InTramCities with Gordon Stewart
NEW IN 2017Paris (France) : 21stOctober, 2017
Coverageof Paris' recently opened Express Tram line T11 which makes use of anunder-used mainline rail alignment in the city's northern suburbs tocreate essential inter-suburban links, with interchange stations forconnections to the regional express suburban rail network (RER). Thistram-train line, Paris' second after the T4 line, opened on June 30th2017 and is operated bySNCF very much like a main-line railway, with segregated alignments and"heavy" infrastructure and is the first "tram" line to be described as"Express". It is the first phase of a longer route : extensions in thewest from Epinay to Sartrouville and in the east from le Bourget toNoisy-le-Sec are planned to be opened in 2023. There is also briefcoverage of the tram line T8linking two of the T11 stations to St Denis and more extensive coverageof the older tram line (T1) linking St Denis and La Courneuve. There isseparate coverage of Tramway line T5 which is a tramway on tyres,running from St Denis Marche to Sarcelles (click here)
Above : An express tram-train running eastbound at Epinay-Villetaneuse, with lefthand running, railway-style, illustrating its distinctly non-tram-likecharacteristics. ..Amsterdam (Netherlands) : 31st September - 3rd October, 2017
Amsterdam'stram system remains one of the largest in Europe and route mileage willnot be lost despite the imminent opening of a new north-south metroline, long in planning, gestation and construction in 2018. This isexpected to take place on July 22nd. A reorganisation oftram routes themselves is planned to coincide with the introduction ofthe new line, reducing tram services to Centraal Station whilststrengthening orbital routes. On October 13th 2017 route7 is to be diverted along new tracks in Hoofdweg between Mercatorpleinand Postjesweg, allowing the parallel Witte de Withstraat to become atraffic-calmed and tram-free area
Above: Amsterdam's newest piece of operational tramway is only a couple ofhundredmetres long. The new link along Ferdinand Bolstraat between AlbertCuypstraat and the crossing with Ceintuurbaan, wasrequired to re-route trams following the closure of the tracks inAlbert Cuypstraat. The city had employed a number of stewards inhigh-visibility jackets to direct traffic from streets crossingFerdinand Bollstraat directly across the tram tracks as the road hasbeen renovated for pedestrian, cycle and tram traffic only. Line 24 wasthus re-routed, but line 16withdrawn in its entirety with itsfuture in doubt withit not featuring on the network plans issued by the GVB for itsproposed reorganisation of routes in 2018. Neverthless, the junction ofAlbert Cuypstraat and Ferdinand Bollstraat has been rebuilt with tracksfor line 16 remaining in situ and work apparently proceeding to re-laytracks in a completely rebuilt de Lairessestraat and current news itemson the GVB refer to the "temporary" closure of line 16. What does seemclear is that any future line 16 will not serve the city centre viaVijzelstraat and an enhanced frequency line 24 will be the only linewhich willduplicate this section of the new north-south metroline. .
Mainz (Germany) : 7th August, 2017
Aftermany years of uncertainty, Mainz's tramway system seems secure with theopening of a new line. This brief visit looks at the Hauptbahnhof only.Tracks in Bahnhofstrasse are temporarily closed as the street undergoesa facelift
Above : Tram 207 with the Hauptbahnhof buildings in the background.
Wurzburg (Germany) : 5th August, 2017
Wurzburg is characterised by its magnificent setting on the River Main and its impressive historical architecture.
Above : Tram 269 at Rathaus tram stop in Wurzburg's largely pedestrianised city centre.
Bratislava (Slovakia): 29th July, 2017
Alongsideextensive fleet renewal with articulated trams from Skoda, Bratislavahas now opened a tramway link to the high-rise suburb of Petrzalka onthe southern side of the Danube, which has required the construction ofa new tram-and-pedestrian-only bridge. Only the first phase of thislong-awaited route is currently is service - as far as Jungmannova.
Above: A new Skoda tram leaves the new Danube bridge to enter theSadJ. Kral'a tram stop located above thebank on the river's southernside.
Budapest (Hungary): 28th July, 2017
Budapesthas concentrated on renewing its infrastructure and rolling stock inrecent times, with only one short link on the Buda side of the Danuberiverbank new to the extensive network. This brief visit covers the twocircumferential lines primarily on the Pest side, with Combinosdominating the inner ring, often claimed to be the busiest tram line inthe world, and with newly delivered CAF trams now dominating the outerring.
CAF tram 2110 northbound at Arpad Hid on express tram line 1.
Madrid (Spain): 12th-13th July, 2017
Madridhas one of the world's largest and most comprehensive Metro systems andits own "Crossrail" for national railway operator RENFE's suburbanservices, but it has also built three tram lines, marketed as "lightmetros". Light Metro lines 2 and 3 serve developing communitiesoutside the city itself and link into the urban metro at Colonia Jardinstation on the south-western edge of the city. Light Metro line 1 lieswithin the city itself providing a service through a newly developedarea on its northern perimiter with each end terminating at a metrostation. All three lines were opened in 2007.
Above: One of Madrid's standard Alstom-supplied trams at Palas de Rey online 1 shortly before reaching the northern terminus at Las Tablasmetro station. The Las Tablas area is a modern development areaof the city, built in an expansive manner with wideroads, plenty of space and medium-rise accommodation blocks. There aretwo sections of underground on the 5.4 km long line (the shortest ofthe three light metros), with stations at Maria Tudor, the next afterPalas de Rey, with the tunnel portal seen in the photo above, and twointermediate underground stations at thesouthern end of the line before the underground interchange with themetro at Pinar de Chamartin. .
Parla (Spain): 12th July, 2017
Locatedin the growing urban agglomeration on the southern side of Spain'scapital city Madrid, the population of Parla has rocketed to over160,000 due to the massive influx of people to what was, until onlyrecently, a village. Missing out on the wholly underground metro looplinking other towns in the area such as Getafe and Leganes, Parla optedfor its own circular tramway to bring its citizens from its southernand eastern areas to the community's centre and in particular to thecommuter railway station from where there are frequent fast links toMadrid. The 8.3 km loop was opened in two parts - in May andSeptember 2007
Thetramway serves the Parla East development area. At this point thesouthbound and northbound alignements use parallel streets (this viewat Venus Norte shows a tram northbound on Avenida de las Estrellas). Onthe right are the residential blocks, high rise even by Parla standardsof Parla East. To the left is open and currently undeveloped territorybetween the town and the nearby R-4 motorway.
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Vienna (Austria): 19th - 21st June and 30th July, 2017
Morecoverage of the Austrian capital city's enormous network - this timeconcentrating on its north-western and southern sectors. Included iscoverage of the southern end of line 67 between Reumannplatz andAlaudagasse, which was closed on September 2nd with the opening of thenew extension of U-Bahn line U1. The seriesfrom 30th July covers those parts of the network lying on the easternside of the River Danube
AlthoughVienna experimented with underground tramways (a significant stretchwas built in the southern suburbs), the city pursued the constructionof a full underground railway and this now handles the major passengerflows in the city. However, most of the tramway network was retainedand most of it can be regarded as a traditional street tramway, oftenrunning through narrow streets, many featuring elements of the grandarchitecture associated with Vienna. In the view above, tram 4020, atraditional articulated car and trailer of the German Duwag design,runs inbound along Wahringer Strasse at Kutschkergasse tram stop .
This18 km long tramway links the towns of Most and Litvinov, providing anurban service in each (with a branch to the railway station in Most)and the interurban section passes through a giant petrochemicalscomplex, to which it once provided an important workers' service.Originally metre-gauge, the system is now standard gauge. Most isan interesting town - it was demolished and rebuilt in an expansivemodernistic style in the 1970s to allow open-cast coal mining to beextended to the original site of the town.
Above: The broad tree-lined boulevards of the "new" Most giveplenty of space for a reserved modern alignment. Traditional Tatra T3trams dominate the rolling stock scene, with some sets running singly,others with trailer. Certain runs are advertised as "accessible"due to the operators having two Skoda 03T "Astra" cars (delivered in2001-2).The most recent additions are two Vario LF Plus cars (2014) andone EVO1 car in 2016. In the above view taken looking northwards on Tr.Budovatelu at the Most Sports Hall, the background is dominated by theChurch of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (originally built between1517 and 1594) which was the only building preserved when the old townof Most was demolished. It was moved a total of 841 metres by train toits new site in open ground alongside the new town in an operationwhich took 28 days. The church got a mention in the Guinness Book ofRecords as the heaviest building ever moved on wheels. .
Prague (Czech Republic) : 29th May - 1st June, 2017
Pragueremains one of the largest tramway networks in the world. Mostrecent investment has gone into extensions to the three metro lines inthe city, but the tram fleet has been substantially modernised. TatraT3s still dominate, but modern Skodaarticulated trams havearrived in large numbers - first the less than successful 14T designfollowed by the 15T (ForCity) design which was based on Skoda'ssuccessful design for use in Riga
Above: Skoda 15T car 9205 crosses the River Vltava into the Old Town on theManesuv Bridge, with Prague Castle forming the imposing backdrop .
Sheffield (UK) : 19th May, 2017
Verylittle has changed since the Sheffield system opened as the firstgenuine second generation street tramway in the UK. In recent years,efforts have been put into protracted preparatory work for thecountry's first tram-train line, with a new chord under constructionlinking tram metals with a main-line route to the nearby town ofRotherham. Trials are now taking place to understand the issuesspecific to UK conditions with a view to developing a template forwider use in the UK. The Duwag trams (the last built atthe famous Dusseldorf factory), changed their livery from predominantlywhite to predominantly blue when rebranded by the Stagecoach company, theoperators of the system. This series briefly covers the city centre andthe Hillsborough area.
Above: Fitzalan Square / Ponds Forge tram stop, one offourclosely-spaced stops in the city centre. The bridge over ParkSquarein the background was necessary to help the trams overcomenot only the busy roundabout below but the hilly topography of Sheffield.
Aubagne (France) :28th April, 2017
Thesmall town of Aubagne, close to the eastern edge of Marseille appears astrange place for a new tramway to have been built. With French citiesjumping on the bandwagon in their droves, Aubagne, with a population ofjust 46,000 in 2008, joined in. The tramway, opened in September 2014, isonly 2.8 km long and links the town's railway station with the high-densityresidential development at Le Charret with five intermediate stops, but does not penetrate the town's central area.Trams are not entirely new to Aubagne : an inter-urban line linked thetown to the centre of Marseille from 1905 until 1958 and there werehopes (currently dashed) that the new system would be later extended tolink with Marseilles' network once more. The one highly notablething about this system is that its use, and that of buses,is completely free topassengers as part of the local authority's fares policy
Above : The white housing blocks at Le Charret are the main source of business for Aubagne's tramway.
Marseille (France) : 26th - 28th April, 2017
Marseilleis one of three French cities which retained a single tram line fromtheir "first generation" networks and of the three, it is the one whichhas done most to restore an extended tramway presence. The port city onthe Mediterranean, regarded as France's second city has refurbished andextended the line which survived and built a three-spoke modern networkwhich acts very much as an inner-city distributor. Marseilles has tworubber-tyred underground Metro lines and on first glance, the new tramroutes appear to offer little not already provided by the metro.Nevertheless, the long trams run at an extremely high frequency and arewell patronised. There are plans to extend the lines further.
Above: Marseille's Bombardier trams are distintively styled torepresent boats evoking the port city's maritime heritage. The cityalso boasts some magnificent architecture, not least the Palais deLongchamp, seen above, which houses two museums and forms a grandentrance to a small area of parkland from where there are fine viewsover the city.Manchester(UK) : 21st April, 2017
Manchester'sSecond City Crossing, running between St Peter's Square and VictoriaStation and designed to relieve the existing link through the citycentre which has become increasingly congested as the network expands,is now opened fully with the completion of trackwork and testing onPrincess Street, Cross Street and Corporation Street. Part of thecrossing, from Victoria Station to the only intermediate stop, ExchangeSquare had been opened earlier and was covered in a series of photosfrom June 2016.
Above: Tram 3082 has leftExchange Square station and is about toenter Cross Street en route to a remodelled St Peter's Square on trackbrought into revenue service in February 2017. The new link is not onreservation but has been fitted into the existing city streets.Rome(Italy) : 20th - 21st March, 2017
Thisseries covers most of the tramway system which was not covered in 2005and should be viewed in conjuction with the earlier series. In theintervening period there has been substantial track renewal andalignment improvement, and one short extension now giving hope for the future.
Above: Tram 9230, a 100% low-floor tram of the "Cityway2" type, ofwhich 52 examples were ordered from Fiat-Alstom in 1999, is from themost modern batch of trams in service in Rome. The oldest stillin use date originally from 1948. This picture is taken at thecity-centre terminus of line 8, originally opened in 1998,which wasextended one stop from Largodi Torre Argentina (with the former terminus stub in Via di TorreArgentina given up) along via Florida, Via delle Botteghe Oscure,Via di S, Marco and Largo Enrico Berlinguer to a stub at Piazza di S.Marco but named "Venezia" after the adjoining major piazza on 6th June2013. Line 8 representeda welcomereversal of earlier policy of tramway contraction and although it hasbeen slow work, many of the remaining alignments have been renovated(including long-term bus replacement services) and the tramway nowappears to have a secure future despite work progressing on bringingMetro Line C into the city centre at Colosseum and Venezia and hopesremaining for a fourth cross-city line..
NEW IN 2016Besancon(France) : 29th September 2016
Hailedas a "low-cost" tramway for a reasonably small city, the Besanconsystem (one long line with a short branch to the railway station)exhibits all the good things one expects from the second generation ofFrench tramways. The 14.5 km long system was opened in August 2014 andis operated by Urbos 3 trams from CAF
Above: The nearest that Besancon's sleek CAF trams get to the historic coreofBesancon is at Place de la Revolution, but careful design hasallowed this modern form of transport to blend in well in a city proudof its architectural history and pleasant environment.
Dijon (France) : 27th - 28th September 2016
Dijonjoined the modern French tramway revolution in 2012, with two linesoperating over three branches with a short terminus spur in front ofthe main railway station. 20 km in length, the line skirts the northernside of the historic city core, the seats of the former Dukes ofBurgundy. Citadis trams from Alstom provide the services which havebecome very popular as the citizens of Dijon have really taken to theirtramway.
Above: Place Darcy, at the end of the city's main shopping street Ruede la Liberte and featuring a magnificent triumphal arch is the maintramstop serving the city centre although good walking access to thetraffic calmed historic central area is available from a number ofother stops..
Edinburgh(United Kingdom) : 20th September 2016
A brief visit to central Edinburgh's Princes Street
Edinburgh'scontroversial tramway now appears to be catching on with the publicalthough the inquest as to what went wrong in the delivery of thesystem continues in the hands of a public scrutineer. Thoughts are nowbeing turned to extensions, including the original plan to reach Leithand Newhaven. Princes Street, despite the banning of cars over most ofits length, remains a busy and for much of the day a chaoticthoroughfare with innumerable buses jostling for position at the manybus stops along the prestigious boulevard. In this view, lookingwestwards from the main Princes Street tram stop,there is a welcomebreak from the worst of the non-tram traffic, although one bus liesclosely alongside the nearside flank of the tram..
Vienna (Austria) : 9th - 12th September 2016
Austria'scapital city has one of the world's largest tramway networks. Despite some new extensions, it has lostsome of its length to due to growth of the city's metro system.Nevertheless trams continue to run along parallel streets westwards outof the city centre, maintaining an excellent service for these denselypopulatedareas. As a result, the system largely retains atraditional street-tramway atmosphere. Despite the delivery of largenumbers of ultra-low-floor trams from Siemens (an early pioneer of 100%low floor design and still unique to Vienna), it is also a showcase formany of the enormous number of Duwag style high-floor trams built underlicence in Austria which continue to dominate the street scene - andwill continue to do so for many years.
Viennais a city of grand architecture and it is possible to photograph tramsin front of many of the city's masterpieces, including the NationalParliament. Seen from the Dr Karl Renner Ring tram stop, a traditionalDuwag-designsix-axle articulated tram and bogie trailer traversesthe "Ring" a wide boulevard running around much of the historic citycentre, laid out in the late 19th century on the site of the formercity walls. Under the reign of Emperor Franz Josef I, theAustro-Hungarian empire reached its zenith before its untimely fall asa consequence of World War I and a large number of showpiece buildingswere constructed around the ring to show off Habsburg grandeur ,
Graz (Austria) : 7th - 8th September 2016
Austria'ssecond city has a well-equipped tramway which runs through thebeautiful historic core of the city - a UNESCO world heritage site onaccount of its architecture. At the time of the visit, route 1 betweenthe city centre and Mariatrost was closed for reconstruction along withthe western end of the same line between Asperngasse and Eggenberg/UKH.Bus replacement was also in operation for the short central stretchbetween Jakominiplatz and Steyrergasse.
Grazhas replaced its fleet with modern low-floor articulated trams - thelatest being Variobahn from Stadler, complementing the earlier batch ofCityrunners from Bombardier (for which Graz was the first customer,taking delivery in 2001). In this view, Variobahn 204 is seen atHauptplatz in the heart of the city, having just come along the busytram and pedestrian only Herrengasse from Jakominiplatz, the city'smain transport interchange. The imposing edifice is the city'smunicipal administration building. In the background is the tower ofthe Holy Blood church..
West Midlands (Birmingham-Wolverhampton), UK : 16th August,2016
Therehad been virtually no progress with the metro line linking the UK'ssecond city with neighbouring Wolverhampton along a disused formerrailway alignment for 20 years until December 2015when the line,now rebranded as a tramway, was extended into the centre of Birminghamas the first phase of what is hoped to be a considerable expansion inthe next few years
Birminghamcity centre is an intriguing mix of late Victorian grandeur andpost-war modernism as illustrated by the view above of a tram onCorporation Street approaching the eponymous tram stop from GrandCentral, the new name for the redeveloped Birmingham New Street Stationcomplex, where the new extension to the tram line currently terminatesin Stephenson Street having been extended from Bull Street at the endof May 2016. Birmingham is undergoing considerable redevelopment aswitnessed by the large number of cranes and shiny new office blocks. Surface tramswill be part of this urban regeneration, with the line planned to beextended to Victoria Square and Broad Street passing anumber of major traffic generators such as the International ConventionCentre and the Symphony Hall and will eventually be extended to theinner suburb of Edgbaston. A decision has been made to dispense withoverhead catenary in the Victoria Square area where the line will passclose to the Victorian architectural set-pieces of the Town Hall,Council House and Museum and Art Gallery and it is expected that theCAF Urbos 2 trams will be retrofitted with accumulators to bridge thegap in the wires. Further inner-city links are planned to connect withthe proposed High Speed Train station at Curzon Street. .Manchester, UK : 27th June,2016
Photosof the recently opened Exchange Square Metrolink stop in the centre ofManchester on the first stage of the Second City Crossing - a new linkbetween Victoria Staion and St Peter's Square designed to relieve theovercrowded original route through the city whilst also providingaccess to this busy shopping area. Photos also show the newarrangements at Victoria Station following the establishment of the newline.
Thenew tram stop, pictured above, is located outside the northern entranceto the Arndale Shopping Centre Centre and alongside a number of largedepartment stores..Bergen, Norway : 19th June,2016
Bergen's "second-generation"started operation in June 2010 as far as Nesttunand was extended to the current terminus at Lagunen in June 2013. Currently 13.4 kmlong, it isbeingfurther extended at its southern end to reach Bergen airport with aplannedopening date later in 2016.
Bergen'smodern light rail system features a number of short tunnels to copewith the steep and rocky terrain. This view is taken at Wergeland tramstop .
Oslo, Norway : 13th - 15th June,2016
An update to our last visit to Oslo, including those areas not covered in 2006
WhilstOslo has been investing heavily in its extensive Metro and the staterailways have been developing local transport networks, the tramway hasnot been forgotten. Much work has been put in to improve theinfrastructure now that the future of the system seems secure followingmany years of uncertainty. No expansion of the network can take placeuntil more trams are delivered and a large order is expected to beplaced soon. At the time of the visit, the network had beenrearrangedsignificantly in the city centre due to a long-running road closure,resulting in a "one-way" system with services from the west running viaAker Brygge towards Jernbanetorget and westbound services running viathe route of unaffected lines along Kirkeristen and Grensen and anew link in Rosenkrantz gate (see photo above) to regain their standardalignment alongStortingsgata .Berlin, Germany :30thMay - 1st June,2016
Abrief update on Berlin, the city's enormous tram system having beencovered in some detail in 2005 and 2006. The recent extension toHauptbahnhof and the finished "Alex II" link are shown along with somemissing locations from previous visits
Afteryears of planning and attendant controversy, the latest extension tothe system brought trams to the new Hauptbahnhof (Main Station) whichhas been constructed on the site of the old Lehrter Bahnhof to servethe reunited city in an appropriate manner. The photo above, taken atHauptbahnhof, shows virtually the entire length of the extension, onreservation at this point over what was once a "no-man's land" on thewestern side of the former Berlin Wall, but running on-street amongstheavy traffic in the distance on what was once East Berlin territory..Utrecht, Netherlands : 13thMay,2016Oneof the earliest of the new generation of tramways was the SneltramUtrecht-Nieuwegein which opened in December 1983. In December 1985, abranch was opened from Nieuwegein to Ijsselstein.Thesystem ishigh-platform throughout and links the busy central station atUtrecht to south-western lying suburban towns but does not penetratethe city centre of Utrecht. In 2013 the 20.7 km long line was cut backto the southside of the station to allow reconstruction in association with anextension to Uithof, replacing a busy bus service to the city'suniversity grounds. The planned new route, which also will notpenetrate thecity centre is expected to feature an accumulator system so as toeliminate overhead line in parts of the university area. It is alsoplannedto be a low-floor system and this has left the thorny issue of whetherto convert the existing line with its substantial "light rail"infrastructure to match the new line..
Den Haag, Netherlands : 12th - 16th May,2016
Coverageof those parts of the network which were not covered in 2013, primarilythe routes in the southern part of the city, plus the line through theold city centre which had been temporarily out of service.
Anattractive view at Gravenstraat in the old centre of Den Haag, closedduring the 2013 visit, but now reopened after the completion of theconstruction an underground car park..
Valencia, Spain : 14th and 15th April,2016
Spain'sthird city has an extensive metro system but also a street tramway linedubbed metro line 4 (opened in 1994 and subsequently extended) whichruns from the north-west to the beach in the east of the city, runningon an alignment to the north of the historic city centre but with anunusual "dip" towards the city centre at Pont de Fusta with doubletracks along each side of the wide Carrer d'Almassora, midwayalong the line. Line 6 (opened in 2007) links the metro station closestto the beach area (Maritim-Serreria) with the seaside and then sharesthe alignment of line 4 towards the city centre beforebranchingtothe north to Tossal del Rei. An extremely short line line 8 (openedin 2015) links Maritim-Serreria withMarina Reial Joan CarlesI.
Lines6 and 8share a cross-platform interchange with metro lines 5 and 7 atMaritim-Serreria immediately before the ramp to allow the metro to beextended towards the beach and marina as a conventional street tramway.From the beach area, line 6 follows the course of the original line 4as far as Primat Reig before heading north to Tossal del Rei. The metrois unusual as it is built to 1000mm gauge..Florence, Italy : 29th and 31st March,2016
Themagnificent renaissance Tuscan city of Florence closed its originaltramway by January 1958, but in common with many cities, decided toreintroduce the mode of transport, with line 1 opening on February14th, 2010 after a protracted construction period. The line is 7.4 kmlong and almost all on reserved track, linking the main railway station andthe western suburb of Scandicci and is served by 17 Sirio trams fromAnsaldo-Breda. There are plans for three more lines and someconstruction work is under way, with a link to the city's airport thefirst to be constructed.
Thecurrent city terminus is alongside the main railway station, SantaMaria Novella in via Alamanni (see photo above). The tracks continue tothe front of the station in Piazze della Stazione but are unused, withthe current terminus normally using only one track, reached by acrossover in Alamanni. With a high frequency service of usually aroundfour minutes, lay-over time at the busy station stop is necessarilylimited. The city's plans originally involved extending the tracksfurther towards the city centre along via de Panzani and via deCerretani, but public concern regarding the routing of the tramwaydirectly alongside the magnificent historical cathedral has led todelays in further developments as other alternatives are evaluated.This has included building a tunnel under the compact city centre, butwith numerous architectural gems to consider, this is alsocontroversial, not least in terms of cost. The narrow maze of streetsin the historic centre also make a street alignment not onlycontroverial but not optimal. The second line, for which work is nowunder way will link the city's airport with the station (and pass aplanned new high-speed line station) whilst running at least slightlycloser to the city centre at the spacious Piazza del' Unita Italianawhich adjoins the severely congested Piazza della Stazione..NEW IN 2015Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain : 12th November, 2015Vitoria-Gasteiz'two-line tram system, serving modern northern suburbs and joining atthe new bus station to run on a joint line round the west and south ofthe old city centre to an inner-cityterminus at Angulema wasopened in 2008
Urbos2 type trams from Spanish builder CAF provide a unitary fleet and arevisually similar to the Urbos I trams operating in nearby Bilbao. TheBasque regional capital city and capital of the Alava province hasplans to extend the line to the south of the city centre, which itskirts partially on a wide grassy reservation as seen above andpartially in narrow traffic calmed streets..Bilbao, Spain : 10th - 11th November, 2015
Bilbaois busy reinventing itself for the post-industrial age and as part of awide ranging programme of urban modernisation, a single-line tramwaywas opened in 2002. With an extensive bus system and a metro bringingin the major passenger numbers from the riverside industrial communities closer tothe coast, the tram line acts as an inner-city circulator linking mostof the main transport hubs, tourist and cultural establishments, thefootball ground, a hospital and the historic old town. Central toBilbao's rejuvenation and new international profile is the iconic FrankGehry-designed Guggenheim art museum, which the tram naturally passesalongside (see below)
Bilbao'stram line has shown how an inner city line can be successful, linkingplaces where passengers want to go. Much of the line is on a wide greenreservation alongside the river where redevelopment has made this amagnet for tourists and promenaders, but in the newer parts of the citythere is much street-running alignment. The eastern part of the line,through parts of the "new" city adjoining the river and across theRiver Nervion and skirting the old city is laid out as single track,largely gutter-running, with one passing point at Arriaga Plaza.Nottingham, UK : 26th October, 2015
OnAugust 25th 2015 after much delay and months of testing, Nottinghammore than doubled its tram network with its "Big Bang" opening of tworoutes to the south of the city (to Toton Lane and to Clifton South).The new lines join the original tram line above Nottingham Stationwhere the elevated route was extended to take tracks directly over theinter-city rail station and now run through to Hucknall and PhoenixPark respectively. This series looks at the Toton Lane line only.
Notan enormous amount of the Nottingham system shares road space with cartraffic as roads in UK cities tend to be too narrow to allow centralreservations to be created. Therefore they have to be carefullyintegrated into existing street plans, often with associated trafficcalming measures. In the photo above, a tram heading to Toton Laneapproaches Chilwell Road in the suburban town of Beeston. It is one ofthe 22 Alstom Citadis trams purchased in advance of the extensionsopening to augment the original fleet of Bombardier Incentros..Le Havre, France : 1st October, 2015
LeHavre joined the list of French cities with second-generation tramwayswhen its 13 km long system, also "Y" shaped, opened on December 12th, 2012
In2012 a period of 55 tram free years ended when Le Havre opened its newtramway with two branches joining to descend through a tunnel to thelower-lying city centre area in this major port on the Normandy coast.The four-minute frequency of the joint line throughout much of the daymeans a regular and frequent service past the railway station and thetown hall (above) to the terminus at the beach. In common with mostFrench tram systems, the cars were obtained from Alstom with itshighly-successful Citadis design..Rouen, France : 30th September, 2015
Rouenhas re-equipped its tramway with Alstom Citadis trams and despite beingan early member of the French tramway revival, presents a thoroughlymodern image. However, despite one branch of its "Y"-shaped system having beenextended, there is disappointment that a larger network has not beendeveloped.
Rouenhad originally intended that its one line (with two branches in thesouthern part of Rouen's city region) would not be its last, but costconstraints have led to the main east-west axis through the city beingbuilt as a high-quality bus route with tram-like platforms and opticalguidance to bring buses close to the platform edge to allow forstep-free access. Whether these bus routes will ever be converted totram is not clear, but passenger numbers are heavy and servicesfrequent - suggesting that if the money can be found, upgrading wouldbe justified. The city centresection is underground although it rises to an expansive surface-levelterminus with bus connections to the northern suburbs and the tramdives into a tunnel immediately after crossing the river Seine as seenin the photo above at Theatre des Arts. The east-west bus axis crossesimmediately above the tunnel portal.
Paris, France : 29th September, 2015
Furthertramway developments in the Paris suburbs, with new line T8 linking StDenis and Epinay-Orgement including a branch to Villetaneuse
Coverageof the Paris city region's newest tramway, Line T8 from St Denis (Portede Paris) to Epinay with a short branch to Villetaneuse. In line withits policy ofimproving public transport links in its sprawling"banlieue", theParis transport authorities and the Ile de France region have madequick work of its new tramways (and tramways on tyres). LineT8,opened on December 16th 2014,runs from near the cityproperboundary at St Denis' Porte de Paris northwards and has a flatjunction with the existing tram line through St Denis outside thestation.'Innsbruck, Austria : 22nd July, 2015
Thesmall alpine city has re-equipped its tramway with new articulatedtrams, giving a much more modern image than before with its mixture ofold and various second hand rolling stock. Expansion is now firmly onthe cards with the new branch to Hottinger Au the first part ofawestwards extension into growing suburbs and plans exist to serveeastern parts of the city developing along the valley of the river Inn.
NewFlexity trams from Bombardier have given the Innsbruck tramway a newand modern image and the future of the system now appears bright. Car316 runs along Museumstrasse towards Hauptbahnhof and is about to callat the Landesmuseum tram stop..Manchester, United Kingdom : 20thJuly, 2015
Manchester'sMetrolink keeps expanding. The latest line, branching from the EastDidsbury line, takes trams through Wythenshawe to terminate at theInternational Airport alongside the main line trains which make thelargest airport in the UKoutside the London area well served by publictransport
ManchesterAirport. The line opened one year earlier than anticipated and belowbudget - quite some achievement in terms of British tramways. This hasallowed Manchester to proceed with the next stages of plannedexpansion, with a line to the Trafford Centre retailcomplex now at design stage. The tram above is showing as runningto Cornbrook. In the summer of 2015 the Metrolink network was splitinto to parts with the central section between Market Street andDeansgate-Castlefield closed to allow a major reconstruction of StPeter's Square for the junction with the future "second" city crossing. The new link is required to relieve theoriginal link through the city following the improvement of frequencieson existing lines and the addition of new lines to the network. TheDeansgate-Castlefield stop has recently reopened after substantialreconstruction including the installation of a new platform. However,due to pressure of infrastructure here, the Airport line is beingterminated at Cornbrook, where shuttle buses are being provided foronward travel into the city centre. Whilst the link through the citycentre will be restored later in the year, Airport services areexpected to continue to terminate at Cornbrook until the new citycrossing is opened. .Strasbourg, France : 11th - 13th June, 2015
Whenlast visited in 1996, the Alsatian city wasbeginning to benefit from its starter tram line from Baggersee to themain station. A lot has happened in the intervening years and the citywhich is home to the European Parliament now has an extensive tramwaynetwork with very attractivefrequencies and excellent passengernumbers.
Strasbourgis a popular tourist destination because of its magnificent setting onan island in the river Ill and featuring attractive historicalarchitecture including the fairy-tale like timber framed buildings inthe Petite France area andthe impressive cathedral which isthought to once have been the tallest structure in Europe. Trams haveplayed a major role in allowing the city to become highlypedestrianised and traffic-calmed. Although the many tourists who nowtake the popular boat trips around the city get to see the imposingglass structures of the highly-modernistic European Parliamentbuildings, perhaps many miss the equally impressive classical buildingsin the city, particularly at Place de la Republique. Republique is avery busy tramway interchange set out in a grand style. The photo aboveshows one of the original batch of British-built low-floor tramspassing the National and University Library onPlace de laRepublique, heading north on the line to Hoenheim with the more recentbranch to Robertsau, passing the European Parliament buildings. Moredevelopment is on the way with a start on linking the German town ofKehl, which lies on the opposite bank of the River Rhein into thenetwork..Stuttgart, Germany : 9th - 11th June, 2015
Stuttgarthas completed its transition from metre-gauge street tramway tostandard-gauge Stadtbahn in a process which took over 30 years and hasended up with one of the most exemplary transit systems around.
Stuttgartis not standing still after so many years of upheaval and investment.Expansion is still anticipated and the latest route is that toHallschlag which left the existing network at Lowentor (above).Hallschlag is only a temporary terminus, however. Work is underway tolink the line with the Muhlhausen / Remseck line and provide the lattercommunities with two routes into the city centre.. Turin, Italy : 17th - 20th April, 2015Despitelong-held plans for a metro system and the opening in stages of thefirst automated light metro (VAL) line, the tramway network hasremained remarkably consistent over time. Some lines have fallen victimto metro constructionand more recently to the routing of mainlinerail tracks underground around Porta Susa, but tracks have beenretained and there is the prospect that some lines might be restored.Attempts have been made to upgrade the tramways and some extensionshave been constructed, but rolling stock shortages have alwaysconstrained growth and despite the arrival of new "Cityway" trams atthe beginning of the century, much old rolling stock remains.
Turinis a city of magnificent architecture with fine buildings wherever youlook. With the metro not penetrating the city centre, there is stillplenty of tramway activity despite a plethora of buses and cars and theopportunity to see traditional trams running through collonadedporticos such as here at Piazza Vittorio Veneto. Cars from thecity's extensive historical collection are used most of the year on ahourly-served one-way loop around the city on Saturdays,Sundaysand holidays as a tourist attraction, but what isremarkable about Line 7 is that it can be used freely as part of theregular transport system within the standard fare structure. .St Etienne, France : 11thMarch, 2015
StEtienne is one of three French tramways which survived from the "firstgeneration" of systems and like the other two was basically a singleline.Although the city has not embarked on any major expansion,it has made extensions to the existing line and built a branch to themain station. An intensive service is maintained with frequent tramsrunning along primarily tram and pedestrian only streets in anorth-south direction through the city centre and on reservedalignments elsewhere.
StEtienne's main north-south tram alignment is traffic-calmed and allowsfor a fast and frequent service through the heart of the city. 925 isseen heading southbound on Rue Charles de Gaulle approachingtheJean Jaures tram stop..Lyon, France : 9th and 10th March, 2015
Morenew developments to report from Lyon including one complete new line,one new line opened as a branch from an existing service and afurther extension through a rapidly developing area close to the citycentre to the south of Gare Perrache
Lyon has been actively developing its tram system and since the lastreview of the network. a complete new line (T4) has been built, fromGare Part Dieu to Hopital Feyzin Venissieux. Route T1 has been extendedfrom Montrochet back to the eastern side of the Rhone to connect withthe Metro at Debourg. The line serves the enormous redevelopmentprojects in the peninsula at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone,including new regional government offices, commercial developments andthe prestige Museum of the Confluence. A new line, T5, has beenintroduced, partially duplicating line T2 and including a new branch toEurexpo. The Rhone-Express rapid tram link to Lyon's St-Exupery Airporthas now been completed. It shares its route with urban tram line T3 formuch of its length with only a limited number of stops. The distinctivered trams terminate at Gare Part Dieu.Above: View back towards Part Dieu from the Manufacture Montluc tram stop asthe new T4 carves a route south through the city.
Geneva, Switzerland : 7th, 8th and 12th March, 2015
Sincethe last review of Geneva in 2007, the Swiss city has constructedroutes to Bernex and to the CERN atomic research centre (with a branchinto Meyrin). The two new routes have been linked by a new connectionthrough the city centre, bringing trams to the central interchange atBel-Air
Thenew route to the CERN scientific research centre follows a longvirtually straight alignment from the city centre via the Rue deServette and theRoute de Meyrin and almost reaches the international border withFrance. The above image view shows the view back to the city centrefromMeyrin Village..NEW IN 2014Manchester,United Kingdom :30th September, 2014
Areturn to the UK's premier tramway network to see how the ManchesterMetrolink, a system which exhibits both light-railway and tramwayfeatures, has converted a former railway line to the neighbouring townsof Oldham and Rochdale and re-routed part of the new line throughcentral Oldham
UnionStreet in Oldham runs closely parallel to the old railway alignmentlinking Manchester with Rochdale, but the newly-converted Metrolinkline now follows this new route through Oldham and shows distincttramway features albeit with high level platforms. The new OldhamCentral stop is in the background in the photo above..Edinburgh, United Kingdom : 13th September, 2014Alook at the recently-opened tram line in Scotland's capital city whichovercame much political controversy, disputes with buildingcontractors, a change of planned operator and massive cost overruns toopen many years behind the originally expected schedule. On severaloccasions it was feared that the project would be cancelled outright,but the western half of the originally planned first line has beencompleted and, since opening on May 31st 2014, has been a reasonablesuccess even without the major re-casting of bus services, some ofwhich appear to provide competition along some of the line and onend-to-end journeys.
Edinburgh'smain street, Princes Street, has a tram service at long last, despiterails being laid, lifted and relaid in what was an almost farcicalmanagement of a major public infrastructure project. To keep ballooningcosts to a minimum, the line was only built toYork Place, twostops beyond Princes Street tramstop (above). Another cost cuttingmeasure can be seen in the surrounding street. Unlike the majority ofnew tramways around Europe and the world in general, no attention waspaid to street "beautification" and very little to traffic calmingmeasures. Princes Street remains a bustling street, clogged withnumerous buses and taxis and with pedestrians kept to the old unevenpavements alongside the highway .Cologne, Germany : 18th June, 2014
Abrief visit covering only the short surface stretch between Rudolfplatzand Heumarkt - the only surface line crossing the city centre.Cologne's large tram and underground "Stadtbahn" network was covered insome detail in 2001.
Thecentral area tram stop at Neumarkt is on the only remaining surfaceline though central Cologne. A large number of lines funnel into thisroute making it extremely busy. A new north - south underground tramline is currently under construction and now partially opened aftersevere delays following the collapse of a museum building above thetunneling work, but it seems that this east - west route will remainabove ground for the foreseeable future..Dusseldorf, Germany : 17th, 19th and 20th June, 2014
Alook at central Dusseldorf before the opening of the "Wehrhahn" Line,the second and long-awaited underground route through the city centre.Unlike the first Stadtbahn line and in a change to original plans, thishasbeen built for low-floor trams, allowing the existing tramroutes, which have in recent years been so re-equipped, to funnel into the tunnel between Bilk and Am Werhahn via GrafAdolf Platz, Heinrich-Heine-Allee, and Schadowstrasse. Also covered arethe route to Bilk Kirche and the recent extension from there toMediahafen plus the route to Benrath and views at Kaiserswerth (Klemensplatz).
Timeis running out for the surface tram line alongside Dusseldorf'shistoric Altstadt.The tunnel for the future Heinrich-Heine-Alleestation on the proposed Wehrhahn line was built here when the firstunderground route was under construction. The rest of the tunnel is nowbuilt and being fitted out and this iconic view northwards onHunsruckenstrasse where the trams run southbound (northbound tramsbeing on the parallel Breite Strasse and Heinrich-Heine-Allee) willsoon be consigned to the history books..Rotterdam, Netherlands : 22nd - 25th May, 2014
Whenlast featured in 1985, the tram system was looking somewhatdown at heel and despite some new extensions, such as to the Beverwaardhousing development, investment was being concentrated on to the metrosystem. In recent years, the tram network has been completelyupgraded.
Thenetworks north and south of the river have been linkedagain via the new Ersamus Bridge and an extensive inner-citynetwork survives as the city itself modernises once more with gleaminghigh-rise blocks creating a thoroughly modern environment in parts, butdespite the enormous destruction at the beginning of World War II, aremarkable amount of traditional streetscape survives. AlstomCitadis trams in two (very slightly different) series provide all theservices. The photo above shows the scene at Beurs. The Erasmus Bridge is in the middle distance..Toulouse, France : 3rd May, 2014
France'sfourth largest city agglomeration embarked on a driverless mini-metroconstruction programme which has given it an excellent two-line system.Trams then came on to the agenda, but recent mayoral elections returneda new incumbent promising to end further tramway development in favourof a third metro line.
Anextensive network of "first generation" trams finally disappeared in1957, but the rapid growth of Toulouse, powered by the aerospaceindustry meant that an all-bus solution increasingly became seen asinadequate. A strong city mayor pushed for and achieved a two-line"VAL" mini-metro system, the concept being accepted in 1983 and thefirst line opening in 1993. Line 2 followed in 2007. There is aninterchange between the two lines at Jean-Jaures station, close to thecity's historic core. The focus shifted to tramways, partially becauseof the high cost of metro construction and by December 2010, line T1was opened, linking the developing north-western communities ofBeauzelle andBlagnac (see photo above at Place Georges Brassens) to the city properand terminating at Arenes metro station fortransfers onward to the city centre. Tram line T1 was extended towardsthe southern side of the city centre, reaching Palais de Justice andthe new track was opened for service in December 2013. Most passengersstill change at Arenes because the trams do not penetrate into thehistoric city centre, but passenger numbers on the new extension havebeen encouraging. A short branch from line T1 is currently underconstruction to serve Toulouse-Blagnac airport and a recent change ofpolitical power in the city threatensfuture development of thetram network. .Montpellier, France : 2nd, 4th and 5th May, 2014
Muchhas happened in the four and a half years since our 2009 visit,with a complete new line crossing the city and a loop around the innersouthern suburbs adding to the network in this progressiveMediterranean city
Fourtram lines now converge in front of Montpellier's St Roch station, withthe latest line 3 approaching along Rue de la Republique (see photoabove) and a new line 4 inaugurated with the intention to create a futureinner-city loop line using these tracks opened on April 7th 2012.The opening of the new linesresulted in a reorganisation of the former two-line network in theinner city areas and now both lines 1 (opened July 2000) and 2(December 2006) share tracks between StRoch and Corum, both serving the main city stop at Comedie. Rather thenjust the blue-liveried trams of line 1, this attractive square now seesthe brightly-coloured red, yellow, green and orange floral design ofline 2 - and a highly frequent service with it now uncommon to have notram in or approaching the platforms in daytime hours. This set ofphotos follows lines 3 and 4 and records the new colours abounding inthe city centre which now include the two new designs chosen for thenew lines. Montpellier is not stopping there as more constructionis now in the pipeline to complete the loop around the old-city, butnew leaders in the city hall have called for a proposed line in thecity's north-west to be reviewed as financial constraints take hold. .Paris, France : 27th March, 2014
Newtramway line T7 has opened since the last visit a year ago - and thefirst new generation tramway has beenupgraded and, more recently, extended since ourfirst visit to line T2 in 1997
Tramwaydevelopment continues unabated as the communities in the Ile-de-Franceregion expand their populations rapidly. Tramway line T7 was opened inNovember 2013 and is basically a southern extension of metro line 7from the community of Villejuif (see photo above) to Orly Airport andon to Athis-Mons on the airport's southern perimeter (11.2 km - 7 milesin total). The line passes the enormous food market and logisticshandling area at Rungis and a number of developing commercial areas anddespite the apparent lack of dense residential developments, there isstill healthy traffic on the new line and an impressively frequentservice - and plans are in place to extend the line in the south toconnect with the RER regional metro at Juvisy. The photographs alsocover tram line T2 which when opened was Paris' first new generationtramway - a tentative conversion of a lightly used railway line. Theconcept has been a massive success - it has been extended to provideinterchange with the equally successful line T3 (now circling much ofthe city of Paris proper) at Porte de Versailles and at its northernend from la Defense to Pont de Bezons. The area covered has beensubject to much development and traffic numbers are impressive andcrush loads common, despite new rolling stock being introduced to allowthe operation of coupled tram sets.Reims, France : 24th-26th March, 2014
Anothernew second generation French tramway - with the points already in placefor extensions. However, a recent change in the city's mayor office hascalled further developments into question. Reims is a relatively smallcity and whatever their merits, tramways are expensive to build andmaintain and this can be controversial.
Reimschose a ground-contact power collection system for its city centre tramline primarily so as to protect views of the historic cathedral fromthe clutter of overhead wires and supporting columns (as at the Langlettram stop shown above). The design of theends of the Alstom Citadis cars was reputedly inspired by the shape ofthe flutes used for drinking Champagne, the sparkling wine inextricablyassociated with the region around Reims, where a number of producers'cellars are located and open to the public. Trams are painted in avariety of colours in an attempt to brighten up the city's environmentrather than reflect any corporate image.Points have already beeninstalled at Opera and Comedie in anticipation of two new branches tothe tramway which opened in 2011. It is not certain that the proposednew east-west line will proceed, but if it does, the provisions mademean that the existing route will not need to be disruped to allow itto be connected the tracksthrough Rue Vesle. The normal serviceon Route A is 8trams per hour augmented by the less frequent trams on line B whichduplicate the route for most of its length before branching off toserve the Champagne High Speed Train (TGV) station located inopen ground to the south of the city in Bezannes territory. On opening,line B terminated at Gare Centre but has since been extended toNeufchatel. Trams on line B are timed with respect to connectingwith high-speed trains calling at Gare Champagne TGV.NEW IN 2013
Murcia, Spain : 29th November, 2013This southern Spanish cityonly had ashort experienceof trams but decided to bring them backfollowing the success of ademonstrator line operated along part of Avenida Juan Carlos I. Thecurrent 17.5 km long line opened in 2011.
Moderntrams run along modern alignments on two radial routes originating atthe northern edge of the city centre which afford lots of space fortram stops and tracks. The city has big plans for more lines. The firstobjective is to penetrate the city centre along Gran Via and link inwith the railway station which lies to the south of the centre. Furtherroutes are planned to intersect at the station giving good coverage inall directions. The photo is taken on Avenida Juan Carlos I onthe section of route which was originally built as a shortdemonstration line - a magnificent advert for a modern tramway, whichoffered free rides throughout and convinced the public and theauthorities to proceed with the tramway project .Alicante / Alacant, Spain : 27th and 30th November, 2013
135views in this Spanish Mediterranean city where trams have been revivedwith two new urban routes and where a coastal light railway leading topopular coastal resorts such as Benidorm has been upgraded to modernlight rail standards. Both systems share tracks in the city area andrun through to the main railway station in a tunnel underneath thecentral area.
Tramson the city routes andtram-trains on the interurban route now share a tunnel bringingservices right into the heart of the city and provide a modern andefficient service for local travellers and tourists alike. Along withother Spanish cities, much money has been spent on transportinfrastructure in recent years - and despite a temporary halt due tothe severe economic downturn in Spain, more developments are planned.Blackpool, United Kingdom : 14th September, 2013
77 views along the promenade in central Blackpool of the newly modernised line operated by new Bombardier Flexity-2 trams
Thosewho knew Blackpool would hardly recognise the transformation which hastaken place in recent times. A complete renovation of the tracks, tramstops, electrical equipment and a brand new depot - and new articulatedtrams to replace the old fleet, many of which dated back to the 1930s.These photos show the "new" tramway along the "old" route onBlackpool's sea-front.Manchester, United Kingdom :5th June, 2013
Coverage of the Droylesden branch and the recently opened extension to East Didsbury as well as views in central Manchester
Manchester's Metrolink is growing rapidly. 2013 saw the opening of the line from Piccadilly to Droylsden, passing through the Eastlands redevelopment area, where several large sports facilities have been built, including the Etihad Stadium, built for the Commonweath Games and now home of Manchester City FC. On May 23rd a further extension was opened- from St Werburgh's Road to East Didsbury on a long-abandoned former railway alignment. The photo above shows tram 3023 inbound at Didsbury Village. Close to St Werburgh's Road, construction works can be seen for the line to Manchester Airport via Wythenshawe and the Droylsden line is due to be extended to Ashton-under-Lyne shortly. With the former heavy rail line to Rochdale via Oldham now open as a Metrolink service, the network has expanded greatly. A new alignment through Oldham town centre is due soon and a short extension from Rochdale Railway Station to the town centre will improve the service even further. Hoardings at St Peter's Square in the city centre refer to the second city crossing - a new link beteween the Square and Victoria Station to relieve the busy tracks through the city via Market Street and Shudehill which will become even busier as the new lines come on stream - and twin-set trains become standard on the Altrincham and Bury lines.Bremen, Germany : 22nd - 24th May, 2013
Full network coverage of this progressive but entirely surface operating big-city tramway
Modern trams slink their way through the historical areas of central Bremen and serve all sides of this former Hanseatic port city in an exemplary street-based network. The system is growing and the final phase of the line to Mahnsdorf Bahnhof, opened earlier in the year, is only the latest of a number of new extensions to be opened.Paris, France : 15th April 2013
featuring two of the major route extensions inaugurated since the 2007 visit - around the southern and eastern edges of the city proper and the westwards extension from St Denis to Genevilliers
Orleans, France :April 12th - 13th 2013
This historic French city built two tram lines in double quick time.LineA (18 km) is a north-south line from Fleury-les-Aubrais to Orleans LaSource and was opened in 2000. Line B is 11 km long and runs east towest through the city, intersecting with line A at Place de Gaulle. Itwas opened in 2012 and features a length of ground-contact powersupply in the city centre where the line passes the cathedral.
Along with many other French cities which had been tramless for 50 years, two long new lines have been built in doublequick time in the 21st century.Much of the city centre is now either pedestrianised or with restricted car access. Orleans also has a number of fine architectural masterpieces and imposing classical street frontages. With line B in planning and the tracks planned to run along Rue Jeanne d'Arc to the city's cathedral (see photo above) it was decided to implement a ground-collection system for the electric current to eliminate the need for wires and, potentially, poles. The system had been successful in Bordeaux and was specified so as to protect the view along Rue Jeanne d'Arc and also Rue des Carmes and Rue Porte Madeleine as the line transverses the city centre from east to west. The photos show how the tram (especially in its sandy-coloured livery) can fit unobtrusivelyinto a sensitive historical environment. In this view at Place de Gaulle, where lines A and B cross, the wires for line A can be seen immediately above the tram. Perhaps line A was built just too soon for the ground collection system to be specified to protect the vistas in Rue de la Republique and Rue Royale. Nevertheless, the overhead collection is unobtrusive and the Orleans system is a fine example of the new generation of French tramways..Den Haag, Netherlands : March 23rd - 27th 2013
The Dutch administrative capital is perhaps not as well known for its trams as nearby Amsterdam, but it has an enormous traditional street tramway and now a short tram subway in the city centre. It is also benefiting from the so-called Randstad Rail project, bringing upgraded light rail to the city
Alstom low-floor light rail vehicles now run through Den Haag, mainly on shared track with the existing tramways, but on also special reserved tracks to and through the modern sattelite development at Zoetermeer. Part of the route is shared with high-platform trains serving neighbouring city Rotterdam's metro which has been extended to Den Haag Centraal Station. The futuristic station pictured above is on an elevated alignment through the modern office developments of the Beatrixkwartier close to Den Haag CS which is for light rail only. Nothwithstanding Randstad Rail developments, there are on-going extensions to the traditional network, the latest under construction being in the nearby city of Delft which is undergoing an enormous expansion away from its picturesque and historic core..Dublin, Ireland : February 13th - 14th 2013
Catching up on recent extensions to the Red Line, to the Point (O2 Arena) in the east and the community of Saggart in the west and adds the westen branch to Tallaght and additional photography on the core Red line to the photos taken in 2005
Ithad long been planned to extend the Red line eastwards to the entranceto the commercial docks where the O2 Arena is situated. The route,along George's Dock (see photo above), Mayor Street Lower and Upper andterminating in Castleforbes Road, passes through old docklands areasnow partially redeveloped as an International Financial Area. Therecent economic depression which hit both Ireland and the Financialsector hard has meant that the route is not as busy as originallyhoped, but with economic conditions improving, the long term value ofthe link will be realised. Traffic on the extension to Saggart at thewestern end of the route has also been disappointing. New housing areascreated on the edge of the city during the times of the boom, which interms of the Irish housing market approximated a construction bubble,have not filled to the level expected. Dublin is pressing ahead withtramway development despite government budgetary cuts which have seenno progress on more ambitious projects such as Metro North and MetroWest and a rail tunnel under the city centre linking Heuston andConnolly Stations. The Green Line which currently terminates at StStephen's Green will be extended northwards through the city centre anda new bridge over the River Liffey is under construction for thesouthbound tracks of the forthcoming line.Earlier Series
| Year | Tram System | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Riga | Latvia |
| 2012 | Bruxelles | Belgium |
| 2012 | Munich | Germany |
| 2012 | Nottingham | United Kingdom |
| 2011 | Sevilla | Spain |
| 2011 | Manchester | United Kingdom |
| 2011 | Gdansk | Poland |
| 2010 | Barcelona | Spain |
| 2010 | Manchester | United Kingdom |
| 2009 | Istanbul | Turkey |
| 2009 | Montpellier | France |
| 2009 | Katowice | Poland |
| 2009 | Krakow | Poland |
| 2009 | Nice | France |
| 2009 | Manchester | United Kingdom |
| 2008 | Zurich | Switzerland |
| 2008 | Basel | Switzerland |
| 2008 | Mulhouse | France |
| 2008 | Stockholm | Sweden |
| 2008 | Norrkoping | Sweden |
| 2008 | Milan | Italy |
| 2008 | Bordeaux | France |
| 2008 | Porto | Portugal |
| 2008 | London (Croydon) | United Kingdom |
| 2007 | Warsaw | Poland |
| 2007 | Gothenburg | Sweden |
| 2007 | Olomouc | Czech Republic |
| 2007 | Brno | Czech Republic |
| 2007 | Bratislava | Slovakia |
| 2007 | Manchester | United Kingdom |
| 2007 | Lyon | France |
| 2007 | Grenoble | France |
| 2007 | Geneva | Switzerland |
| 2007 | Lisbon | Portugal |
| 2007 | Amsterdam | Netherlands |
| 2007 | Paris | France |
| 2006 | Oslo | Norway |
| 2006 | Schoneiche-Rudersdorf | Germany |
| 2006 | Wroclaw | Poland |
| 2006 | Poznan | Poland |
| 2006 | Szczecin | Poland |
| 2006 | Berlin | Germany |
| 2006 | Vienna | Austria |
| 2006 | Brno | Czech Republic |
| 2006 | Prague | Czech Republic |
| 2006 | Nantes | France |
| 2006 | Budapest | Hungary |
| 2006 | Lyon | France |
| 2005 | Dublin | Ireland |
| 2005 | Geneva | Switzerland |
| 2005 | Blackpool | United Kingdom |
| 2005 | Cottbus | Germany |
| 2005 | Magdeburg | Germany |
| 2005 | Brandenburg | Germany |
| 2005 | Frankfurt (Oder) | Germany |
| 2005 | Woltersdorf | Germany |
| 2005 | Schoneiche-Rudersdorf | Germany |
| 2005 | Berlin | Germany |
| 2005 | Potsdam | Germany |
| 2005 | Rome | Italy |
| 2005 | Manchester | United Kingdom |
| 2004 | Kirnitzschtal | Germany |
| 2004 | Dresden | Germany |
| 2004 | Plzen | Czech Republic |
| 2004 | Prague | Czech Republic |
| 2004 | Nottingham | United Kingdom |
| 2004 | Sheffield | United Kingdom |
| 2003 | Vienna | Austria |
| 2003 | Gmunden | Austria |
| 2003 | Linz | Austria |
| 2003 | Innsbruck | Austria |
| 2003 | Augsburg | Germany |
| 2003 | Munich | Germany |
| 2003 | Sheffield | United Kingdom |
| 2002 | Dusseldorf | Germany |
| 2002 | Bielefeld | Germany |
| 2002 | Kassel | Germany |
| 2002 | Bochum-Gelsenkirchen | Germany |
| 2002 | Oberhausen | Germany |
| 2002 | Duisburg | Germany |
| 2002 | Mulheim | Germany |
| 2002 | Dortmund | Germany |
| 2002 | Essen | Germany |
| 2001 | Bern | Switzerland |
| 2001 | Dusseldorf | Germany |
| 2001 | Bonn | Germany |
| 2001 | Cologne | Germany |
| 2000 | Lausanne | Switzerland |
| 2000 | Geneva | Switzerland |
| 2000 | Freiburg | Germany |
| 2000 | Cologne | Germany |
| 2000 | West Midlands | United Kingdom |
| 1999 | Knokke-De Panne | Belgium |
| 1999 | Gent | Belgium |
| 1999 | Lille | France |
| 1999 | Zurich | Switzerland |
| 1999 | Sheffield | United Kingdom |
| 1999 | Milan | Italy |
| 1998 | Cairo - Heliopolis | Egypt |
| 1998 | Magdeburg | Germany |
| 1998 | Strausberg | Germany |
| 1998 | Woltersdorf | Germany |
| 1998 | Schoneiche-Rudersdorf | Germany |
| 1998 | Berlin | Germany |
| 1998 | Potsdam | Germany |
| 1998 | Brandenburg | Germany |
| 1998 | Braunschweig | Germany |
| 1998 | Hannover | Germany |
| 1997 | Gent | Belgium |
| 1997 | Knokke-De Panne | Belgium |
| 1997 | Lille | France |
| 1997 | Charleroi | Belgium |
| 1997 | Zurich | Switzerland |
| 1997 | Paris | France |
| 1997 | Chemnitz | Germany |
| 1997 | Dresden | Germany |
| 1997 | Halle | Germany |
| 1997 | Leipzig | Germany |
| 1996 | Strasbourg | France |
| 1996 | Basel | Switzerland |
| 1996 | Bern | Switzerland |
| 1996 | Zurich | Switzerland |
| 1996 | Frankfurt-am-Main | Germany |
| 1996 | Stuttgart | Germany |
| 1996 | Karlsruhe | Germany |
| 1996 | Heidelberg | Germany |
| 1996 | Ludwigshafen | Germany |
| 1996 | Mannheim | Germany |
| 1996 | Mainz | Germany |
| 1995 | Mulheim | Germany |
| 1995 | Dortmund | Germany |
| 1995 | Dusseldorf | Germany |
| 1995 | Duisburg | Germany |
| 1995 | Essen | Germany |
| 1995 | Bochum-Gelsenkirchen | Germany |
| 1994 | Istanbul | Turkey |
| 1992 | Manchester | United Kingdom |
| 1992 | Oslo | Norway |
| 1991 | Dusseldorf | Germany |
| 1991 | Magdeburg | Germany |
| 1991 | Hannover | Germany |
| 1991 | Dortmund | Germany |
| 1991 | Essen | Germany |
| 1991 | Bochum-Gelsenkirchen | Germany |
| 1990 | Helsinki | Finland |
| 1990 | Gothenburg | Sweden |
| 1989 | Stockholm | Sweden |
| 1989 | Oslo | Norway |
| 1989 | Helsinki | Finland |
| 1988 | Zurich | Switzerland |
| 1988 | Geneva | Switzerland |
| 1988 | Bern | Switzerland |
| 1988 | Cologne | Germany |
| 1988 | Dortmund | Germany |
| 1988 | Bochum-Gelsenkirchen | Germany |
| 1988 | Essen | Germany |
| 1987 | Warsaw | Poland |
| 1987 | Krakow | Poland |
| 1987 | Mainz | Germany |
| 1987 | Karlsruhe | Germany |
| 1987 | Stuttgart | Germany |
| 1987 | Ludwigshafen | Germany |
| 1987 | Heidelberg | Germany |
| 1987 | OEG (Interurban) | Germany |
| 1987 | Mannheim | Germany |
| 1987 | Frankfurt-am-Main | Germany |
| 1986 | Budapest | Hungary |
| 1986 | Bratislava | Slovakia |
| 1986 | Vienna | Austria |
| 1986 | Prague | Czech Republic |
| 1986 | Amsterdam | Netherlands |
| 1986 | Den Haag | Netherlands |
| 1986 | Rotterdam | Netherlands |
| 1986 | Krefeld | Germany |
| 1986 | Duisburg | Germany |
| 1986 | Mulheim | Germany |
| 1986 | Dortmund | Germany |
| 1986 | Bochum-Gelsenkirchen | Germany |
| 1986 | Essen | Germany |
| 1986 | Dusseldorf | Germany |
| 1985 | Bruxelles | Belgium |
| 1985 | Moscow | Russia |
| 1985 | Kiev | Ukraine |
| 1985 | Minsk | Belarus |
| 1985 | St Petersburg | Russia |
| 1985 | Dusseldorf | Germany |
| 1985 | Mulheim | Germany |
| 1985 | Bochum-Gelsenkirchen | Germany |
| 1985 | Essen | Germany |
| 1985 | Wuppertal | Germany |
| 1985 | Gent | Belgium |
| 1985 | Antwerp | Belgium |
| 1984 | Blackpool | United Kingdom |
| 1984 | Wurzburg | Germany |
| 1984 | Nurnberg | Germany |
| 1984 | Munich | Germany |
| 1984 | Augsburg | Germany |
| 1984 | Stuttgart | Germany |
| 1984 | Heidelberg | Germany |
| 1984 | Mannheim | Germany |
| 1984 | Ludwigshafen | Germany |
| 1984 | Knokke-De Panne | Belgium |
| 1984 | Dortmund | Germany |
| 1984 | Duisburg | Germany |
| 1984 | Dusseldorf | Germany |
| 1984 | Bonn | Germany |
| 1984 | Mainz | Germany |
| 1984 | Darmstadt | Germany |
| 1984 | Frankfurt-am-Main | Germany |
| 1983 | Dusseldorf | Germany |
| 1983 | Bochum-Gelsenkirchen | Germany |
| 1983 | Mulheim | Germany |
| 1983 | Essen | Germany |
| 1983 | Berlin | Germany |
| 1983 | Braunschweig | Germany |
| 1983 | Hannover | Germany |
| 1983 | Bielefeld | Germany |
| 1983 | Bonn | Germany |
| 1983 | Cologne | Germany |
| 1983 | Charleroi | Belgium |
| 1983 | Knokke-De Panne | Belgium |
| 1983 | Bruxelles | Belgium |
| 1982 | Hong Kong | China |
| 1982 | Blackpool | United Kingdom |
| 1981 | Ludwigshafen | Germany |
| 1981 | Mannheim | Germany |
| 1981 | Heidelberg | Germany |
1979 : Bratislava, Slovakia
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