Bombardier Flexity Swift
The Flexity Swift is a family of light rail vehicles from the manufacturer Bombardier Transportation , which was first used in 1995 by the Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB). Today the vehicles are used by several transport companies in Europe, Asia and the USA. These include a. Bonn , Frankfurt am Main , Istanbul , Cologne , London - Croydon , Minneapolis , Rotterdam , Stockholm and Manchester . Vehicles were ordered for Bursa and Karlsruhe at the end of the 2000s. These are available in both a low-floor and a high-floor version. In Germany they are mainly known under the type designations of the KVB (K4000, K4500, K5000) or the VGF (U5).
The T low-floor car , which Bombardier supplied to the Vienna U-Bahn from 1993, was the model for the K4000 and was also used on a test basis in Cologne. However, both the Type T and its successor T 1 as well as its derived 400 series of the Wiener Lokalbahn do not belong to the Flexity family.
The high-floor vehicles manufactured by Bombardier for the Docklands Light Railway of the types B90, B92, B2K and B07 are similar to the Flexity Swift family, but do not belong to any Flexity family. The Flexity Swift and Flexity Link families are summarized by Bombardier under the term Flexity Light Rail.
The main competitors of the Flexity Swift are the Alstom Citadis , the Siemens Combino and Siemens Avanto , the Tango from Stadler Rail , the Sirio from AnsaldoBreda and Bombardier's other Bombardier Flexity trams.
Models and locations
K4000
The K4000 is - depending on the definition - a medium or low-floor , six-axle, two-way light rail vehicle . The bogie under the joint has loose wheels without rotating axle shafts due to the low-lying floor of the vehicle .
Because of its floor height of 35 cm above rail level in all entrance doors, the K4000 is suitable for service on routes with platforms not for financial or urban design reasons, the 90-centimeter-entry level of light rail vehicles of the type B or type K5000 can be raised or should. With the K4000, a level, stepless entry is possible from a platform height of 35 to 40 centimeters. The low-floor share is 70 percent, because normal high-floor bogies are implemented in the doorless area at the ends of the vehicle towards the driver's cab, which makes a step inside the vehicle necessary, but significantly simplifies the construction of the drive.
120 identical vehicles of this type were built between 1995 and 1998 in the consortium of Bombardier Transportation and Kiepe Elektrik (now Vossloh Kiepe) and delivered to the Cologne transport company . In 2002, another four vehicles were delivered in Cologne, so that KVB now has 124 K4000 vehicles. The company numbers are accordingly 4001 to 4124.
Initially only lines 1, 7, 8 and 9 (since August 5, 2007 still 1, 7 and 9) were used for these vehicles, but now there are also lines 6, 12 and 15 (since August 5, 2007 12 and 15) has been converted to K4000 or K4500.
As a rule, K4000s are used as a double unit with two cars. At the beginning of 2006 the prototype, the K4001, was rebuilt in order to be able to drive the K4500 series of vehicles as a long train. a. a new IBIS device . In the meantime, all vehicles have been equipped with the new IBIS device and can drive the K4500 in double traction.
As is typical in Cologne (and generally in light rail systems), the vehicle is not only used in above-ground tram operation, but also traverses subway tunnels on sections of the route . In addition, it has an approval for operation according to EBO on classic railway lines . There is such a section on the KVB line 7 between the stops “Brahmsstraße” and “ Frechen Bahnhof”.
K5000 or K5100 / K5200
The K5000 is the high-floor version of the Bombardier Flexity Swift. Originally, the KVB wanted to procure the new Siemens type " CitySprinter ". However, after the serious accident of the prototype on August 23, 1999, a new order was placed with Bombardier. However, the KVB decided at short notice to classify the 59 Bombardier vehicles as 5101-5159, since they did not want to reassign the number 5001, which the crashed CitySprinter prototype had carried. An option for 69 additional units was converted into an order for the low-floor variant K4500 , as it had meanwhile been decided to convert lines 6, 12 and 15 to low-floor. Some of the Cologne vehicles have also been retrofitted so that they can drive on the EBO routes. In the meantime, however, digital radio has been expanded on the HGK route and the cars with IBISplus devices are approved for this route. The K4000 were only converted to IBISPlus after the Frechen line was equipped with digital radio.
In 2003, Stadtwerke Bonn procured 15 identical vehicles, which were classified as 0360–0374 in view of the planned merger with the KVB, so they could be immediately integrated into the Cologne numbering system by exchanging the first digits. According to the previous system, the first company number would have been 0351.
Initially, the Bonn railcars - during the day as double trains - were used exclusively on the local line 63. Joint traffic on lines 16 and 18 to Cologne has been taking place since August 2005, as the K5000 only received the EBO approval required for passenger operation on the Rheinufer- und Vorgebirgsbahn after a very lengthy process . The installation of a fire extinguisher in the middle of the car was necessary to obtain this approval.
In November 2010, KVB put the first K5200 vehicles, a second generation of high-floor Flexitys, into operation. The 15 vehicles ordered differ only slightly from the K5000 and were delivered until 2011.
K4500
The K4500 is another low-floor or mid-floor variant of the Flexity Swift, which is very similar to the K4000 , but is technically more closely related to the K5000 , which is particularly advantageous for the provision of spare parts. The most noticeable change is the joint that has been lengthened to the middle car, which now accommodates eight seats. Between 2005 and 2007 a total of 69 of these vehicles were delivered. The reason for this conversion of an order for K5000 vehicles was a decision by the Cologne city council to completely prepare part of the light rail network for the use of low-floor vehicles. But that would have meant more high-floor vehicles than were needed in Cologne and at the same time too few low-floor vehicles.
CR4000
In the spring of 2000, the newly established ( London ) Tramlink system, which is based on the K4000 and externally almost identical, received a low-floor multiple unit.
A32
At the end of the 1990s, vehicles were procured for the first new light rail line of the post-war period in Stockholm , Sweden - the so-called "cross line" . They are almost identical to the K 4000, but they are equipped with rounder heads and only three doors on each side. The fourth is prepared and can be retrofitted. Because of a connection in Liljeholmen and the grooved rails through Gröndal, which are flush with the street, the Stockholm wagons run on compromise tires.
The Haagsche Tramweg-Maatschappij (HTM) is identical cars in cooperation with the Nederlandse Spoorwegen on the "RijnGouwelijn" ( Gouda - Alphen aan den Rijn ) a. Since these vehicles were originally intended to be delivered to Stockholm, they also have the designation A32. The vehicles were sold to Stockholm in 2010.
Izmir
In August 2000, a metro built by Adtranz was opened in Izmir , Turkey . The delivery comprised 45 vehicles.
Istanbul
In the summer of 2001 the Istanbul Transport Authority (ITC) ordered 55 Flexity Swift vehicles. Similar to the vehicles for Stockholm, the vehicle for Istanbul with a length of 30 m offers a total capacity of 272 passengers. The entry height is 300 millimeters. The vehicles were put into operation in 2003.
Frankfurt am Main
A total of 226 vehicles in two variants were ordered for the Frankfurt U-Bahn . They are based on the K5000 , but are mainly based on their Frankfurt predecessor, the U4 railcar . They have been under construction since 2007. A first vehicle was presented in May 2008 and the vehicles have been in regular service since September 2008. As a special feature, they are capable of traction with the U4 cars built by Duewag and Siemens . There are 96 U5-25 and 130 U5-50 vehicles in use. Both vehicle variants are around 25 meters long. However, the one-and-a-half-directional vehicles always operate in double traction . Every two vehicles thus form double units about 50 meters long, which are connected in the middle by a close coupling and a pedestrian crossing. The plan is to procure 22 units without a driver's cab, which will enable a unit to be formed from two U5-50 and one or two additional middle units. This creates a train that can be walked continuously over a length of 75 or 100 meters.
Minneapolis
Bombardier Flexity Swift vehicles have been running on the Hiawatha line since 2004 .
M5000
The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) placed an order with Bombardier and Vossloh-Kiepe for eight M5000 vehicles in April 2007 for the Manchester Metrolink light rail system. This order was expanded to 12 in November 2007. The first vehicles went into operation in 2009.
Another 28 units were ordered to complete Phase 3A, the expansion of the Metrolink. In 2011, the decision was made to completely replace the existing AnsaldoBreda T-68 fleet - 32 additional units were ordered. In 2013, another 10 units were ordered as the Trafford Park Line was about to open. In September 2014, an additional 16 units were ordered for a total of 120 units for Manchester. The last unit was delivered in October 2016. In July 2018, another 28 more units were ordered so that more space is available for passengers. These are to be delivered in 2020/21.
Bursa
The transport company in Bursa , Turkey, ordered 30 Flexity Swift vehicles for the light rail in August 2008 and received them in 2011/2012.
Karlsruhe
The Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (VBK) and the Albtal Traffic Company (AVG) have a total of 30 in September 2009, two-system rail cars for the light rail Karlsruhe and the light rail Heilbronn ordered for delivery from August 2011th The first cars arrived in Karlsruhe in May 2012. An option for a further 45 vehicles was agreed, of which twelve were requested in May 2016.
Melbourne
In September 2010, the transport authorities of the Australian state of Victoria placed an order for the delivery of 50 Bombardier Flexity Swift low-floor trams valued at 216 million euros. The contract also includes an option for an additional 100 FLEXITY Swift trams. The vehicles are 33 meters long and can each accommodate up to 210 passengers. They are manufactured at Bombardier's Dandenong site in Australia. The German locations Mannheim and Siegen supply the drive systems and the bogies. The delivery of the first vehicles is planned for 2012.
HF6
On March 19, 2015, the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe and the Rheinbahn placed orders for the delivery of a joint high-floor vehicle type. The Rheinbahn was originally to receive 42 cars between 2017 and 2020, and the KVB 2021 in 2020 and 2021. The 28-meter-long and 2.65-meter-wide articulated wagons are referred to as HF6 (high-floor vehicle, six-axle) at Rheinbahn.
During a test drive of a prototype in October 2018, add-on parts of a bogie touched the edge of the low-floor platform in the Steinsche Gasse underground station . A modification of the add-on parts is being examined for use on the U79 line . The cars can be used on the other lines U74, U75, U77 and U78 of the Düsseldorf Stadtbahn . More than the 43 units ordered are already required for these lines. In March 2019, the press said that the problem could be solved by changing the construction plan. In May 2019, the Düsseldorf Rheinbahn pulled an option, so that the total number of vehicles increases to 59.
In August 2020, the Düsseldorf Rheinbahn announced that the acceptance of the HF6 wagons would be stopped until further notice due to quality defects.
Technical specifications
Low-floor versions
| city | country | business | Type | Construction year | number | length | width | Empty weight | Maximum power | Maximum speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cologne | Germany | KVB | K4000 | 1995-1999, 2002 | 124 | 28.40 m | 2.65 m | 35.50 t | 4 × 120 kW | 80 km / h |
| K4500 | 2004-2007 | 69 | 28.50 m | 37.40 t | ||||||
| Croydon , Greater London | United Kingdom | TfL | CR4000 | 1998-2000 | 24 | 30.10 m | 36.30 t | |||
| Istanbul | Turkey | ITC | 2003 | 55 | 29.70 m | 39.20 t | 70 km / h | |||
| Minneapolis , Minnesota | United States | Metro transit | Type1 LRV
(100series) |
2003-2005 | 27 | 28.65 m | 48.50 t | 4 × 130 kW | 88.5 km / h | |
| postage | Portugal | Metro do Porto | 2010 | 30th | 37.07 m | 100 km / h | ||||
| Stockholm | Sweden | SL | A32 | 1999-2008 | 31 | 29.70 m | 37.50 t | 4 × 120 kW | 80 km / h | |
| RijnGouweLijn | Netherlands | NS | 2008-2010 | 6th | ||||||
| Karlsruhe | Germany | AVG | Link (Swift TT) | 2011 - | 34 | 37 m | 62 t | 4 × 150 kW | 100 km / h | |
| VBK | 8th | |||||||||
| Melbourne | Australia | Yarra trams | E-class | 2013 - | 50 | 32.70 m | 80 km / h |
High-floor versions
| city | country | business | Type | Construction year | number | length | width | Empty weight | Maximum power | Maximum speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonn | Germany | SWB | K5000 | 2003 | 15th | 28.40 m | 2.65 m | 37.80 t | 4 × 120 kW | 80 km / h |
| Bursa | Turkey | Bursaray | B-2010 | 2010–2012 | 30th | 28.00 m | 38.00 t | |||
| Cologne | Germany | KVB | K5000 | 2002-2003 | 59 | 28.40 m | 37.80 t | |||
| K5200 | 2010-2011 | 15th | ||||||||
| Frankfurt am Main | Germany | VGF | U5-25 | 2008–2011, 2014–2017 |
54, (40) |
25.02 m | 37.20 t | 4 × 130 kW | ||
| U5-50 | 2011–2015, 2014–2017 |
92, (38) |
24.764 m | 36.15 t | ||||||
| U5-KR | 2020-? | 22nd | ? | ? | ? | |||||
| Izmir | Turkey | Metro Izmir | MD | 30th | 23.50 m | 32.00 t | 4 × 75 kW | |||
| M. | 15th | |||||||||
| Manchester | United Kingdom | Manchester Metrolink | M5000 | 2009-2016 | 120 + 27 | 28.40 m | 39.70 t | 4 × 120 kW | 80 km / h | |
| Rotterdam | Netherlands | RET | MG2 / 1 (type B) | 1996-2001 | 63 | 30.50 m | 2,664 m | 44.20 t | 6 × 85 kW | |
| SG2 / 1 (type S) | 2002 | 18th | ||||||||
| RSG3 (type R) | 2008-2009 | 22nd | 42.71 m | 64.30 t | 8 × 130 kW | 100 km / h | ||||
| SG3 (type R) | 2009–2012 | 42 | ||||||||
| HSG3 (type R) | 2015 – today | 22nd | ||||||||
| Dusseldorf | Germany | Rheinbahn | HF6 | 2019–? | 42 | 28 m | 2.65 m | 39.95 t | 80 km / h | |
| Cologne | Germany | KVB | 2020–? | 20th |
photos
Middle part of a K4500 in Cologne (2005)
CR4000 of the Croydon Tramlink (2004)
CR4000 in current livery (2009)
A32 404 on the Tvärnana (Bf Alvik, 2013)
A32 in Gouda station (2007)
Car 111 near Cedar / Riverside Station in Minneapolis (2005)
Flexity Swift in Istanbul (2005)
U5 car in Frankfurt (2008)
Bursaray B-2010 in Bursa (2012)
Randstadrail RSG3 near Nootdorp (2009)
Manchester Metrolink car 3001 (2010)
Car 957 of the Albtal-Verkehrsgesellschaft (2018)
Opening special train of the Heilbronn Nord Stadtbahn on December 14, 2013
_in_4-fach-Traktion_in_Bursa.JPG)
See also
- Competitors: Alstom Citadis , Siemens Combino (or Avenio , AnsaldoBreda Sirio )
Web links
Pictures of the individual vehicles:
About Bombardier
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Bombardier PR, August 29, 2008: Bombardier Transportation Wins a 94 Million Euro Contract for 30 FLEXITY Light Rail Vehicles in Bursa
- ↑ a b Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund, September 18, 2009: AVG and VBK order 30 new 2-system vehicles ( memento of the original from November 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ New light rail vehicles on the way. KVB, November 24, 2010, archived from the original on May 29, 2014 ; accessed on November 26, 2019 (press release).
- ↑ a b Blickpunkt Straßenbahn , issue 4/2010, page 130, ISSN 0173-0290
- ↑ Bombardier: Light Rail Transit System - Izmir, Turkey ( Memento of the original from March 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bombardier: FLEXITY Swift - Istanbul, Turkey ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Günter Murr: New cars against bottlenecks in the subway . In: Frankfurter Neue Presse . Frankfurter Societät , Frankfurt am Main June 29, 2018.
- ↑ "More trams for Manchester" Rail Magazine issue 581 December 19, 2007 page 18
- ↑ a b c Next stop for Metrolink . Rail Magazine. March 11, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ^ First Manchester M5000 tram delivered . Railway Gazette. July 13, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ^ Bombardier to Supply 10 Additional Light Rail Vehicles to Manchester Metrolink in the UK , Marketwired. December 20, 2013. Archived from the original on December 23, 2013. Retrieved on December 23, 2013.
- ↑ TfGM backs Manchester tram-train proposals Railway Gazette International November 11, 2013
- ^ Dan Thompson: 5,000 jobs on the way in £ 470m bonanza . In: Manchester Evening News , July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ↑ "Metrolink investment confirmed" Tramways & Urban Transit issue 921 September 2014 p. 360
- ↑ "Sixteen more trams for Metrolink to cater for expected growth" Rail Magazine issue 757 September 17, 2014 p. 27
- ↑ UK's Transport for Greater Manchester orders 16 new Bombardier trams Railwaytechnology.com 18 September 2014
- ↑ Metrolink's 120th tram gears up for service Metrolink October 19, 2016
- ↑ Transport bosses sign £ 72m deal to buy 27 new trams . Manchester Evening News. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ Evolving the M5000 . Tramways & Urban Transit. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ↑ Bombardier PR, September 18, 2009: Bombardier Receives Order for 30 Dual-system FLEXITY Swift Tram-trains for German City of Karlsruhe ( Memento from January 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The first new dual system trams have arrived in Karlsruhe ( Memento from May 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ VBR News-Net, September 29, 2010: New FLEXITY Swift low-floor trams for Melbourne
- ^ Railway Gazette, September 29, 2010: Melbourne tram supplier selected
- ↑ Bombardier press release, March 19, 2015: Bombardier receives an order to supply FLEXITY light rail vehicles for Düsseldorf and Cologne
- ↑ KVB press release, March 12, 2015: New light rail vehicles for Düsseldorf and Cologne: Bombardier wins the bid ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Rheinbahn press release, March 12, 2015: New light rail vehicles for Cologne and Düsseldorf: Bombardier wins the contract
- ↑ New Düsseldorf Rheinbahn does not fit into Duisburg tunnel. October 8, 2018, accessed September 2, 2019 .
- ↑ Arne Lieb: Breakdown during the test run: The Düsseldorf Rheinbahn is to blame for trains that are too wide. In: rp-online.de. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
- ^ Daniel Wüstenberg: "Rheinbahn": New trains ordered for 120 million euros - but an important detail overlooked. In: www.stern.de. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Rheinbahn AG: Test drive of the HF6 prototype: the train touches the edge of a stop in the Duisburg tunnel. In: www.rheinbahn.de. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
- ↑ RP Online, March 20, 2019: Bug in new light rail vehicles has been eliminated
- ↑ Details. Retrieved April 3, 2020 .
- ↑ Production defects: Rheinbahn stops accepting the new HF6 trains from Bombardier Transportation. In: www.rheinbahn.de. Retrieved August 18, 2020 .
