member Ian Ross.

LRTA members then had an opportunity to ride on the tram as well as the museum’s two other London Trams.

Copies of the LRTA’s book on ‘Bluebird’ were also on sale along with a pale ale especially produced for the occasion.

Next month will feature a full report on the AGM visit to Charleroi in Belgium.

ABOVE:

Compiled by the LRTA.

NG9 1GA. Contact: alo@tlrs.info. (TLRS) Saturday 30. Garstang 14.00. Tony Young: World tramway developments. St. Thomas’ Church Hall, PR3 1PA. Contact: alo@tlrs.info. GBP2 inc. light refreshments. (TLRS) D e C ember

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, Middleton Railway, LS10 2JG. GBP1 (includes light refreshments). Contact: enquiries@lths.co.uk. (LRTA/LTHS)

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

LRTA members attended a very special launch of ‘Bluebird’ Paul Rowen

ABOVE: Could municipal bonds help to fund the next stage of Coventry VLR? Coventry City Council

Bookshop

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

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

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

Japan Tram Atlas

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

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

£36.50 (UK); £46.50 (outside UK); £56.50 (Airmail Z1);

£61.50 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £3.25 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 Milan in Colour (1954-1978)

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

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

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

£33.50 (UK); £40.00 (outside UK); £47.50 (Airmail Z1);

£52.50 (Airmail Z2/3); LRTA Members: £3.00 discount

Tramways in 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

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

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

Trolleybuses – Glasgow’s Silent Servant

The author’s personal recollections of his home city’s secondary form of electric street public transport. Always overshadowed by the huge tram network, the trolleybuses were relatively widespread and made a significant impact from 1949 to 1967.

> B5 softback, landscape format; 48 pages; fully-illustrated in colour and black & white.

£12.95 – www.nationaltrolleybus.org or www.stenlake.co.uk

Gdyńskie Trolejbusy

Rozwój Gdyńskiej Komunikacji Trolejbusowej W Latach 1943-2023

Detailed record of the development of the port city’s trolleybus network. With the recent adoption of IMC (In Motion Charging) technology, Gdynia shows what modern trolleybuses can offer. Polish text.

> A4 hardback; 294 pages; fully-illustrated in colour and black & white with numerous maps and wiring diagrams.

£27.50 – www.nationaltrolleybus.org

Trolleybuses in Poland 1992-1993

A nostalgic pictorial survey of the five networks then in operation - Gdynia, Lublin, Słupsk, Tychy and Warsawshowing the variety of vehicles in use and the very different street scenes from the time of the country’s transition out of the communist system.

> A4 hardback; 64 pages; 93 colour pictures. £24.50 – www.nationaltrolleybus.org

London Trolleybus Operation

Volume 1

Meticulously researched definitive overview of the capital’s vast network, covering the complexity of the overhead wiring and how the services were operated. A veritable encyclopaedia that will be of interest to enthusiasts and transport historians alike.

> A4 hardback; 312 pages; 230 colour and balck & white pictures, 384 maps and 250 diagrams

£45.00 – www.trolleybooks.co.uk

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