Low-floor tram

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

A low-floor tram is a tram that has no steps 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]

A low-floor tram allows accessible level access from curb level platforms. Level access can also be achieved either by using a high-floor vehicle serving high-platform 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 platforms in urban centres.

Low-floor tram configurations

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Entry door of a low-floor tram, with "roll-in" level floor accessibility.
Entry door of a low-floor tram, with "roll-in" level floor accessibility.
Entry door of a high-floor tram. Steps shown just inside the door.
Entry door of a high-floor tram. Steps are visible just inside the door.

Trams traditionally had high floors, and articulated tram designs evolved with low-floor centre sections. Examples of this design are Amsterdam 11G/12G-trams and the Kusttrams in Belgium.

The most common design of 100% low floor vehicles[citation needed] is the multi-articulated design. This uses short carbody sections for the wheels with longer sections between them. Examples of this are the Alstom Citadis and Combino. A different design was developed by MAN. In 1990 the GT6N 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. Other designs are only partially low floor, with high floors over the bogies at the outer ends and single axle bogies under the low-floor centre section. North American 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.

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

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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]

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 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

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Single section tram with low-floor door in the middle
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

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See also: Railway platform height

Typical floor heights of low-floor trams are 300 to 350 mm (11.8 to 13.8 in), and the Ultra Low Floor tram has a floor height of only 180 mm (7.1 in). For comparison high-floor trams are typically more than 600 mm (23.6 in) and rapid transit using heavy rail trains has floor heights of 800 to 1,200 mm (31.5 to 47.2 in).

List of low-floor trams by country manufactured and manufacturers

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Belarus

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Belkommunmash

Canada

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Bombardier Transportation
See caption
Flexity Outlook in Toronto
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E-class Melbourne tram

Croatia

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Crotram
See caption
TMK 2200-K in Zagreb

Czech Republic

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ČKD Tatra
Aliance TW Team
Single section tram with low floor middle section
Tatra T3R.PLF (first car) in Prague
Škoda Transportation
See caption
Škoda 19T Electra in Wrocław
Inekon Trams

France

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Alstom
See caption
Citadis 302 in Lyon

Germany

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Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG)
Duewag
See caption
MGT6D in Erfurt
MAN
  • Nuremberg N8S-NF (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
Siemens
See caption
Avenio in The Hague
Adtranz
See caption
Eurotram in Strasbourg

Italy

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AnsaldoBreda
Fiat Ferroviaria
Società Costruzioni Industriali Milano (Socimi)

Japan

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Alna Sharyo [ja]
See caption
Little Dancer Type C in Hakodate
Kinki Sharyo
Niigata Transys

Poland

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Konstal
See caption
Konstal 114Na in Gdańsk
Modertrans
  • Moderus Beta MF 01, MF 13, MF 14 AC BD, MF 18 (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
  • Moderus Beta MF 02 AC, MF 15 AC, MF 16 AC BD, MF 19 AC (new trams with low-floor middle section)
Pesa
See caption
Pesa Swing 122NbT in Toruń
Protram
Solaris Bus & Coach

Romania

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Astra Vagoane Călători
See caption
Astra imperio in cluj napoca
URAC Bucharest

Russian Federation

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PTMZ (Petěrburgskij tramvajno-mechaničeskij zavod)
UKVZ (Usť-Katavskij vagonstrojitělnyj zavod imeni Sergeje Mironoviče Kirova)
See caption
71-628 in Taganrog
See caption
71-639 (Castor) in Yekaterinburg
Uraltransmash
Tver Carriage Works (PC Transport Systems contract)

Spain

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Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF)
See caption
Urbos trams in Budapest
Vossloh España

Switzerland

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ABB
Stadler Rail
See caption
Tango tram from Basel on test in Zürich

Turkey

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Durmazlar
Bozankaya

Ukraine

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Electrontrans
See caption
Electron T5L64 in Lviv
Tatra-Yug

Other trams

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See also

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References

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  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" [Final report: Development of the Hanover light rail network - Study on the use of low-floor vehicles] (PDF) (in German). 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. ^ a b "A Novelty in Car Construction, The "Stepless" type of the New York Railways Company". Brill Magazine. VI (3). J. G. Brill Company: 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.
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