The Karlsruhe model is a tram-train system which consists of tram/light rail trains and commuter/regional rail trains running on the same set of tracks, generally between or outside of urban areas. It was initially developed and implemented in the city of Karlsruhe, Germany, by the local transit authority, Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund (KVV).
Commencing service in 1992, the system in Karlsruhe has provided a connection between the regular railway network and the city's local tram network. The whole system is now called the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn. Passengers may travel from distant towns such as Baden-Baden directly into the city centre of Karlsruhe, bridging the inconvenient distance between the main station and the city centre. For most trips, the number of train transfers has been reduced significantly.
This model has led to the creation of similar tram-train systems in other locations.
A similar model has been connecting the city of Vienna with the Baden suburb since 1886 as Lokalbahn Wien-Baden. Other systems that have implemented the Karlsruhe model include:
In 2013, Adelaide Metro in Australia proposed the PortLINK project, which would have featured the Karlsruhe model for 4.8 km (3.0 mi) of track between Bowden and Woodville, followed by another 4.2 km (2.6 mi) to Port Adelaide. [1]
Zwickau, Germany, has reversed the Karlsruhe model by extending Lightweight RegioSprinter diesel trains from the main-line railway onto the street tramway as train-trams (Zwickau Model).
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but also be permitted operation alongside mainline trains. This allows services that can utilise both existing urban light rail systems and mainline railway networks and stations. It combines the urban accessibility of a tram or light rail with a mainline train's greater speed in the suburbs.
The Bombardier Flexity Swift is a series of urban and inter-urban tram, light rail and light metro vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is part of the Bombardier Flexity family of rail vehicles, and like the others, Flexity Swift vehicles can be customized to suit the needs and requirements of customers including legacy designs from its acquisition of Adtranz.
Stadtbahn is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that could be used independently from other traffic.
Germany has an extensive number of tramway networks. Some of these networks have been upgraded to light rail standards, called Stadtbahn in German. Straßenbahn and Stadtbahn schemes are usually operated on the legal foundation of the BOStrab, the Tramways Act of Germany.
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area.
Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city of Karlsruhe. The station is classified as a Category 1 station, as it is a major hub where several railways connect.
The Karlsruhe Stadtbahn is a German tram-train system combining tram lines in the city of Karlsruhe with railway lines in the surrounding countryside, serving the entire region of the middle upper Rhine valley and creating connections to neighbouring regions. The Stadtbahn combines an efficient urban railway in the city with an S-Bahn, overcoming the boundary between trams and trains. Its logo does not include the green and white S-Bahn symbol used in other German suburban rail systems and the symbol is only used at stops and stations outside the inner-city tram-operation area.
Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft is a company owned by the city of Karlsruhe that operates rail and bus services in the Karlsruhe area, southwest Germany.
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while the S-Bahn or Stadtschnellbahn are commuter rail services, that may run underground in the city center and have metro-like characteristics in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin which they only have to a lesser extent in other cities. There are also over a dozen premetro or Stadtbahn systems that are rapid transit in the city center and light rail outside.
The Alb Valley Railway is a railway line in southern Germany that runs from Karlsruhe via Ettlingen to Bad Herrenalb with a branch to Ittersbach. The line is owned and operated, as part of the Stadtbahn Karlsruhe, by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG).
The Kraichgau Railway is a 64.8 km long railway line in the region of Kraichgau in northwestern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It runs from Karlsruhe via Bretten and Eppingen to Heilbronn and was built in 1880. It gained international renown in 1992 as the first dual-system rail/tram route of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, the section between Karlsruhe and Bretten being the prototype for the so-called Karlsruhe model.
The Karlsruhe–Mühlacker railway is a railway line in the west of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It was built between 1859 and 1863 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany. It was built as the second connection between the networks of the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway and the Royal Württemberg State Railways and it still constitutes an important east–west route in southern Germany.
The Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe is the municipal transport company of the city of Karlsruhe in Germany. It runs the tram and bus network within the city, as well as the Turmbergbahn funicular railway.
The Kassel tramway network is a 93.3-kilometer (58.0 mi) network of tramways, forming part of the public transport system in Kassel, a city in the north of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. As of 2014, the Kassel tram network is made up of seven regular tramlines.
The Karlsruhe Local Railway was a metre-gauge light railway which formerly connected Spöck, Karlsruhe and Durmersheim, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. After its opening in 1890/91, it had little commercial success, so that by 1938 most sections of it had been shut down. Some modest residual traffic in the city of Karlsruhe continued until 1955. Parts of it route are now used by line S2 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn.
The Saarbahn is a regional Stadtbahn operating on the tram-train principle in the German state of the Saarland. It consists of a core line in Saarbrücken and Riegelsberg operating under tram operating procedures (BOStrab), connected to two lines that are operated under railway operating procedures (EBO), the Lebach–Völklingen railway to the north and the Saarbrücken–Sarreguemines railway in the south. Stadtbahn Saar GmbH is responsible for the infrastructure of the central section of line, while the outer tracks are operated by the national railway infrastructure companies, DB Netz AG in Germany and Réseau Ferré de France in France. The system is operated by Saarbahn GmbH, and integrated in the Saarländischer Verkehrsverbund (SaarVV).
The Karlsruhe tramway network is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Karlsruhe, a city in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The Kassel RegioTram is a 184-kilometer (114 mi) tram-train light rail system in Kassel, Hesse, Germany.
The Stadler Citylink is a series of tram-trains manufactured by Stadler Rail at its Valencia factory since 2011. The design was introduced by Vossloh España before their takeover by Stadler Rail in 2015. They are currently used in Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom, with more on order in Austria.