Ghent tram
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| Basic information | |
| Country | Belgium |
| city | Ghent |
| opening | 1875 |
| operator | De Lijn |
| Infrastructure | |
| Route length | 32 km |
| Gauge | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) |
| Power system | 600 V DC overhead line |
| business | |
| Lines | 3 |
| vehicles | 54 PCC trolleys , 14 HermeLijn, 48 Flexity II (since 2015) |
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The Ghent tram is one of five tram operators in Belgium . The company in Ghent , the capital of East Flanders , is operated by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn , like the Antwerp tram and the coastal tram . The tram network comprises three lines, some of which lead to neighboring communities. The network length is around 30 km. The track width of the tram operation is, as with the two other operations of the company, 1000 mm ( meter gauge ). The overhead line voltage is 600 volts ( direct current ).
Until 1991 the tram was operated by the regional transport company Maatschappij voor Intercommunaal Vervoer te Gent (MIVG, Society for Intercommunal Local Transport in Ghent). The new company De Lijn emerged from the MIVG, the Antwerp MIVA and the Flemish parts of the Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen (NMVB / SNCV).
In addition to the tram, Ghent had the only trolleybus operation in the country for a long time , but it only consisted of one line and was closed in 2009.
history
Horse tram
In 1875 the Tramways de ville de Gand (trams of the city of Ghent) opened a horse-drawn tram service in the Flemish city. There were 43 vehicles, of which 14 were open and 29 closed, and around 100 horses .
Accumulator track
On August 13, 1897, the concession was transferred to two companies: the Société Anonyme des Railways Economiques de Liège-Seraing et Extensions (RELSE, "Aktiengesellschaft der Kleinbahn Liège-Seraing and Extensions") and the Compagnie Générale des Railways à voie étroite (Allgemeine Society for Narrow Gauge Railways ). On January 4, 1898, the two companies founded the Société Anonyme des Tramways Electriques de Gand (TEG, "Genter Elektro Straßenbahnen AG") to convert the city network from horse-drawn tram to battery operation. In 1900, battery- powered trams were seen as an alternative to today's electric trams , as they were also powered electrically, but no overhead lines had to be laid.
The battery tram cars had an output of 25 hp and ran on the seven former horse-drawn tram lines. Each car had 45 seats, the maximum speed was 12 km / h - not because a higher speed would not have been technically possible, but because the licensing authorities did not allow it. To charge the batteries, a small power plant with an output of 600 kilowatts was built.
Electric tram
The accumulator technology could not establish itself in Ghent as in other cities. The susceptible technology was inferior to the overhead line operation. That is why it was decided in 1903 to equip the Ghent network with overhead lines . In 1904 the TEG opened the first electric tram line operated with overhead line voltage.
In 1961, Maatschappij voor Intercommunaal vervoer te Gent replaced TEG as operator, followed in 1991, as described, by the new company De Lijn . On September 12, 2004, the Ghent (electric) tram celebrated its 100th birthday.
In 1993, line 21 was extended to the south-eastern suburb of Melle , and in 1999, line 21/22 from St. Pieters station to Zwijnaardebrug. In 2005, the southern extension of Line 1 to the Flanders Expo exhibition center went into operation.
The branch of line 22 to Gentbrugge Boswachterstraat was shortened to Dienstcentrum (Braemkasteel) in 2010, and then completely discontinued in 2016 (and then the remaining line 21 was renamed to 2); today the remains are used to park trams.
On March 13, 2016, line 4 was also extended to a new terminal at the Universitair Ziekenhuis (UZ) and on October 24 of the same year, lines 21 and 22 in Zwijnaarde were extended to the center of the village to the library. The so-called Brabantdam - Vogelmarkt - Kouter, also BraVoKo axis, in the city center was extensively renovated in the course of 2016, so that a temporary line 24 and several diversions were necessary.
vehicles
The Ghent tram uses 54 four-axle PCC railcars (series 6200), which were manufactured by La Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN) in Bruges from 1971 and are currently being modernized. In addition, there are 14 low-floor trams of type Hermelijn (series 6300). Only low-floor vehicles are used on Line 1. The other vehicles of the 6300 series are used on route 21/22, which is also served by 6200 series cars. Line 4 is served exclusively with the PCC cars from the 6200 series.
Line network
There are three tram lines that intersect at several points in the urban area. At Gent-Sint-Pieters ( Sint Pieter station ), the main railway station, all lines meet. The second line originally branched shortly before its eastern end and led to the differentiation of the endpoints with the line numbers 21 and 22, but has only been called 2 since December 2016 after the branch of line 22 to Gentbrugge Dienstcentrum was discontinued. Reinforcement trips with a shortened route are used on lines 1 and 4 during rush hour.
| line | Line route |
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| 1 | Flanders Expo ( exhibition center ) - Sint-Pieters train station - Korenmarkt - Rabot - Wondelgem - Evergem (Brielken) |
| 2 | Zwijnaarde Bibliotheek - Sint-Pieters train station - Rozemarijnbrug - Kouter - Gent South - P + R Gentbrugge - Melle Leeuw |
| 4th | Gent UZ - Sint-Pieters train station - Rozemarijnbrug - Rabot - Muidebrug - Korenmarkt - Gent South - Gentbrugge (Moscou) |
Crossed line numbers have not been used since the realignment of the network on July 2, 1984.
Swiveled tracks lead to the Sint-Niklaasstraat
PCC multiple units on Korenmarkt, 2004
Numerous PCC cars are advertised in full, and there are no longer any tracks on the botermarket
Flexity II at InnoTrans 2014
Web links
literature
- André ver Elst: De Gentse stadstram in beeld . Europese Bibliotheek, Zaltbommel / Netherlands 1981, ISBN 90-288-1497-3 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bert Staes: Weg met tram 22, welkom tram 2. Het Nieuwsblad , December 10, 2016, accessed on July 1, 2017 (Dutch).
- ↑ blog.seniorennet.be
