A Coruña tram
The A Coruña tram existed from 1903 to 1962 in the city of A Coruña in northwestern Spain (until 1998: La Coruña). In 1997 a new route was opened as a tourist train, which operated until 2011.
Horse tram and first tram
In 1903 a horse-drawn tram went into operation in La Coruña , from which a meter-gauge electric tram emerged in 1913 . From 1922, the overland railway to Sada , 20 km away , where large four-axle vehicles ran, was also part of the operation. In the 1930s, the network operated by the Compañía de Tranvías de La Coruña, SA comprised seven lines. The railcars of the short lines of the city network were two-axle and came from different series.
After the Second World War , trolleybuses replaced almost all trams. With the exception of the short line 3, which shuttled between the Plaza de Minas and Ciudad Jardín stations until July 19, 1962, they disappeared in the 1950s.
trolleybus
The first trolleybuses ran in the city in 1948, and the network of the city's trolleybus operation soon expanded considerably. Various two-axle vehicle types were used, including three-axle double - deckers acquired from London from 1962 . Some of them were used with an upper deck, for example on the 33 km long overland trolleybus line to Carballo that existed from 1950 to 1971 , others were converted to monoplane. On January 4th 1979 the trolleybus operation in La Coruña was stopped.
New tram
History and description
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At the beginning of the 1990s there were only two tram companies left in Spain, and these served exclusively tourist purposes: in Sóller on Mallorca and in Barcelona ( Tramvia Blau ). The first plans to build a new tram network in La Coruña date from this time. Unlike Valencia , where at that time a modern tram with low floor wagon was built, A Coruna planned a thought for tourists nostalgic tram. It was to become the nucleus for a low-floor network to be implemented later.
On May 1, 1997, two railcars with the historic appearance of the former tram started operating on the new route. The American J. G. Brill Company had built the car 32 in 1919 . It is the last car used in La Coruña and has been completely restored inside and out. Car 27, on the other hand, is a new construction by CAF according to old plans, with parts of the chassis and other equipment from decommissioned vehicles from the Lisbon tram . The traction motors of both railcars also came from there.
The first section of the new line runs for 2.3 km between the provisional endpoints Castillo de San Antón and Torre de Hérkules . It is meter-lane again and has two tracks on the right-hand lane of the four-lane Uferstraße. The catenary is suspended from protruding red masts, which also serve as lamp posts for street lighting. The generously designed depot is connected via a service line from what was then the final stop at Torre de Hérkules .
The first extension from the Torre de Hérkules to the María Pita end loop went into operation on April 23, 1999. From the other end of the line, the extension by approx. 500 m to Puerta Real was built on a single track on its own track body and with a diversion along the main bathing beaches of Playa Orzán and Playa Riazor to the Riazor stadium (Palacio de Deportes). These two sections opened in 2001. Since the stretch of beach was built by a company with little experience in track construction, there were speed restrictions as a result of poor construction.
vehicles
In addition to railcars 27 and 32, there are two vehicles acquired second-hand by the Lisbon tram : No. 100 (formerly Lisbon No. 743, built in 1947 by Maley & Taunton ) and No. 101 (formerly Lisbon No. 712, 1936 from Maley & Taunton ) Taunton built). From the tram Porto of went into operation in May 2009 carriage 201, which was developed by Brill in 1939 and came in Porto was number 223rd Two more cars from Porto (212, ex Porto 212, built in 1939, Brill and 214, ex Porto 214, built in 1946, Brill) were still waiting for re-gauging and reconditioning in 2009 due to lack of funding . The railcar 57 is a restored vehicle that comes from the Zaragoza tram and was made available by a private person, but is not approved for passenger traffic .
With a view to the further expansion of the modern low-floor tram or light rail, the prototype of the Siemens Combino was demonstrated in operation in La Coruña in 1999 .
business
During the summer months, the tram usually ran every day at 20-minute intervals, with all operational railcars being used. Outside of this time, the train only operated on the weekends. Then a single railcar shuttled between the end stops every hour.
outlook
Although the railway connected the historic old town of La Coruña with the beaches, the historic Torre de Hérkules observation tower and the well-known saltwater aquarium Aquarium Finisterrae , operations were discontinued in 2011. The derailment of Car 100 did not have any serious impact, but raised questions about the security of the infrastructure. The closure was announced as temporary, but the vehicles did not leave the depot afterwards.
The further expansion to a modern low-floor network stalled due to changed political majorities. Several attempts to revive the city failed and the city officially stopped all efforts.
The next project had three lines:
- Line 1: Monte Alto - Plaza de Pontevedra - Universidad
- Line 2: Los Rosales - Plaza de Pontevedra
- Line 3: Plaza de Pontevedra - junction of lines 1 and 2
A change of the ruling party within the city parliament brought the topic back on the agenda in 2019. A survey by a local newspaper showed that his plans were widely accepted by the population. Unfortunately, the tram's infrastructure has hardly been maintained since it was closed and is now in need of a complete overhaul. In addition, the previous city administration, dominated by the conservative Partido Popular de Galicia (PPdeG), had parts of the tracks and overhead lines removed.
Web links
- Compañía de Tranvías de La Coruña, SA History and photos of tram 73 and trolleybuses
- Photo of a converted double decker trolleybus in London in La Coruña