Bordeaux Tramways - Renewal of Operating Contract

Bordeaux Tram Website

Trams were re-introduced to Bordeaux in 2003 and today it has one of the largest growing tram networks in France.  The network currently consists of three lines of around 43 kilometres that extend to various parts the city and suburbs.  

A recent contract for operating the tram network has been renewed with the existing operator, who is Keolis.  As part of the 7.1 billion Euro deal, the operator is committed to extending the network by 7% and growing passenger numbers by 34%.  Tram trips in 2012 were already 117 million or over 320,000 trips per day.

Link: Keolis Contract

The Bordeaux tram network was quite innovative as new "APS" technology was used in 2003 to remove the need for overhead cables in the central areas of Bordeaux, which are World Heritage listed by UNESCO.  This allows the trams to move through the city with minimal visual impact on sensitive historic sites.  As trams pass along the track, radio signals are used to activate electrical power from ground power supplies - however, the system was 3 times more expensive to install and up to 50 times more expensive to maintain during the early years of the system, as reliability was an issue.

Alstom has supplied the Citadis tram sets for Bordeaux throughout the life of the new network.  26 new tram sets were delivered in 2013 in order to increase tram frequencies, in addition to preparing for extensions to the network that will take place from 2015.

Flickr pics of APS Power Supplies & Link to Alstom's APS Fact Sheet:

Alstom ATS Technology

Flickr pics of Bordeaux Trams:

Edinburgh Tram: City to Airport

Link: Edinburgh Trams Website

Edinburgh Trams is a story of budget blowouts and a half delivered project, but it did result in a tram line from Edinburgh airport to the city.  Transport Edinburgh Limited now operates the line after having to deal with disputes with the main contractor, Bilfinger Berger.  The project was inherently risky, as new archeological discoveries were found quite often and timelines dragged on during the GFC, causing funding problems.  A new inquiry has been announced in November 2014 to compel people to provide evidence on what caused a budget blowout from GBP375 million to GBP776 million, before interest is taken to account.

The line opened in June 2014 from Edinburgh Airport to York Place in the City.  In September 2014, it was estimated that annual trips on the new tram would be around 4.7 million. The original plan included trams to Leith, Newhaven and Granton, which are waterfront areas to the north of Edinburgh, that are in need of rejuvenation.  The line to these areas was cancelled early in the project in 2009.  It will be interesting to see if the original plan is eventually fulfilled. 

Bilfinger Berger is a German based company that is also involved in the construction of a light rail project in Cologne, which is expected to be completed in 2017.  This project has also had its own problems, with the collapse of an old archive building that caused deaths when tunnelling was being done along the light rail route. 

Bilfinger Berger denies wrongdoing

Edinburgh tram vehicles were manufactured in Spain by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, which is the same company that produced the light rail vehicles for Inner West Sydney.

Flickr Photos of Edinburgh Trams:

  

Newspaper Articles:

Sydney Morning Herald: Sydney can learn a lot from Edinburgh's disastrous tram system

 

BBC: Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Given Extra Powers

BBC Article: Edinburgh Tram Inquiry

Nottingham Tramlink Expansion Behind Schedule

Nottingham Tramlink

Nottingham is investing in a GBP570 million expansion to it's tram network, which has been quite successful since it's commencement in 2004.  However, the construction of new lines by Taylor Woodrow Alstom is causing headaches for residents in the areas adjacent to the new tram lines, as work has been conducted at all hours of the evening.  Shopkeepers and businesses have been badly impacted by delays in the project, which is running though heavily populated areas of the southern suburbs of Greater Nottingham.  Many streets have been closed off for months.

The existing network which is operated by Nottingham Express Transit (NET) has well integrated fare structures that offer good value with other modes of transport in the region and many park-and-ride facilities to reduce the use of cars in the central areas of the city.  Prior to the expansion it is one of the smallest tram systems in England, but passengers journeys in 2013/14 were growing by 6.4% per annum to 7.9 million journeys (or around 21,000 journeys per day).

The expansion has meant that new trams will be introduced to the existing system.  Rather than expanding the existing Bombadier fleet, 22 new Citadis trams are being introduced to the network.  Other variants of these trams are used are already used in many cities throughout the world.

Links to Flickr Photos of New Nottingham Trams:




Links to Flickr Photos of Construction Work - Chilwell Road, Nottingham:

  

Media articles on Delays to NET Expansion Nottingham:

BBC

Nottingham Post

Details of the construction project:

Taylor Woodrow Alstom

Opening of Tucson SunLink in Arizona USA

SunLink Streetcar Website - Tucson, Arizona

SunLink is a fairly modest new streetcar system in the US Arizona city of Tucson, with a total project value of US$196 million.  It is a new streetcar project for the city.  It began operations in July 2014 and by September, had a daily ridership of over 5,000 people, which is well above the expectations of 3,700 people per day.  The 7 kilometre line provides a new public transport link between Downtown, a major railway station and the University of Arizona in Tucson.

It will be interesting to see whether the system has any impact on the culture of this city, which is very car dominated - and whether it will bring more people into the Downtown and university areas. The fares are very reasonable, as they start at $1.50 or $4 for the day.

The streetcars were manufactured in the US by United Streetcar in Portland, Oregon under a design that is very similar to the streetcars that are used in Portland.  The Tucson design has enhanced air conditioning capability to cater for the extremes in temperature in Arizona.

Newspaper Article - 24 Sep 2014: 

24 Sept 2014 AZPM: Update on SunLink Ridership

Links to Flickr photos: