Trondheim tram

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tram
Trondheim tram
image
The tram in Trondheim at the terminus
Basic information
Country Norway
city Trondheim
opening December 3, 1901
operator Boreal Norge AS
Infrastructure
Route length 8.8 km
Gauge 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system 600 V DC overhead line
Stops 21st
business
Lines 1
statistics
Passengers 900000 / year
Network plan
Trondheim's tram line

The Trondheim tram is operated by the private company AS Gråkallbanen , owned by Veolia Transport since 2004 . The first meter-gauge tram ran in Trondheim on December 3, 1901 - after it was closed, there is currently only one line, the Gråkallbanen .

history

Beginnings

The tram opened in Trondheim on December 3, 1901. At that time it was the northernmost tram in the world. In contrast to most other railways, it had no horse-drawn tram as a predecessor. Rather, the city was criss - crossed by numerous horse-drawn bus routes. The first line was 3.5 kilometers long and was single-track except for the passing points. It ran from Hjorten through the city past the train station to Lademoen and replaced one of the horse-drawn bus routes . The railway was a success from the start. Already in 1902 it was used by 1.6 million passengers. So more vehicles were purchased and from 1908 a 4-minute cycle could be offered by increasing the travel speed . In 1909 the double-track expansion of the first line began. On October 6, 1913, a second line was added from the station to Øya . At the same time, the first line was extended by 400 m from Ilevolden to Voldsminde. By 1919, the number of passengers had increased to 13.9 million.

expansion

Gråkallbanen 1927

On July 6th and August 18th, 1921, turning loops went into operation on the first route , which shortened the turnaround time. On July 18, 1924, the city received another tram line with the private Gråkallbanen with a length of 5.7 kilometers. Since wider wagons were used on this line, the track spacing on the main urban line, which was also used by the Gråkallbanen, was adjusted accordingly. In 1925 the Gråkallbanen was extended to Ugla and in 1933 to Lian . Since the city railway had built another line, four lines ran in the city.

In 1928 the last sections of lines 1 and 2 were completely equipped with a second track. In 1930 the planned 2.60 m wide vehicles were also used. With the beginning of the Second World War , the number of passengers continued to rise and reached 35.5 million in 1943. After the end of the war there were numerous renovations and the modernization of the rolling stock. In 1955 line 3 was also provided with a loop. Thus, all lines were double-tracked and one-way wagons could be used on all routes.

Decline

Car at Kongens gate (1966)

On October 10, 1956, there was a major fire in the carriage hall. In addition to numerous injuries, three were killed. In addition, large parts of the vehicle fleet were destroyed with 26 railcars, 16 sidecars and one work car. With the exception of two copies, this also included all new acquisitions from previous years. This led to the first considerations to replace the tram with trolleybuses or omnibuses . It was decided to keep the track. Since, despite an intensive search, only a few suitable used vehicles could be found, the parts left over after the fire were used. The old vehicles still in existence meant that operations could be maintained.

In 1957 the network was extended again. It reached a length of 24 kilometers in 1958 and was thus its greatest expansion. In 1961 a section of the route in the city center was relocated to another street. With the increase in car traffic, the lines ran at an increasingly poor pace. At the same time, the number of passengers fell. Until then, profits had always been made, but in 1965 the railway was in the red for the first time. Due to austerity measures, line 3 was switched to omnibus on November 20, 1968. The bus line, which had a changed route, was not accepted by the passengers. The switch to the old route was also unsuccessful. After a 45-minute cycle was introduced, the number of passengers fell sharply.

In 1974 the city trams, the Gråkallbanen and the bus routes to Trondheims Trafikkselskap (TT) merged. In the years that followed, there was no progress on the tram due to disagreements in the city council. In the 1980s, line 1 was modernized and new vehicles were purchased. On June 11, 1983, operations on line 2 ceased.

Despite the problems with the tram, plans were made in 1979 to procure new cars. The following types were shortlisted:

Despite the money invested, line 1 operated for the last time on June 13, 1988. However, there were problems with the use of the old vehicles. Attempts were made to sell these to Cairo , Oslo or Senegal , but without success due to the width of the car.

New beginning

The city council decided to let a private operating company, AS Gråkallbanen , founded on October 14, 1989, take over tram operations again for two years from January 1, 1990 onwards. The TT tried to prevent this. The vehicles that were still in existence were quickly sold to a Danish scrap dealer. This contract, signed on December 31, 1989, was canceled by the city council. As a precaution, the company had already contacted Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG to purchase used vehicles if necessary.

Operations resumed on August 18, 1990. However, the railway was not yet profitable and had to be financially supported by the Sør-Trøndelag district . In 2001 the city council decided to take the financing into its own hands after the district had put back the funds for a new line to Munkvoll .

Currently, the tram network in Trondheim only consists of line 1, St. Olavsgate - Sentrum - Munkvoll - Lian.

Planned expansion to Brundalen

In March 2006, Gråkallbanen submitted a proposal to extend the railway line across the harbor to include the new “Pirterminalen” stop. The plans were received positively by all political camps. Nevertheless, the city council decided not to implement this for the whole route. It was decided to extend the current loop from St. Olavs gate to Prinsenkrysset (Prinzenkreuzung). Construction was planned to start in 2010 for this extension, and then the new outer ring, Nordre Avlastningsveg , should also be built.

However, that did not happen. In the summer of 2010, the consulting firm Rambøll submitted a report that concluded that a light rail in Trondheim was not economical. Only a tunnel to Valentinlyst is profitable. On May 19, 2011 the city council commissioned a new study which will examine the chances of a new light rail system through such a tunnel and on to Brundalen / Dragvoll as well as the adaptation of the existing infrastructure. The study is expected to be presented on March 16, 2012.

Web links

Commons : Trams in Trondheim  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Report on the Trondheim light rail system (Norwegian)
  2. ↑ Article on light rail and alternatives
  3. ^ Announcement of the tender for a study for the new route east of Trondheim