C-train
The C-Train (also: CTrain ) is the name of the light rail system in the Canadian city of Calgary . The municipal company Calgary Transit transports around 333,800 passengers a day on the two lines, 59.9 km long, making C-Train one of the most widely used light rail systems in North America.
Line network
The C-Train system currently consists of four branches that lead from the city center in a north-west, north-east, south and west direction. The northwest and southern branches are operated as line 201, while the other two routes are linked as line 202. Both lines share an inner-city section on 7th Avenue, which can be used free of charge as a "Free Fare Zone" together with the sections of 7th Avenue only used by line 202.
The 59.9 km long standard gauge network has been expanded to consist of two tracks throughout. The vehicles are powered by an overhead line fed with 600 volts direct current. The network has 45 stations, with the stops located close behind one another on 7th Avenue are only served in one direction. There the C-Train trains run on the road surface, otherwise separated from the rest of the traffic on separate routes. Almost all stations are transfer points to bus lines; There are usually extensive parking spaces outside the city center.
During the day, a 10-minute cycle is offered on both lines, which is compressed to a 2-minute cycle during rush hour and thinned out to a 15-minute cycle in the evening.
use
The C-Train system plays a central role in public transport in the greater Calgary area. The average weekday number of passengers grew from 40,000 in the first year of operation to 333,800 in the first quarter of 2015. According to its own information, C-Train has a market share of 42% in traffic to and from the city center.
history
In the 1960s, in rapidly growing Calgary, initial considerations were made to reintroduce inner-city rail transport after the last tram line had been closed on December 29, 1950. After setting up an express bus system ( Blue Arrow ) and testing various route and system variants, it was decided in 1976 to develop a light rail transit system .
Basic network (until 1987)
Construction began on the first section, the South Line from 8th Street SW station in the center to Anderson, in 1978; its commissioning on May 25, 1981. The Northeast Line from the center to Whitehorn was opened on April 27, 1985. It followed on September 17, 1987 the Northwest Line as a northern extension of the South Line to the university, which also u. a. the McMahon Stadium - one of the venues for the 1988 Winter Olympics - connects to the C-Train network.
Extensions (1990 to 2009)
Thereafter, the three branches of the line were gradually expanded: the University has been running since August 31, 1990 to Brentwood, and on the South Line since October 9, 2001, via Anderson to Fish Creek-Lacombe. On June 28, 2004, the South Line was again extended and Somerset-Bridlewood became the new southern terminus, while the Northwest Line has operated since December 15, 2003 to Dalhousie and the Northeast Line since December 17, 2007 to McKnight-Westwinds. The northwest extension of line 201 to Crowfoot station was finally opened to traffic on June 15, 2009 after more than six months of delay.
Extensions (2011 to 2014)
On November 6, 2007, the city of Calgary decided to extend the route further, in addition to the procurement of additional vehicles, two route extensions and the construction of an additional line branch.
The extension in the northeast from McKnight-Westwinds to Saddletown was put into operation in 2012, the one in the northwest from Crowfoot to Tuscany-Rocky Ridge in 2014. The new western branch from the city center to 69th Street SW opened in 2012.
Depot
The vehicles are maintained in a depot in the southern district of Anderson. In Haysboro, where a larger parking facility is located, there is also a connection with the route network of the Canadian Pacific Railway used to transfer new railcars .
Expansion plans
Another expansion of the C-Train system is a core element of the city of Calgary's traffic planning. The Green Line has been in the planning stage since 2015 . It should (as of August 2016) drive from North Pointe in the north of the city through the center to Seton in the southeast and be 40 kilometers long.
vehicles
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Siemens-Duewag U2
When C-Train development began, there was only one potential manufacturer of light rail vehicles in Canada, the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC), which in the 1970s was also unable to produce a series vehicle that met the Calgary Transit specifications. In the 300 km north of Calgary lying provincial capital Edmonton , the operator of the rail had Edmonton Light Rail Transit for similar reasons for the purchase of railcars of the type U2 of the manufacturing consortium Siemens - Duewag decided. The city of Calgary followed suit and initially ordered 27 vehicles of this type. In the course of further expansion, the stock was expanded to 83 U2 railcars, 80 of which are still in use today after three accidents.
Siemens S160
Since 2001, 66 units of the successor type Siemens SD-160 have been procured, which are to be supplemented by a further 34 identical railcars by 2012.
Siemens S200
In 2013, an order for 63 new vehicles worth more than 135 million euros was awarded to Siemens. They offered their new "S200" model, which is characterized by numerous energy-saving innovations such as LED lighting and triple-glazed window panes. The technical data are as follows:
| Drive power | 145 kW × 4 |
| Gauge | 1435 mm |
| Length over coupling | 24,820 mm |
| width | 2,654 mm |
| Power system | 600 V DC |
| Number of seats (seats) | 245 (60 seats) |
| Acceleration | 1.2 m / s² |
| Top speed | 80 km / h |
| Wheelbase | 1800 mm |
| Empty weight | 41,000 kg |
Similar vehicles with different dimensions were ordered as type Siemens S200 SF for Muni Metro in San Francisco and delivered from 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Public Transportation Ridership Report First Quarter 2015 ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2015 on WebCite ) 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. American Public Transportation Association (APTA) passenger statistics
- ↑ a b c Calgary’s CTrain - Effective Capital Utilization ( Memento of the original from April 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Presentation of Calgary Transit at the 2006 Joint International Light Rail Conference in St. Louis.
- ↑ About CT: History on the website of the C-Train operator Calgary Transit
- ^ Vision for Green Line. City of Calgary, accessed August 8, 2016 .
- ↑ About CT: Technical Information on the website of the C-Train operator Calgary Transit
- ^ Siemens Industry, Inc .: Trusted Partner Case Study - Calgary Transit. (pdf) 2014, accessed on May 5, 2017 (English).
- ↑ http://www.siemens.com/press/de/pressemitteilungen/?press=/de/pressemitteilungen/2013/infrastructure-cities/rail-systems/icrl201309007.htm&content%5B%5D=ICRL&content%5B%5D=MO
- ^ Siemens Industry, Inc .: S200 High-Floor Light Rail Vehicle - Calgary, Alberta. (pdf) (No longer available online.) 2014, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on May 5, 2017 . 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.
- ↑ Stefan Göbel: San Francisco: Muni increases . In: Stadtverkehr , ISSN 0038-9013 , issue 5/2017, pp. 6–12
