Tram Power

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Tram Power is a Merseyside-based manufacturer of tramway vehicles. It built a single prototype, called the Citytram, which was tested on the Wirral Tramway and Blackpool Tramway from 2005 to 2007. The company is planning to build a tram line in Preston, Lancashire.

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City Class tram

Citytram being tested in Blackpool in 2006 City Class at Cabin Feb. 2006.jpg
Citytram being tested in Blackpool in 2006

The City Class tram began life as a research paper in 1987, which addressed the question of LRV models increasing in weight and cost. A 4-tonne quarter-size mockup was built in 1993. A redundant 1930s tram in Blackpool had City Class running gear installed at one end and was tested from 1995 to 1997. A full-size 29-metre-long prototype LRV was built in parallel; it ran until 2000, when the TRAM GROUP, which had sponsored the project, ran out of money.[ citation needed ]

In 2005, the prototype was rebuilt with new running gear. It was tested on the Wirral Tramway for three months, then on the Blackpool Tramway. In November 2006, an agreement was reached for the prototype to run in passenger service until October 2007.[ citation needed ] Before this could occur, the prototype was heavily damaged by a fire during testing on 24 January 2007. A Railway Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) inquiry determined that the fire likely started in the 24-volt electrical system under the floor of the tram. No evidence was found that the driver or infrastructure contributed to the cause of the fire; the Blackpool Tramway was however rebuked for not having carried out a proper health and safety evaluation of the vehicle including a fire risk evaluation, and for not having in place proper safety management procedures for dealing with new technology. [1]

In 2008, Tram Power was one of only two bidders on replacement rolling stock for the tram (streetcar) network in the Canadian city of Toronto. Tram Power's bid was ruled to be not commercially compliant. [2] (The other bid, from Bombardier Transportation, also initially failed [3] but a revised bid the following year eventually won the contract. [4] )

As of 2017, the company (as Preston Tram Power) is attempting to build a tram line in Preston, Lancashire. [5]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackpool Tramway</span> Light rail transit system in Lancashire, England

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The Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV) were types of streetcars used by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) from the late 1970s until the late 2010s. They were built following the TTC's decision to retain streetcar services in the 1970s, replacing the existing PCC streetcar fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Line 6 Finch West</span> Under-construction light rail line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flexity 2</span> Family of light-rail vehicles

The Flexity 2 is a family of tram or light-rail vehicle manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is 100% low-floor, in order to easily accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs. The trams are bi-directional, with cabs at both ends and doors on both sides, and are articulated with five or seven sections. This family of trams debuted on the Blackpool Tramway, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flexity Outlook (Toronto)</span> Toronto streetcar model operated by the TTC

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flexity 2 (Blackpool)</span>

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Inekon Trams, a.s. is a manufacturer of trams, or streetcars, located in the Czech Republic, and has supplied new trams to several cities in the Czech Republic and the United States. The company also carries out modernisation and repair of trams, as well as track reconstruction. It is a joint-stock company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto streetcar system rolling stock</span>

In 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was created to integrate and operate the Toronto streetcar system. It inherited the infrastructure of two separate streetcar operators: the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) and Toronto Civic Railways (TCR). The TTC immediately embarked on a program to connect the TRC and TCR lines into one network. The TTC had to rebuild most of the track to provide a wider devilstrip so that the wider Peter Witt streetcars it was ordering could pass without sideswiping. Between 1938 and 1945, it placed five orders for air-electric PCC streetcars to replace the old, wooden streetcars of the TRC, and to address rising ridership. Between 1947 and 1951, the TTC placed three orders for all-electric PCC cars, with one order equipped with couplers for multiple-unit operation. Between 1950 and 1957, the TTC purchased PCCs from four American cities. By 1957, the TTC had more PCCs than any other city in North America. After the opening of the Bloor–Danforth subway in 1966, the TTC considered terminating all streetcar service in Toronto. However, in 1972, a citizens group led by Jane Jacobs and Steve Munro called "Streetcars for Toronto" persuaded the City to retain streetcar operation. This led to the development of the Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and its longer, articulated cousin, the Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV), to replace the aging PCC fleet. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) mandated that the next generation of streetcars be wheelchair-accessible. Thus, to replace the CLRVs and ALRVs, Bombardier adapted its low-floor Flexity Outlook model for the TTC to navigate the Toronto streetcar system's tight curves and single-point switches, characteristics set in the 1920s to accommodate Peter Witt streetcars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flexity Freedom</span> Light rail passenger vehicle

The Alstom Flexity Freedom is a low-floor, articulated light rail vehicle developed by Bombardier Transportation for the North American market. It is marketed as part of the Bombardier Flexity family which includes other models of trams (streetcars) and light metro vehicles. They are produced in facilities in Thunder Bay and Kingston, Ontario, which once produced rolling stock under the names of Canada Car and Foundry (CC&F) and Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC), respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flexity</span> Public transport vehicles made by Bombardier Transportation and Alstom

The Alstom Flexity is a family of modern trams, streetcars and light rail vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation, since 2021 a division of French company Alstom. As of 2015, more than 3,500 Flexity vehicles are in operation around the world in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North America in 100 cities among 20 countries internationally. Production of the vehicles is done at Bombardier's global production plants and by local manufacturers worldwide through technology transfer agreements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackpool Heritage Trams</span>

Blackpool Heritage Trams are a mixed fleet of restored vehicles that run on the Blackpool Tramway, which runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England. The line dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is operated by Blackpool Transport (BT) and is the last surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. Excluding museums, it is one of only a few tramways in the world to still use double-decker trams.

References

  1. Fire on prototype tram 611 at Blackpool 24 January 2007 (PDF) (Report). Rail Accident Report. Department for Transport. November 2007.
  2. "BREAKING NEWS: TTC suspends streetcar purchases; bids non-compliant - Spacing Toronto". Spacing Toronto. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  3. "LF LRV Procurement Project: Cancellation of RFP & Way Forward" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. 27 August 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011.
  4. KALINOWSKI, TESS (24 April 2009). "TTC picks Bombardier to supply streetcars". The Toronto Star. ISSN   0319-0781 . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. Walker, Ed (22 June 2017). "Where Preston's tram plans are up to in the city". Blog Preston.