Calgary S200 – The Evolution High Floor Light Rail Vehicle
Calgary’s light rail can be best described as a 1970’s Belgium inspired ‘pre-metro’, using high floor light rail vehicles, using elaborate stations. 90% of the line was built at-grade on dedicated rights-of-ways, with the downtown section seeing operation mixed with buses.
The initial cost per kilometre of Calgary’s LRT was less than half of Vancouver’s SkyTrain, yet Calgary’s light rail had a higher capacity and attracted more ‘new’ customers to transit. Calgary’s LRT is North America’s most successful new build light rail system, with daily ridership now over 310,000 a day on a 58.7 – 45 station network.
Because of the large ‘pre-metro’ style, high platform stations, Calgary’s transit authorities have decided to stick with high-floor trams, as an economy measure. This has caused some problems with suppliers as the vast majority of trams built today are low-floor and many companies do not wish to invest in high-floor cars as there there is little scope for sales in a small and very tight market.
Siemens has taken up the challenge and now has provided an updated high-floor car for the limited market and the result is the S-200 high-floor LRV.
Siemens is currently building sixty such cars for Calgary, with future orders waiting for the replacing of the original U-2 fleet, which are now operating past their expected lifespan.
Calgary S200 – The Evolution High Floor Light Rail Vehicle
The Worldai??i??s First Solar Road Is Producing More Energy Than Expected
This is an interesting experiment.
More and more, solar power is becoming a realistic option, especially with transit.
This is just an experiment, but the potential of using roads to produce power is vast and in twenty years hence; just imagine……………
The Worldai??i??s First Solar Road Is Producing More Energy Than Expected
by Katie Valentine
Posted on
“The Worldai??i??s First Solar Road Is Producing More Energy Than Expected“
CREDIT: SolaRoad
In its first six months of existence, the worldai??i??s first solar road is performing even better than developers thought.
The road, which opened in the Netherlands in November of last year, has produced more than 3,000 kilowatt-hours of energy ai??i?? enough to power a single household for one year, according to Al-Jazeera America.
ai???If we translate this to an annual yield, we expect more than the 70kwh per square meter per year,ai??? Sten de Wit, a spokesman for the project ai??i?? dubbed SolaRoad ai??i?? told Al Jazeera America. ai???We predicted [this] as an upper limit in the laboratory stage. We can therefore conclude that it was a successful first half year.ai???
De Wit said in a statement that he didnai??i??t ai???expect a yield as high as this so quickly.ai???
The 230-foot stretch of road, which is embedded with solar cells that are protected by two layers of safety glass, is built for bike traffic, a use that reflects the roadai??i??s environmentally-friendly message and the cycling-heavy culture of the Netherlands. However, the road could withstand heavier traffic if needed, according to one of the projectai??i??s developers.
So far, about 150,000 cyclists have ridden over the road. Arian de Bondt, director of Ooms Civiel, one of the companies working on the project, said that the developers were working on developing solar panels that could withstand large buses and vehicles.
The SolaRoad, which connects the Amsterdam suburbs of Krommenie and Wormerveer, has been seen as a test by its creators ai??i?? a stretch of bike lane that, if successful, could be used as a model for more roads and bike lanes. The researchers plan to conduct tests of the road over the next approximately two and a half years, to determine how much energy the road produces and how it stands up to bikers. By 2016, the road could be extended to 328 feet.
Though the Netherlandsai??i?? solar road seems to be going as planned, solar roads overall typically arenai??i??t as effective at producing energy as solar arrays on a house or in a field. Thatai??i??s because the panels in solar roads canai??i??t be tilted to face the sun, so they donai??i??t get as much direct sunlight as panels that are able to be tilted. However, solar roads donai??i??t take up vast tracts of land, like some major solar arrays do, and they can be installed in heavily-populated areas.
One couple is set on making solar roads a reality in the U.S. Scott and Julie Brusaw created an Indiegogo campaign last year to help fund their Solar Roadways project, and the campaign raised more than $2.2 million. The U.S. might have to wait a while to see solar roads installed, however. As Vox pointed out last year, cost could be a major barrier for solar road construction in the U.S. And according to a Greentech Media article from last year, one of the biggest things that officials still arenai??i??t sure about with the roads is safety. They want to be sure the roads can stand up to heavy traffic, and that the glass protecting the solar panels wonai??i??t break.
ai???We canai??i??t say that it would be safe for roadway vehicular traffic,ai??? Eric Weaver, a research engineer at the Federal Highway Administrationai??i??s research and technology department, told Greentech Media. ai???Further field-traffic evaluation is needed to determine safety and durability performance.ai???
Solar Powered Trams For Melbourne?
Something to think about, solar powered trams!
Renewable energy group bids to turn Melbourne’s trams solar
May 18, 2015
Environment editor, The Age
Melbourne’s entire tram network could be powered by solarAi??if the state government gaveAi??a bold renewable energy proposal the green light.
While the pitchAi??may conjure upAi??images of trams with rooftop panels on them like the family home, the power would instead beAi??generatedAi??atAi??two new solar farmsAi??the project proponentsAi??planAi??to build nearAi??Swan Hill andAi??Mildura.
The company behind the bid, the Australian Solar Group,Ai??haveAi??heldAi??quiet talks overAi??four years with different armsAi??of the government to try get theAi??project off the ground,Ai??butAi??has so far not gotAi??finalAi??backing.
The two solar farmsAi??wouldAi??generateAi??80 gigawatt-hours of electricityAi??a year, aboutAi??theAi??sameAi??amount used byAi??Melbourne’s tram network, which isAi??the world’s largest.
Under the proposal the government would back the projectAi??by signingAi??Public Transport Victoria (PTV) up to aAi??power purchaseAi??agreement withAi??the solarAi??farms, creatingAi??aAi??reliable revenue sourceAi??alongside theAi??renewable energy target.
The proponents sayAi??the project has been designed to ensure the cost ofAi??tram tickets would not rise, nor would it add to PTV’s power bill.Ai??It would cutAi??100,000Ai??tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year from running tramsAi??and give the city an obvious global selling pointAi??(see the mock-up tram design above), according to the pitch.
WHO BACKS IT?
The Australia Solar Group was founded by businessmenAi??Adrian Critchlowai??i??Ai??and Dave Holland.Ai??MrAi??CrtichlowAi??previously helpedAi??startAi??companiesAi??Booking.comAi??andAi??AlertMe,ai??i??beforeAi??successfulAi??sales of both. Mr Holland was formerly theAi??head ofAi??Solar Systems, a company that was buildingAi??a large solar project in MilduraAi??before financialAi??collapseAi??in 2009.
Mr Holland said Australia SolarAi??had triedAi??to getAi??almost all elements of the tram project ready to goAi??before it sought finalAi??financial backing.
“This project is virtually ready to go. We can’t see any barriers that would stop it from here,” he said.
The tram project has been supported behind the scenes by members of the Melbourne City Council, includingAi??Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.Ai??Councillor Arron Wood saidAi??it ticked many boxes,Ai??from contributing significantly towards the city’s renewable energy targetAi??to creating employment and training opportunities in rural Victoria.
“Ultimately, whether this project proceeds rests firmly with the Victorian Government.Ai??I just hope they take the action necessary to get itAi??done,” Cr Wood said.
A spokeswoman for the Andrews government said: “We are interested in how the project progresses and will continue discussions with the group.”
IS THE PROJECT VIABLE?
Australian Solar says the solar farms would span across 80 hectares and useAi??130,000 panelsAi??to trackAi??the sun throughout the day.Ai??It hasAi??planning andAi??grid connection approvals for itsAi??Swan Hill site, withAi??permitAi??processesAi??underwayAi??for the second site at Red Cliffs.
Study Supports LRT
Someone should tell the SkyTrain Lobby that no one builds with SkyTrain anymore; even the Canada Line isn’t SkyTrain!
Modern light rail made SkyTrain and light metro obsolete decades ago, yet no seems to read the news in this part of the world, with many people still championing SkyTrain, a transit system that costs more to build; more to operate and more to maintain, than LRT.
So who are you going to believe, Shirocca Consulting, a professional transportation consulting group or Daryl Dela Cruz a teenage college student, with no formal back ground in transit? I’ll place my money on Shirocca Consulting.
Surrey defends LRT plan with economic study
Light rail transit in Surrey might look something like this street-level train in Dublin.ai??i??Ai??image credit: Surrey.ca
- byAi?? Jeff Nagel – Surrey North Delta Leader
- posted May 15, 2015
The City of Surrey is trumpeting its case for two light rail transit (LRT) lines with a study that claims the system will generate big economic benefits.
The report’s release is officially aimed at forming part of the business case to secure federal funding for the $2.1-billion project.
But it also comes as city officials seek to quell continued opposition to the choice of ground-level light rail technology over elevated SkyTrain from some critics in Surrey and Langley, and to help ensure the project proceeds even if the Metro Vancouver transit funding referendum is defeated.
TheAi??Shirocca Consulting study claims 24,600 direct and indirect jobs would be created in B.C. during construction and $1.4 billion would be paid in wages and salaries.
The provincial government would collect $132 million in taxes and $354 million in tax would flow to the federal government, and still more would accrue over the next 30 years of operations.
Mayor Linda Hepner argues the taxes generated will help offset the capital grants she wants senior governments to make to finance Surrey LRT.
She said it’s the most cost-effective rapid transit option to connect the city’s town centres.
“We can get one and a half to two times as much light rail compared to SkyTrain,” Hepner said. “And it also animates and develops and shapes the community instead of acting as just a simple mode of transportation.”
A Langley Township transportation manager recently cautioned that LRT seems designed to move Surrey residents within the city at the expense of a no-transfer, more reliable and likely faster ride for passengers from Langley through Surrey if the Fraser Highway line is built with SkyTrain instead.
Although the province overruled the original local choice of LRT for the Evergreen Line in favour of SkyTrain, Hepner said she’s confident the province understands the need for LRT in Surrey and noted it has the agreement of the Metro mayors’ council.
“It was chosen under the mayors’ plan as a priority project and agreed regionally that light rail was the way to go in terms of connectability and what we could get.”
The Surrey LRT project proposes a 10.9-kilometre “L-line” linking Guildford, Surrey City Centre and Newton that would open by 2023, and a 17.1-kilometre line from City Centre to Langley City opening by 2028.
Service is assumed to be every five minutes, falling to every three minutes with an expected service upgrade in 2041.
Light rail would have more stations than SkyTrain and be more pedestrian-friendly, offering “both eyes on the street and from the street visibility,” the report said.
“Unlike Rapid Bus or SkyTrain alternatives, the LRT will have a permanent physical presence in their exclusive rights-of-way and yet be at a human scale and have a gentle footprint in keeping with the lower density portions of the line.”
The study argues the light rail lines will be a magnet for other high-tech and health sciences employers, resulting in more jobs springing up along the network.
It notes access to Surrey Memorial Hospital would improve, accelerating the development of that area as a growing health technology centre.
And it predicts increased investment in high-quality residential, commercial and civic development that would increase the tax base and add jobs in both Surrey City Centre and Langley’s town centre.
More households may be able to afford homes in the area, it says, because the line will allow more residents to forego a car.
SkyTrain for Surrey advocate Daryl Dela Cruz said the Shirocca report appears to emphasize economics and development because the actual transit improvement case from LRT is weak.
“Commuters don’t want to know about these vague details ai??i?? they want to know if they’ll be able to get around easier,” Dela Cruz said.
His group proposes SkyTrain to Langley on Fraser Highway ai??i??Ai??which would get riders boarding in Langley to Waterfront Station in under an hour ai??i??Ai??and bus rapid transit instead of light rail on other corridors.
Light rail on King George would be only one minute faster than the existing 96 B-Line express bus to Newton, he said, while 104 Avenue would end up more congested with the loss of a lane of traffic to LRT.
“It would seem that the results have more to do with appeasing developers, business prospects, pro-light rail advocates and other such entities as opposed to transit riders and the actual stakeholders on the proposed lines,” Dela Cruz said.
Tram problems in Toronto
Next time, forget Bombardier and buy from Siemens or Alstom!
TTCai??i??s new streetcars plagued with manufacturing problems
CEO Andy Byford wants customers to know initial cars were slow to hit the street because they were badly built.
Marcus Oleniuk / Toronto Star Order this photo
A TTC worker changes the track for a new model streetcar at the TTC Hillcrest Complex, where the cars are tested before hitting the street.
By: Tess Kalinowski Transportation reporter, Published on Tue May 12 2015
Laminate that wouldnai??i??t adhere to the parts, and under-frames so badly out of alignment with the walls Bombardier tried to rivet them together: The first vehicles in Torontoai??i??s new $1.2-billion streetcar fleet were so poorly manufactured, the TTC wouldnai??i??t accept them for fear they would break down on bumpy city streets, transit CEO Andy Byford has revealed.
The European design for the streetcar parts simply wasnai??i??t translating to the Mexican manufacturing facility that is supplying parts to the Thunder Bay assembly plant.
ai???Thunder Bay was finding when they went to attach the under-frame to the sidewalls they werenai??i??t square. You either accept that or try riveting it to create that square alignment. We rejected that. We donai??i??t want it riveted. We want it built properly, because rivets pop,ai??? Byford said.
There should have been about 50 of the new streetcars running on Toronto streets by now, according to the original schedule. But there are only five, with two more expected to come online shortly.
Bombardier spokesperson Marc-AndrAi?? Lefebvre said the company was aware of the manufacturing problems and has been working to fix them.
Video cameras instead of mirrors, air conditioning and touch-screen technology are some of the highlights in the cab of the new streetcars.
ai???I think Mr. Byfordai??i??s comments were obviously on items that we have already discussed with the TTC,ai??? he said. ai???Those are items in the past that we have already acknowledged.
ai???We took action to make sure that the vehicles we delivered to Toronto were at the highest quality possible.ai???
Conscious that customers are eager to see the new fully accessible, air-conditioned cars in service, Byford said he is now pushing to have the manufacturing schedule ramped up, first to two cars a month, then by fall to delivery of one every five days.
There should be 30 cars in Toronto by the end of the year, with the Harbourfront, Spadina and Bathurst lines fully furnished. He is adamant that Bombardier meet its 2019 end-date commitment for delivery of the entire 204-car order.
Lefebvre said the company was on track to meet its delivery targets.
Itai??i??s been a tricky balancing act between the desire to get the cars and the need to get them right.
ai???Iai??i??m not striving for absolute perfection, because equally customers want the new vehicles,ai??? said Byford, who plans to visit Thunder Bay with TTC chair Josh Colle in June.
There are still issues with loose screws, wiring and electrical connectors; the latter can only be tested once the streetcars are running on the track.
Bombardier is retooling its Mexican operation and the production line in Thunder Bay is getting new quality-assurance processes that catch problems before they get to Toronto. But Byford said heai??i??s made it plain the TTC is not a happy customer.
Marcus Oleniuk/Toronto Star
A new model streetcar is seen here at the TTC Hillcrest Complex.
ai???Where a defect is not critical and can be rectified later, we do accept the vehicles. Thereai??i??s been some panels where the aesthetic appearance isnai??i??t perfect. Thatai??i??s not going to make the vehicle break down. Weai??i??ll allow that, on the written assurance that when thereai??i??s enough of them that vehicle will go back and get rectified,ai??? he said.
Byford said he was sharing the extent of the quality assurance issues so that TTC riders would understand why theyai??i??ve been waiting so long for new vehicles that were ordered in 2010.
ai???I wouldnai??i??t want them to think weai??i??re passive here. On the contrary, we are hammering Bombardier,ai??? he said, adding that he speaks to his counterpart there regularly and there are daily meetings between the manufacturer and the TTC.
TTC engineers are already helping Bombardier with the commissioning of the new vehicles. To leave Thunder Bay, the vehicles need a partial acceptance certificate (PAC). It is then shipped by train to the TTCai??i??s Hillcrest complex. TTC engineers then issue a final acceptance certificate (FAC). Until that happens, the TTC doesnai??i??t own the vehicle and no money changes hands.
ai???We will not FAC and therefore pay for, with Torontoniansai??i?? tax dollars ai??i?? we will not accept a sub-optimum vehicle,ai??? said Byford.
The cars now in service ai???have proved superbly reliable,ai??? he said. One of the two-stage wheelchair ramps has failed once and a Presto device was out of service for about two hours, but otherwise the vehicles have been problem-free.
The TTC has set a target of 35,000 kilometres between failures for the new cars, compared with about 7,000 kilometres on average between failures on the old fleet.
With files from Eric Andrew-Gee
TransLink dumps planning veterans Tamim Raad and Brian Mills – Adios Surrey’s LRT?
It seems anyone who even breathes light rail in Metro Vancouver is quietly terminated from TransLink.
UBC educated Tamin Raad, was a supporter of light rail and understood the issues surrounding light metro.
TransLink CEO Tom Prenderghast was forced out of TransLink because he dared to challenge the SkyTrain Lobby, by supporting light rail and now, more are being eased out, which means only one thing, whether the plebiscite passes or fails, a Broadway SkyTrain subway will be built and LRT in surrey will probably will not.
***************************
From the Georgia Straight
TransLink pushes out senior transportation planning veterans Tamim Raad and Brian Mills
- Transit riders have lost two of their supporters at TransLink with the ouster of Brian Mills and Tamim Raad. Stephen Hui
In the midst of a Lower Mainland transportation plebiscite, TransLink has given walking papers to two transit experts.
This comes less than three months after the board of directors replaced CEO Ian Jarvis with interim CEO Doug Allen.
The Straight has asked TransLink media relations for a comment. Nobody has responded as of this writing.
Raad and Mills are both UBC graduates and each reported to recently appointed vice president of transportation strategy, Tim Savoie.
Savoie, former director of planning and development services in Port Moody, has extensive experience as a municipal planner. However, he does not have nearly as much experience in dealing with transit Mills or Raad.
Mills has been involved in this work for 27 years and led TransLink’s long-term vision and strategy document, Transport 2040.
Raad has been with TransLink for 16 years. In February, he told the Georgia Straight that the regional transportation authority’s goal was to create a “frequent-wide transit network” serving 70 percent of the population.
‘You head out your door in Surrey, say and walk a few blocks,” he explained. “You dont need a schedule. A bus comes every 15 minutes. Average wait: seven-and-a-half minutes. Thats the plan?
Last year, Raad told the Vancouver Sun that TransLink “thinks a light rail line from Commercial to UBC is workable”.
The Vision Vancouver controlled council has adamantly demanded a more expensive subway. This was included in the suite of projects supported by the Mayor’s Council and put before voters in the plebiscite.
Even if the plebiscite passes, the provincial and federal governments will each have to kick in nearly $700 million to build the subway. If it’s constructed, trains would travel underground from VCC-Clark Station to Arbutus Street.
Understanding the benefits of modern light rail
What is good for New South Wales in Australia, is certainly good for BC.
The benefits of building with light rail and I so wish local politicians take the time and read the following.
ITLS_presentation_5_May_2015_-_McKibbin_-_Light_Rail[1]
The key building with light rail is building it right, serving major transit destinations as well as areas of housing, giving the transit customer a seamless (no transfer) journey. A lesson TransLink has yet to learn.
Metro Madness
Seoul, South Korea – op-ed: Asia builds subways; lesson for Canada ??
VANCOUVER, Toronto and Montreal still haven’tAi?? settled their subway dreams but an op-ed commentary in The Globe and Mail says Asia, instead of voting on subways, actually builds them:
<http://tinyurl.com/ljlh6tt>
“Asia doesnai??i??t vote for subways, it builds themJEFFREY SIMPSON\SEOULAi??ai??i??Ai??The Globe and MailPublished Saturday, May. 02 2015
Citizens of British Columbiaai??i??s Lower Mainland, unite! You have nothing to lose but your gridlock! Hemmed between the ocean and the mountains, the Lower Mainland is choking now. The traffic contributes to Greater Vancouverites being Canadaai??i??s least happy people, according to a recent survey by Statistics Canada.
Imagine what the region will be like in two decades if voters reject the small sales tax increase proposed in a plebiscite to bring new public transit improvements to the region.
We live in a changed country now where doing things collectively is out-of-favour, replaced by a mixture of contempt for government and ai???Iai??i??m all right, Jack.ai??? So the plebiscite might lose, and transit will fall further behind.
In Greater Toronto, Montreal and a few other Canadian cities, urban transit has to catch up to local needs and international realities. Canadians are now largely an urban people, but we have not adequately financed public transit. The result: urban areas that do not function as they should, and not as they need to against world competition.
We stop, we go. Governments do this project, then wait, then do another some years later. There is little systematic, ongoing, year-over-year capital investment.
In the recent federal budget, for example, the Conservatives pledged $750-million (USD $616.7 million) spread over two years beginning in 2017-2018, with $1-billion-a-year (USD $822.3 milliion) thereafter. This sounds like an eye-popping number, until you think about it, which the Conservatives obviously hope people will not.
A billion-a-year divided among, say, the countryai??i??s top six or seven cities ai??i?? and they will all be hungering and lobbying for their share of the pittance ai??i?? might build another station or two in this city or that. But compared to the need, and to what competing nations are doing, itai??i??s close to a joke.
The Lower Mainland, even more than the rest of Canada, competes with Asia, especially North Asia. There, subway lines are ubiquitous and cheap, as are urban surface rail lines.
In Seoul, for example, with a population a little more than twice Greater Torontoai??i??s, there are nine subway lines. Nine. The GTA will launch on June 6 an airport link to Pearson; in Seoul, there have been for a long time subway links to the two international airports, Gimpo and Incheon. The same goes for Tokyo: direct train links from the two international airports, Narita and Haneda.
Beijing and Shanghai have magnetic levitation trains whisking people from airports at speeds of up to 420 kilometres an hour (260.9 MPH). Toronto, in other words, is playing catch up. Vancouver, happily, has the Canada Line from the airport to downtown. Montreal has nothing.
The cost in Toronto from Pearson to downtown will be $27.50 (USD $22.62). The cost in Seoul from Gimpo, the airport closest to downtown is $6 (USD $4.93), and from Incheon, further away, $17 (USD $13.98). The cost of subway tickets in central Seoul and Tokyo: $1.20-$2.40 (USD $0.99 to $1.97) for systems that offer far more timely, modern and efficient service than anything in Toronto, or Montreal for that matter.
The key in North Asia is the assumption that urban transit is a public good that must be given priority in funding and planning. These countries donai??i??t engage in the fits and starts of Canadian cities; they plan to improve every year. It happens in authoritarian China, but also in democratic Japan and South Korea.
To wit: there are four extensions under way of existing subways in Seoul. Here, they donai??i??t do it like Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne: Making grandiose promises to improve transit in a surge; or the kind of financially fake promise of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, with numbers that sound more muscular than they will be in fact.
You might reply: Yes, but these North Asian cities are gigantic. And indeed they are. Tokyoai??i??s population is about 34 million, Seoulai??i??s about 10 million. But Nagoya, Japan, with a population about the size of Vancouver, has 93 kilometres (57.7 miles) of subway; Nagasaki (population 1.3 million) has five subway lines; Osaka (population 2.6 million) has eight lines across 130 km (80.7 miles). The large cities all have buses everywhere and, in some cases, commuter rail.
Governments here donai??i??t put matters to a plebiscite. They do what governments are supposed to do: they decide. The Chinese donai??i??t care much about Not in My Backyard. Democratic countries have to pay more attention to public opinion. Judging by the public transit in North Asia, people understand that without large and efficient systems, their cities will be less manageable and competitive.
We can only hope the people of Greater Vancouver get the message from North Asia.
Finch Ave. West LRT is a go!
Finch Ave. West LRT is a go!
With thanks from Mr. Haveacow!
In the latest of a flurry of transit infrastructure announcements before and since last weekai??i??s launch of Ontarioai??i??s 2015 budget, the government of Ontario says itai??i??s finally going to start building a light rail transit line along Finch Avenue West.
The Finch West LRT is an 11-kilometre light rail transit line that will run along the surface of Finch Avenue from the new Finch West Subway Station on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension at Keele Street to Humber College.
It will provide rapid transit to neighbourhoods that need it the most; it will travel through two of the City of Torontoai??i??s 13 identified priority neighbourhoods ai??i?? Jamestown and Jane/Finch.
The Finch West LRT is a $1 billion (2010$) investment from the Ontario government to expand transit in Toronto.
Construction is currently estimated to begin in 2017.
High Capacity
The projected ridership of the Finch West LRT corridor is 2,800 passengers per hour in the peak direction by 2031. The capacity of an LRT is 15,000 passengers per hour per direction. LRT cars can be removed or added easily, thus providing the flexibility to accommodate ridership demands.
Reliable
The Finch West LRT will carry passengers in dedicated right-of-way transit lanes separate from regular traffic, as well as priority signaling at intersections. These two components ensure that the Finch West LRT is reliable and that travel times are more certain.
Convenient
The Finch West LRT will have up to 18 surface stops along Finch Avenue and will have rapid transit connections: Finch West Station to the new Toronto-York subway extension.
Accessible
The Finch West LRT will have multiple entrances and low floors to ensure fast and accessible boarding. In addition, each vehicle will use the PRESTO proof-of-payment system.
Proven Technology
LRT is a proven technology that is used around the world, including cities with variable temperatures such as Edmonton, Calgary and Minneapolis.
More TramTrains For Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe, Germany, the birthplace of the TramTrain concept, goes from success to success.
For twenty-two years, TramTrain have been operating in the Karlsruhe region with no major accidents, track sharing with both the city tram systems and mainline railways, providing affordable tram services to regions which otherwise would not been able to afford a quality transit service.
Karlsruhe orders more Vossloh tram-trains
KARLSRUHE Transport (VBK) and Albtal Transport Company (AVG) have exercised an option with Vossloh Kiepe and its Spanish sister company Vossloh Rail Vehicles for 25 additional CityLink NET 2012 tram-trains, taking its total fleet of these vehicles to 50.
VBK and AVG placed an initial ai??i??75m order for 25 vehicles in October 2011 and deliveries started in May 2014 with the first vehicles entering service in October. So far AVG has received around half of the vehicles from the first order.
Vossloh Rail Vehicles is assembling the tram-trains at its Albuixech plant near Valencia, Spain, while Vossloh Kiepe is supplying electrical equipment traction vehicle control systems, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, train control systems, passenger information systems, and CCTV.
The 80km/h, 37.2m-long vehicles are 2.65m wide and accommodate up to 224 passengers, 104 of them seated.
The NET 2012 is equipped with IGBT inverters and to meet the high redundancy requirements specified by VBK and AVG, each of the four 125kW four-phase asynchronous traction motors is supplied by its own inverter.
The NET 2012s will operate over the main line network on tram-train lines S1 (Hochstetten ai??i?? Bad Herrenalb) and S11 (Hochstetten ai??i?? Ittersbach).
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