Tram-train

This article is about trams sharing tracks with main-line railways. ‘Tram-train’ can also refer to a train of two or more coupled trams operating on a regular tramway.

Stadtbahn street running, in Heilbronn

Stadtbahn on main-line railway

A Nordhausen ‘DUO’ Combino on the track linking the urban tramway, where it is electrically powered via overhead wires, and the HSB (Harzer Schmalspurbahn) rural railway, where it is powered by an onboard diesel engine

The Zwickau Model has main-line lightweight diesel tram-trains running through urban streets. Because the trams are metre gauge and the trains standard gauge the shared tracks are dual-gauge, with one shared rail and one exclusive rail for each.

A tram-train is a light-rail public transport system where trams run both on an urban tramway network and on main-line railways to combine the tram's flexibility and availability and the train's greater speed. The Karlsruhe model pioneered this concept in Germany, and it has since been adopted on projects such as the RijnGouweLijn in the Netherlands, in Mulhouse in France and in Kassel and Saarbrücken in Germany. The tram-train is a type of interurban, according to George W. Hilton and John F. Due's definiton.

In March 2008, the UK Department for Transport released details of a plan to trial diesel tram-trains on the Penistone Line for two years starting in 2010. The idea was withdrawn as it was deemed not economically viable for a trial (due to the cost of the extra development required for the diesel engines to meet the forthcoming stringent EU emission regulations) and instead single-voltage electric tram-trains will be trialled between Rotherham and Sheffield.

On June 5, 2008, the Government of South Australia announced plans for train-tram operation on the Grange railway line, Adelaide.

Most tram-trains are standard gauge, which facilitates sharing track with standard gauge main-line trains. An exception is in Nordhausen, where both the trams and the trains are metre gauge.

Technology

Tram-trains have dual equipment to suit the respective needs of tram and train, such as support for multiple voltages and safety equipment such as train stops.

The idea is not new: in the early 20th century, interurban streetcar lines often operated on the same tracks as steam trains, until crash standards made old-style track sharing impossible. The difference between modern tram-trains and the older interurbans and radial railways is that the tram-trains are upgraded to meet mainline railway standards, rather than ignoring them (an exception is the USA's River Line, for reasons explained below).

The Karlsruhe and Saarbrücken systems use an automatic train protection signalling system called ‘PZB’ or ‘Indusi’, so that if the driver passes a signal at stop the emergency brakes are applied. Regarding deadman's pedals and deadman's handles, a Sifa must also be operational on railtracks as well.

The River LINE light rail line in New Jersey runs along freight tracks with time separation: passenger trains run by day, and freight by night. This, like the O-Train in Ottawa, Canada, and the Newark City Subway extension in Belleville and Bloomfield, New Jersey (with similar FRA-imposed time-share waivers), does not qualify it as a tram-train per se^{[citation needed]}, whose chief characteristic is shared-use of main-line tracks at all times^{[citation needed]}.

Existing systems

Europe

• Alicante Tram, Alicante, Spain
• Chemnitz, Germany - 750 V DC
• Kassel, Germany (2006)
  • 600 V DC/15 kV AC and (different tram-trains)
  • 600 V DC/on-board diesel engine
• Nordhausen, Germany - 600 V DC/on-board diesel engine
• Nantes, France (Nantes-Clisson, SNCF)
• Paris, France (Line T4, SNCF)
• Mulhouse tramway, Mulhouse, France
• Lyon, France, Rhônexpress (City center-Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport) - Veolia Transport and Stadler Rail - Design by RCP Design Global
• Saarbrücken, Germany
• Sassari Tram-train, Sassari, Italy
• Stadtbahn Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany - 750 V DC/15 kV AC
• RandstadRail, The Hague, Netherlands ()
• Zwickau, Germany - on-board diesel engine (Light-weight RegioSprinter diesel railbuses that also operate on street tramway)

North America

• Capital MetroRail in Austin, Texas, USA - commuter rail that shares more commonality with tram-train operation, with downtown street running and usage of mainline track. Uses on-board diesel engines in DMUs.
• River Line (New Jersey, United States) - on-board diesel engine

Proposed systems

Africa

• Réunion Tram Train, Réunion, France

Europe

• Alicante, Spain
• Braunschweig, Germany
• Bratislava, Slovakia
• Grenoble, France
• Groningen, Netherlands
• Kiel, Germany
• Košice, Slovakia
• León, Spain
• Liberec to Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic
• Linköping, Sweden
• Lyon, France
• Manresa, Catalonia, Spain
• RijnGouweLijn, Netherlands
• Strasbourg, France
• Wrocław, Poland (2005) - 600 V DC/3 kV DC
• TramCamp in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain
• Line extensions to the Midland Metro in the West Midlands conurbation, England
• Lines B and C of Porto Metro, Porto, Portugal, use Flexity Swift tram-trains.
• Metro Mondego, Coimbra, Portugal
• Sassari tram-train, Sardinia, Italy
• Szeged, Hungary

United Kingdom

The Penistone line from Huddersfield to Sheffield (an hourly diesel heavy rail service) was to be converted for use by vehicles described as tram-trains, but there was no commitment to connect them to the Sheffield tram network. However, in September 2009, it was decided that this would be not economically viable for a trial, and electric tram-trains would be trialled instead between Rotherham and Sheffield.

A tram-train trial in the Manchester area was ruled out as the Department for Transport wanted to trial low-floor tram-trains, and Manchester Metrolink floors are at train height. Tram-train trials in Leeds and York were not seen as options as there is no existing tram system in either Leeds or York.

In August 2009, the Liverpool Daily Post reported that a new Merseyrail tram-train link to Liverpool John Lennon Airport was under consideration. The Merseyrail Northern Line and the City Line from Liverpool Lime Street station to Liverpool South Parkway station were being assessed. From South Parkway the tram-trains would transfer seamlessly to a new tramway. A link from Edge Hill in the east of the city to the Arena at Kings Dock near the city centre was also being considered.

Other suggested schemes for England include the following:

• Leeds to York via Harrogate
• Leeds to Wakefield
• Leeds to Bradford via Bradford Interchange
• Leeds to Selby
• Manchester to Marple
• Manchester to Northwich (via the direct Manchester Metrolink line to Altrincham)
• Norwich to Rackheath
• Tees Valley Metro (later phases)
• Abbey Line (Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey)
• Thanet Light Rapid Transit [Kent]

Oceania

• Adelaide, South Australia – Tram-train connection for the Adelaide Metro's Outer Harbor/Grange train lines and City West-Glenelg tramline extension announced in 2008 state budget as part of a 10-year AU$2 billion public transport upgrade.

Manufacturers

Models of tram designed for tram-train operation include:

• Alstom’s Dualis, derived from the Citadis
• Bombardier’s Flexity Link
• Bombardier-Adtranz A32.
• Siemens' Avanto (also called S70)

See also

• Karlsruhe model
• Stadtbahn

External links

• TramTrain - the 2nd generation: Searching for the ‘ideal’ TramTrain-city
• New TramTrain for Mulhouse - Reportage and images (english/german.)
• Construction of the TramTrain system in Mulhouse with images (english/german.)
• tram-train of Karlsruhe transformed in a subway in the center
• Leeds City Region proposal
• (Jane's) Urban Transit Systems