Low-floor tram

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Two low floor trams, an Alstom Citadis 302 and Bombardier Flexity Classic, in Adelaide, South Australia AECExtensionCitadisFlexity.jpg
Two low floor trams, an Alstom Citadis 302 and Bombardier Flexity Classic, in Adelaide, South Australia

A low-floor tram is a tram that has no stairsteps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. The low-floor design improves the accessibility of the tram for the public, and also may provide larger windows and more airspace. [1]

Contents

An accessible platform-level floor in a tram can be achieved either by using a high-floor vehicle serving high-platform tram stops, or with a true low-floor vehicle interfacing with curb level stops.

Currently both types are in use, depending on the station platform infrastructure in existing rail systems. Some systems may make use of former railway alignments where use of existing high platforms is desirable, while others, particularly new systems, may not have the space to site high-level stops in urban centres.

Low-floor tram configurations

Mh strabtuer niederflur.jpeg
Entry door of a low-floor tram, with "roll-in" level floor accessibility.
Mh strabtuer hochflur.jpeg
Entry door of a high-floor tram. Stair steps are visible just inside the door.

Trams traditionally had high floors, and these designs evolved into the tram with a low-floor centre section. Examples of this design are Amsterdam 11g/12g-trams and the Kusttrams in Belgium.

The most common design of 100% low floor vehicles uses short carbody sections for the wheels and longer suspended sections. Examples of this are the Alstom Citadis and Combino. A similar, but somewhat older technique is one that has been developed by MAN. In 1990, it was the first 100% low floor tram. These trams are found in ten German cities (such as Bremen and Munich) and in the Swedish city Norrköping. In many other German cities there are trams with low floor between the outer bogies and single axle bogies under the centre section.

"Light rail" type vehicles frequently have a similar configuration but with a centre bogie designed to accommodate a low floor situated under a short centre section. A more radical approach has been adopted for the City Class LRV (Citytram), where the main low floor section is only 300 mm (12 in) above the rail. The low floor runs right through the articulation of both the 29 m (95 ft) long and 38 m (125 ft) Super Citytram version. In both, the corridor through the articulation is wide enough for seated passengers and a wheelchair to pass through. The City Class has been designed to turn on 15 m (49 ft) radius curves and to climb 10% gradients.

In Austria, Porsche Design designed Ultra Low Floor (ULF) Trams can "kneel" at the curbside, reducing the height from the road to only 180 mm (7.1 in).

Wheelchair access ramp in Protram 205 WrAs tram. Low floor is approximately 360 mm (14 in) high Protram205 ramp.JPG
Wheelchair access ramp in Protram 205 WrAs tram. Low floor is approximately 360 mm (14 in) high

Some public transport companies have both low floor and high floor trams. They report that low floor trams have 15% higher maintenance costs for the rolling stock, and 20% higher maintenance costs for the infrastructure on average. [2] Among the problems observed is that the missing bogies result in a higher level of wear and tear.

Many low floor trams have fixed bogies [3] which increase track wear and tear, while decreasing the speed at which a tram can drive through a curve (usually 4–15 km/h (2.5–9.3 mph) in 20 m (66 ft) radius curve). [4] The Škoda ForCity and the newest Alstom Citadis X04 try to counter the effect with low floor pivoting bogies while maintaining 100% low floor design. Prior to the new design, pivoting bogies could only be used under high floors, hence such trams could only be part low-floor, with high-floor sections over the pivoting bogies.

Historic examples

Brisbane Hedley-Doyle Stepless tram, No. 301 BrisbaneSteplessTram301.JPG
Brisbane Hedley-Doyle Stepless tram, No. 301

The idea of a low-floor tram dates back to the early 20th century when a number of trolley systems began experimenting with various "stepless" designs. Perhaps the most notable is the Hedley-Doyle Stepless car introduced in 1912 for use on Broadway in Manhattan. [5] A number of other cities also purchased Hedley-Doyle Stepless trams after seeing their success in Manhattan. Since these cars had a unique appearance compared to any other trams running at the time, they earned a number of nicknames, including hobble skirt cars, public welfare cars, and sow bellies. [6]

Typical floor heights

To put things into perspective, here are some typical floor heights for public transport vehicles, old and new:

List of low-floor trams by country manufactured and manufacturers

AKSM-843 in Kazan AKSM-843 na fone Kazanskogo Kremlia.jpg
AKSM-843 in Kazan

Belarus

Belkommunmash

Canada

Bombardier Transportation (are subtypes and more)
Bombardier Flexity Outlook in Toronto TTC Flexity 4466 on route 504A King EB at Yonge.jpg
Bombardier Flexity Outlook in Toronto
Bombardier Cobra in Zurich Cobra tram in Zurich on route 2, April 2008.jpg
Bombardier Cobra in Zürich
E-class Melbourne tram Melbourne Tram E-Class 6007.jpg
E-class Melbourne tram
Type 1 LVR Flexity Swift in Minneapolis, Minnesota Hiawatha Line-Government Plaza.jpg
Type 1 LVR Flexity Swift in Minneapolis, Minnesota
K5000 in Bonn Stadtbahn Bonn (5650485512).jpg
K5000 in Bonn

Croatia

CROTRAM
TMK 2200-K in Zagreb TMK 2301 Zagreb.JPG
TMK 2200-K in Zagreb

Czech Republic

ČKD Tatra
Two Tatra KT8D5R.N2P cars in Prague Reko TT Vyton - Nadrazi Branik, nabrezi, Tatra KT8D5R.N2P.jpg
Two Tatra KT8D5R.N2P cars in Prague
Aliance TW Team
Tatra T3R.PLF (first car) in Prague Olsanska 4080.jpg
Tatra T3R.PLF (first car) in Prague
Škoda Transportation
Skoda 19T Electra in Wroclaw Wroclaw, new tram lines, Stadion and Kozanow (6).JPG
Škoda 19T Electra in Wrocław
Inekon Trams
Inekon 12 Trio in Portland Portland Streetcar green.JPG
Inekon 12 Trio in Portland

France

Alstom
Citadis 302 in Lyon Lyon gold tram II.jpg
Citadis 302 in Lyon
Tramway Francais Standard-2 vehicle in Grenoble TFS 2042 - Grenoble (mai 2012) - 2.jpg
Tramway Français Standard-2 vehicle in Grenoble

Germany

Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG)
ATAC Class 9000 in Rome Roma--rom-atac-sl-758898.jpg
ATAC Class 9000 in Rome
Duewag
Duewag-Vevey Be 4/6 in Geneva Strassenbahn in Genf Linie 13 2010-06-30.jpg
Duewag-Vevey Be 4/6 in Geneva
Duwag GT8N in Freiburg (Strassenbahn Freiburg) GT8N 222 an der Hornusstrasse..jpg
Düwag GT8N in Freiburg
MGT6D in Erfurt SWE EVAG 608.jpg
MGT6D in Erfurt
MAN
N8S-NF in Krakow MAN N8S-NF 3302, tram line 30, Krakow, 2006.jpg
N8S-NF in Kraków
Siemens
Avenio in The Hague Lijn11.5009.Conradkade.2016.JPG
Avenio in The Hague
GT8-100D/2S-M and GT8-100D/2S-M in Karlsruhe Strassenbahn Karlsruhe (3758107424).jpg
GT8-100D/2S-M and GT8-100D/2S-M in Karlsruhe
Adtranz
Eurotram in Strasbourg TramStrasbourg Eurotram Rotonde Depot.JPG
Eurotram in Strasbourg
Vossloh Kiepe

Ireland

Alstom

Italy

AnsaldoBreda
SL95 in Oslo To trikker passerer hverandre utenfor Oslo tingrett. Ulikt tak.JPG
SL95 in Oslo
Fiat Ferroviaria
ATM 6000 in Turin Tram Turijn 2009 03.jpg
ATM 6000 in Turin
Società Costruzioni Industriali Milano (Socimi)

Japan

Alna Sharyo  [ ja ]
Little Dancer Type C in Hakodate Hakodate-City-Tram Type9600-9603A.jpg
Little Dancer Type C in Hakodate
Kinki Sharyo
Utsunomiya Light Rail HU300 series in Utsunomiya LIGHTLINE HU300-303.jpg
Utsunomiya Light Rail HU300 series in Utsunomiya
Niigata Transys

Poland

Konstal
Konstal 114Na in Gdansk Konstal 114Na Gdansk.jpg
Konstal 114Na in Gdańsk
Modertrans
Moderus Beta MF 01 in Gdansk MF 01-1137, Gdansk Bretowo, 2015-09-25 (Muri WG 2015-34).jpg
Moderus Beta MF 01 in Gdańsk
PESA
Pesa 122 in Torun Pesa 122 NbT.jpg
Pesa 122 in Toruń
Protram
Protram 205WrAs in Wroclaw Protram 205.JPG
Protram 205WrAs in Wrocław
Solaris Bus & Coach

Romania

Astra Vagoane Călători
Astra Imperio in Arad Arad tram 2017 03.jpg
Astra Imperio in Arad
Astra imperio in cluj napoca Astra Imperio Cluj 62.jpg
Astra imperio in cluj napoca
Astra Imperio In Oradea 2022 Trams in Oradea (3).jpg
Astra Imperio In Oradea
Imperio Civitas In Arad MZ7 3322-scaled.jpg
Imperio Civitas In Arad
URAC Bucharest
Bucur LF on line 1.jpg
Green Tram V3A-93-CH-PPC In Bucharest V3A-93-CH-PPC 4014.jpg
Green Tram V3A-93-CH-PPC In Bucharest
V3A-93-CH-PPC In Bucharest 4036(2012.06.23)-R- V3A-93-CH-PPC 2 (27341606110).jpg
V3A-93-CH-PPC In Bucharest
V3A-2010-CA In Bucharest 030(2018.03.03)-21- V3A-2010-CA-PPC (40590561141).jpg
V3A-2010-CA In Bucharest

(low-floor middle section)

V3A-93-M2000-PPC In Bucharest 008(2012.06.11)-41- V3A-93-M2000-PPC (12654581874).jpg
V3A-93-M2000-PPC In Bucharest
V3A-93-PPC In Bucharest 206(2016.10.04)-11- V3A-93-PPC (30078851446).jpg
V3A-93-PPC In Bucharest

(reconstruction with low-floor middle section)

Russian Federation

PTMZ (Petěrburgskij tramvajno-mechaničeskij zavod)
71-154M in Volgograd LVS-2009 Yelshanka.JPG
71-154М in Volgograd
UKVZ (Usť-Katavskij vagonstrojitělnyj zavod imeni Sergeje Mironoviče Kirova)
Tver Carriage Works
71-931M (Vityaz-M) in Moscow Moscow TverZastava Vityaz asv2018-09.jpg
71-931M (Vityaz-M) in Moscow
71-911E in Rostov-on-Don 71-911E 080 in Rostov-on-Don.jpg
71-911E in Rostov-on-Don

Spain

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF)
Urbos 70 and 100 in Budapest Budapest, Vorosvari ut, 3.jpg
Urbos 70 and 100 in Budapest
Vossloh España

Switzerland

ABB
Stadler Rail
Tango (Model Basel) in Zurich Tango als Tram in Zurich beim Paradeplatz.jpg
Tango (Model Basel) in Zürich

Turkey

Durmazlar
Bozankaya

Ukraine

Electrontrans
Electron T5L64 in Lviv Electron T5L64 Nechuia-Levytskoho.jpg
Electron T5L64 in Lviv
Tatra-Yug


Other trams

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alstom Citadis</span> Family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles

The Alstom Citadis is a family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles built by Alstom. As of 2017, over 2,300 Citadis trams have been sold and 1,800 tramways are in revenue service throughout the world, with operations in all six inhabited continents. An evolution of Alstom's earlier TFS vehicle, most Citadis vehicles are made in Alstom's factories in La Rochelle, Reichshoffen and Valenciennes, France, and in Barcelona, Spain, and Annaba, Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flexity Swift</span> Series of public transportation vehicles

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.

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

The Bombardier Flexity Classic is a model of light-rail tram manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Although it is marketed as the most traditionally designed member of the Flexity family, it is still a modern bi-directional articulated tram with a low-floor section allowing good accessibility, especially to passengers in wheelchairs. Flexity Classic trams run on 1,435 mmstandard gauge in Australia, 1,000 mmmetre gauge in Essen, 1,450 mm in Dresden, and 1,458 mm in Leipzig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silesian Interurbans</span> Tram system in the Upper Silesian Conurbation in Poland

Silesian Trams is one of the largest tram systems in the world and the largest and longest tram system in Poland, located entirely within the Silesian Voivodeship. Started as a part of the German Empire in 1894, the system currently has 677 stops across 29 lines and serves the region’s population inhabited by more than two million people. Silesian Trams is at the heart of a region known for its dense historical and current industrialisation.

The West Midlands Metro is a passenger light rail line in the West Midlands conurbation in England, which opened in 1999. Its rolling stock consists of 21 CAF Urbos 3 trams which came into service in 2014/15, replacing the older T-69 trams which had operated the line since 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ADtranz low floor tram</span> German low floor tram model

The ADtranz low floor tram was introduced in the 1990s as the world's first tram with a completely low floor design. This tram was developed by MAN for the Bremen urban transport system. The prototype, tram number 3801, was first publicly introduced on 9 February 1990. From 1991 to 1993, it was being tested in many European cities. Ten German cities have purchased this type. Adtranz took over the rail division of MAN in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Germany</span> List of German tramway networks

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nantes tramway</span> Tramway network in Nantes, France

The Nantes tramway is a tramway system operating in the city of Nantes in Pays de la Loire, France. The first tramway in Nantes opened in 1879 and closed in 1958 due to bombing damage during World War II, while the present tramway was re-introduced to the city in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tramway Français Standard</span>

The Tramway Français Standard (TFS) is a type of tram designed and manufactured by Alstom for use on various tramway systems in France. The TFS is no longer in production, having been superseded by the Alstom Citadis range of tramcars.

The Little Dancer is a low-floor tram brand built by Alna Sharyo, a Japanese manufacturer of trams and light rail vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karlsruhe Stadtbahn</span> Tram-train system in Karlsruhe, Germany

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line</span> Light rail line in Kitakyushu, Japan

The Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line is a railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, connecting Kurosaki-Ekimae in Kitakyushu with Chikuhō-Nōgata Station in Nōgata, operated by Chikuhō Electric Railroad. The line does not have an official name. The company and the line is also called Chikutetsu (筑鉄). The company is a subsidiary of Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu), founded in 1951. The line originally had a through service with the Nishitetsu Kitakyushu Line, a tram line closed in 2000. Because of this, the Chikutetsu Line only uses tram vehicles. However, the line is legally classified as a railway under Railway Business Act, not a tramway under Tram Act, and the line does not share any segments with public roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Istanbul Tram</span> Tram system in Istanbul, Turkey

The Istanbul Tram is a modern tram system on the European side of Istanbul. The first section, the T1 opened in 1992, followed by the T2, which opened in 2006. In 2011, the T1 and T2 merged, with the line retaining the T1 name. The T4, T5 and the T6 lines followed, opening in 2007, 2021 and 2024 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flexity 2 (Blackpool)</span> Light rail vehicle in use in the UK

In 2012, Blackpool Council ordered 16 Bombardier Flexity 2 trams for the Blackpool Tramway, becoming the worldwide launch customer for Bombardier Transportation's new design. The modern 100% low-floor trams replaced the Blackpool Tramway's tourist-focused and high maintenance heritage fleet, some of which have been retained with modifications for use as a supplementary fleet alongside the Flexity 2 trams and some for tourist services on the promenade. Blackpool's Flexity 2 trams are intended to be suitable for daily commuters and to provide a service competitive with other modes of transport and comply with legislation on accessibility for disabled users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Kraków</span> Tram network in Kraków, Poland

The Kraków tram system is a tram system in Kraków, Poland. The tramway has been in operation since 1882, and is currently operated by Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne w Krakowie. There are 22 ordinary, 2 fast, and 3 night tram lines with a total line length of 347 kilometres (216 mi). As of 2013, the total route length of the tramway was 90 kilometres (56 mi), including a 1.4-kilometre (0.87 mi) tram tunnel with two underground stops.

The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Spanish manufacturer CAF previously made locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Metrovalencia, with the delivery of 16 trams until 1999. This was a variant of a Siemens design and some components were delivered by Siemens, including bogies and traction motors. This design was also sold to Lisbon Trams in 1995; CAF then decided to design and build the Urbos in-house.

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

The Alstom Flexity is a family of 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.

The Duewag GT8 Typ Freiburg is a three-part eight-axle articulated tram used on Freiburg im Breisgau's tram network. From 1971 to 1991, they were exclusively produced for the Freiburger Verkehrs by the Düsseldorfer Waggonfabrik in three series, which is why they are defined as Typ Freiburg. They have been designed to be used uni-directionally.

Trams have been used since the 19th century, and since then, there have been various uses and designs for trams around the world. This article covers the many design types, most notably the articulated, double-decker, drop-centre, low-floor, single ended, double-ended, rubber -tired, and tram-train; and the various uses of trams, both historical and current, most notably cargo trams, a dog car, hearse tram, maintenance trams, a mobile library service, a nursery tram, a restaurant tram, a tourist tram, and as mobile offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HCP 115N</span> Prototype tram produced in Poznań, Poland

HCP 115N – the first Polish prototype partially low-floor tram that was produced by H. Cegielski factory in Poznań. It was made in 1995 from two Konstal 105N cars used by MPK Poznań and in service until 2006. In 2011 the tram has been scrapped.

References

  1. "The joy of high ceilings (also called low floors)". Human Transit. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  2. Prof. Dr. Ing. Thomas Siefer (March 2010). "Abschlussbericht - Entwicklung des Stadtbahnnetzes Hannover - Studie zum Einsatz von Niederflurfahrzeugen" (PDF). Institut für Verkehrswesen, Eisenbahnbau und -betrieb (TU Braunschweig). p. 111. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-02-18. Eine weitere Erknenntnis der Unternehmem, die sowohl Hochflur-, als auch Niederflurfahrzeuge im Einsatz haben, ist der direkte Kostenvergleich beider Systeme. Für die Wartung und Instandhaltung der Fahrzeuge werden im Mittel Mehrkosten in Höhe von 20% genannt. Für die Wartung und Instandhaltung der Infrastruktur werden beim Einsatz von Niederflurfahrzeugen um 15% höhere Kosten ermittelt.
  3. "Zelingr, Heptner" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-05-12.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "ČVUT.cz - Čapek, Kolář" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  5. 1 2 "A Novelty in Car Construction, The "Stepless" type of the New York Railways Company". Brill Magazine. J. G. Brill Company. VI (3): 73–84. 1912. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
  6. "San Diego Electric Railway San Diego Class I Electric Streetcar Bodies No. 126, 128 & 138" (PDF). pp. 24–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-06. Retrieved 2012-08-17.