Alow-floor tram is atram that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Thelow-floor design improves theaccessibility of the tram for the public, and also may provide larger windows and more airspace.[1]

A low-floor tram allows accessible level access fromcurb level platforms. Level access can also be achieved either by using ahigh-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
editTrams traditionally had high floors, and articulated tram designs evolved with low-floor centre sections. Examples of this design areAmsterdam 11G/12G-trams and theKusttrams inBelgium.
The most common design of 100% low floor vehicles[citation needed] is themulti-articulated design. This uses short carbody sections for the wheels with longer sections between them. Examples of this are theAlstom Citadis andCombino. A different design was developed byMAN. In 1990 theGT6N was the first 100% low-floor tram. These trams are found in ten German cities (such asBremen andMunich) and in the Swedish cityNorrköping. Other designs are only partially low floor, with high floors over thebogies 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).
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 fixedbogies[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] TheŠkoda ForCity and the newestAlstom 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
editThe 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 inManhattan.[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, includinghobble skirt cars, public welfare cars, and sow bellies.[6]
Typical floor heights
editTypical floor heights of low-floor trams are 300 to 350 mm (11.8 to 13.8 in), and theUltra 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) andrapid transit usingheavy 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
editBelarus
edit- AKSM-743 - Third Generation tram onMinsk tramway
- AKSM-843 - Fourth generation tram on Minsk tramway
Canada
edit- ZürichCobra
- Flexity 2, including themodel for Blackpool
- Flexity Classic
- Flexity Freedom
- Flexity Link
- Flexity Swift, only some models, including MelbourneE Class and CroydonCR4000
- Flexity OutlookEurotram
- Flexity OutlookCityrunner, including themodel for Toronto
- Incentro, includingFlexity Berlin andNottingham AT6/5
- BrusselsT2000
- Bombardier Variobahn
Croatia
edit- TMK 2200 (NT 2200)
- TMK 2200 K
- TMK 2300
- TMK 2400
Czech Republic
edit- K3R-N /K3R-NT (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
- KT8D5N (with low-floor middle section)
- KT8D5R.N1 /KT8D5R.N2 /KT8D5R.N2P (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
- KTNF6 /KTNF8 (reconstruction ofKT4 with low-floor middle section)
- RT6N1 /RT6N2
- RT6S
- Satra III (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
- Tatra T3R.PLF (nicknamed "wana" (Czech for 'bath') - newly built with low-floor middle section)
- Tatra T3R.SLF ("wana")
- VarioLF /VarioLF plus /VarioLF plus/o ("wana")
- VarioLF2 /VarioLF2 plus /VarioLF2/2 IN
- VarioLF3 /VarioLF3/2
- EVO1
- EVO2
- VV60LF (trailer)
- 03T Astra/Anitra
- 05T Vektra
- Elektra06T,10T,13T,14T,16T and19T
- ForCity Alfa15T
- ForCity Classic, including26T,28T and35T
- ForCity Plus, including29T and30T
- ForCity Smart Artic
France
edit- ATM Class 6000
- Citadis 100
- Citadis X01 (301, 401 and 301 CIS/71-801)
- Citadis X02 (202, 302, 402 and 502), including MelbourneC Class andC2 Class
- Citadis 403
- Citadis X04 (304)
- Citadis X05 (205/Compact, 305, 405)
- Regio-Citadis
- Citadis Dualis
- Citadis Spirit
- Tramway Français Standard TFS-1 (with low-floor centre section added at a later date) and TFS-2
- Translohr vehicles
Germany
edit- GenevaBe 4/6 andBe 4/8
- GT8N (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
- GT8Z (reconstruction with 73% low-floor)
- DuisburgGT10 NC-DU (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
- MGT6D
- M97 (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
- SheffieldSupertram
- 6MGT and8MGT
- NurembergN8S-NF (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
- Avenio (previously Combino Plus/Supra)
- Avenio M (previously Combino), including MelbourneD class
- Frankfurt am Main type R tram
- KarlsruheGT6-70D/N andGT8-70D/N
- S700 and S70 (also known as Avanto)
- Serie 3800 de FGV onMetrovalencia and CCFL fleet series 501-510 onLisbon tramway
- Ultra Low Floor (ULF)
Italy
edit- ATM Class 5000
- Sirio
- OsloSL95
- West Midlands MetroT-69
- BostonType 8 Trolley
Japan
edit- Hiroden 5100 seriesGreen Mover Max
- Hiroden 1000 series (II)Green Mover LEX [ja]
- Kinki Sharyo SLRV (low-floor centre section)
- Fukui Railway F1000 (ja:福井鉄道F1000形電車)
- Kumamoto City Tram 0800 (ja:熊本市交通局0800形電車)
- Kumamoto City Tram 9700 series (ja:熊本市交通局9700形電車)
- Man'yosen MLRV 1000 (ja:万葉線MLRV1000形電車)
- Okayama Electric Tramway 9200 (ja:岡山電気軌道9200形電車)
- Toyama City Tram Line 9000 series (ja:富山地方鉄道9000形電車)
- Toyama Light Rail TLR 0600 (ja:富山ライトレールTLR0600形電車)
- Utsunomiya Light RailHU300 series [ja]
Poland
edit- 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)
- Protram 205 WrAs
- Protram 405N, one prototype produced in 2012 and used since then inKraków
Romania
edit- Bucur LF (65% low floor)
- V3A-93-CH/CA-PPC (low-floor middle section)
- V3A-93-PPC (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
Russian Federation
edit- Tver Carriage Works (PC Transport Systems contract)
- 71-911 and71-911E (City Star)
- 71-911ЕМ (Lionet)
- 71-921 (Corsair)
- 71-922 (Varyag)
- 71-923 (Bogatyr) and71-923M (Bogatyr M)
- 71-931 (Vityaz),71-931M (Vityaz-M) and71-931AM (Vityaz-Leningrad)
- 71-932 (Nevsky)
- 71-934 (Lion)
Spain
editSwitzerland
edit- Tram 2000 Be 4/8 (low-floor middle section)
- Variobahn
- Citylink, includingSupertram Class 399
- Tango, only some models
- TINA
- Tramlink
- Variobahn, including MunichClass S
Turkey
editUkraine
editOther trams
edit- BKM 85300M
- DL6WA, mark Dalianren (meaning "Dalian people") manufactured by Tram Factory of Dalian, inDalian.
- Brookville Liberty Modern Streetcar
- Cegielski 118NPuma
- Tram Power City Class
- Hedley-Doyle Stepless car (1912)[5]
- United Streetcar trams
- M31 inGothenburg tram network (reconstruction with low-floor middle section)
- ja:SWIMO
- NewagNevelo
- NGT6DD and NGT8DD inDresden
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"The joy of high ceilings (also called low floors)".Human Transit. Retrieved2010-02-22.
- ^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 fromthe original(PDF) on 2014-02-22. Retrieved2012-02-18.
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.
- ^"Zelingr, Heptner"(PDF). Retrieved2010-05-12.[permanent dead link]
- ^"ČVUT.cz - Čapek, Kolář"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved2010-05-12.
- ^ab"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. Retrieved2012-08-17.
- ^"San Diego Electric Railway San Diego Class I Electric Streetcar Bodies No. 126, 128 & 138"(PDF). pp. 24–25. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2012-05-06. Retrieved2012-08-17.
External links
edit- Strassenbahn-Online(in German)