Tampere tram

Tampere tram
Basic information
Country	Finland
city	Tampere
opening	planned: August 9, 2021
operator	VR-Yhtymä
Infrastructure
Gauge	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system	750 V = , catenary
Operating mode	(Facility operation)
Depots	(1)
business
Lines	(2)
Line length	(16 km)
Clock in the peak hours	(7.5 min)
Top speed	70 km / h
Map of the Tampere tram (phase 1 with red, future phase 2 with blue) with the stops provided

Lines 3 and 4
Legend 0.000 Pyynikintori 0.630 Tuulensuu 0.944 Keskustori Sorin aukio 1.330 Koskipuisto 1,577 Rautatieasema Tulli Sammonaukio Kalevan Kirkko Hippos 4.090 TAYS 4,650 Kaupin campus Kaleva Uintikeskus Kalevan Channel Hakametsä Turtola Hallila Pohjois- Hervanta Opiskelija Hervantakeskus Hervannan kampus Depot Etela-Hervanta Hervantajärvi

The Tampere Tram ( Finnish: Tampereen raitiotie ) is a tram or light rail system under construction in the Finnish city ​​of Tampere .

Brief description

As early as 1900 there were plans for a wide-gauge tram in Tampere. These were never realized.

After a long planning period, the construction of initially two standard-gauge lines began on November 7, 2016 . This will give Finland the first regular-gauge tram system. The trams in Helsinki , Turku (until 1972) and Viipuri (until 1945 and in the Soviet Union until 1957) were or are designed with 1000 mm gauge ( meter gauge ).

There are initially two routes with a total length of 16 km and 24 stops:

• Line 3: Pyynikintori - city center - main station - Sampola - Hervanta (around 11 km, replaces bus line 3), from there connection to the depot (around 1 km)
• Line 4: Sorin aukio - city center - main train station - Sampola - university hospital (around 4.5 km)

Passenger traffic is scheduled to begin in 2021.

An idea to build a connection from Hämeenkatu to Ratina in the first phase was noted by the city council in 2018 and included in the further planning. This is where the stadium with 16,000 seats, the bus station and the largest shopping center in Tampere are located. The extension was approved on November 25, 2019. The Sorin aukio stop serves as the second stop on line 4 to the university hospital.

This is followed by another route:

• Line 3, extension: Pyynikintori - Lentävänniemi

Passenger traffic is expected to start here in 2024.

The routes are designed for a maximum speed of 70 km / h, the contact wire voltage is 750 volts direct current.

Gauge

Before the construction, considerations were made regarding the gauge . Since a possible re-planning of the Turku tram was considered at the beginning of the 2010s and the plans for the expansion of the Helsinki tram with the Jokeri light rail between Helsinki and Espoo were pending , the working groups recommended in the general plan, from the practice of the national gauge for railway lines and to deviate from the Helsinki subway and build the new line with a track width of 1435 mm in order to achieve the broadest possible tender for suppliers of high-quality vehicles and the associated cost advantages. The track width of 1524 mm used by the state rail network would only be beneficial if the use of the state network were provided as an alternative for the future.

The overall planning of the Tampere tram was based on the 1435 mm or 1524 mm gauge. Which of the two gauges is used does not play a major role in the technical properties of the trams. There are several western wagon manufacturers in the market that offer standard low-floor standard products and components for the 1435mm gauge. Deviations from the gauge would require costly changes, especially in the case of low-floor trams, to the bogie, engine or gearbox and to the car body. That is why the decision was made in favor of the 1435 mm gauge, which would also apply to the construction of a new tram in Turku.

For the Jokeri light rail , the same gauge as the Helsinki tram was recommended, which has a gauge of 1000 mm. This would enable a comprehensive vehicle fleet.

operator

The Tampere tram was put out to tender , six candidates applied for the contract: AB Stockholms Spårvägar , Länsilinjat Oy, Transtech Oy and Keolis Conseil et Projet SARL, VR Group and Väinö Paunu Oy. On April 24, 2019 it was decided that VR-Yhtymä will operate the tram system. Thereafter, tram traffic with technical test drives is to begin between April 2020 and March 2021. The commercial test traffic is scheduled to take place between April 2021 and August 2021. Public transport is scheduled to begin on September 8, 2021. Construction of the planned second section of the tram is scheduled to begin in 2021. The contract expires in 2031 and includes an option to extend it by three years after the actual contract period.

vehicles

Artic X34 on test drive in July 2020.

The eight-axle, low-floor, bidirectional ForCity Smart Artic X34 cars are being built by Transtech , a subsidiary of Škoda Transportation . For the first construction stage, 19 wagons with a width of 2.65 meters and a length of 37.3 meters, with an option to extend the wagons to 47 meters, are to comprise. The value is given as 61 million euros. In connection with the intended extension, another five or six vehicles worth 97.5 million euros are to follow. In addition, there is an option for 46 cars (after the 19 cars for the first construction stage) to cover future extensions of the tram system.

The raw model was completed in March 2018 and the final model was presented to the public in Tampere in February 2019. Transtech started producing trams in Otanmäki in December 2018 , with the first car being delivered to Tampere in May 2020 and starting test drives in early July.

The car has space for up to 264 passengers, including 104 seats. The maximum speed of the cars is 70 km / h. The average speed on the route is 19 to 22 km / h. The transition between the platform and the car is flat. In October 2018, the design of the tram and the color of the car were announced, the brick red was chosen by public vote.

literature

• MAL: Finland: Tampere - Tram construction has started. In: Straßenbahn Magazin 5/2017, p. 14.

Web links

• David Briginshaw: Tampere finalizes LRT project deal. In: International Railway Journal of November 30, 2016.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Antti Palomaa: Tampereen ratikan reittiin suunnitellaan muutosta - kiskot kulkisivat Taysista linja-autoasemalle heti alkuvaiheessa. In: yle.fi. April 18, 2019, accessed January 3, 2020 (Finnish). 
2. ↑ Heli Mansikka: Tampereen ydinkeskustan mylläys voi jatkua vielä toiset pari vuotta - valtuusto päättää tänään jatketaanko ratikkalinjaa linja-autoasemalle. In: yle.fi. November 25, 2019, accessed January 3, 2020 (Finnish). 
3. ↑ TAMPEREEN RAITIOTIE. Tampereen kaupunki, April 2014, accessed December 22, 2019 (Finnish). 
4. ↑ RAITIOTIE USEIN KYSYTYT KYSYMYKSET. In: turku.fi. Retrieved December 22, 2019 (Finnish). 
5. ^ Hanne Tamminen: VR-Yhtymä liikennöimään Tampereen Ratikkaa. In: tampereenratikka.fi. Retrieved December 19, 2019 (Finnish). 
6. ↑ Ensimmäiset Tampereen Ratikan koeajot katuverkolla onnistuivat odotetusti. Tampereen Raitiotie Oy, July 7, 2020, accessed July 15, 2020 (Finnish). 
7. ↑ Tampereen raitiotie. Raitiotie rakennetaan kahdessa vaiheessa. In: raitiotieallianssi.fi. Accessed December 19, 2019 (Finnish, route network). 
8. ↑ Tamperelaiset valitsivat punaisen raitiovaunun. In: tampere.fi. October 1, 2018, accessed December 19, 2019 (Finnish).