Orléans tram crosses the town!
THE 31St August last will remain a very important date in the
history of urban transport in the town of Orléans, for,
63 years alter the disappearance of the old tramways, a modem
rake of the Alstom Citadis crossed the town from the main SNCF
railway station to the southern limit of the George V bridge.
The event took place in the presence of a great crowd of the public
and shopkeepers.
The opening of the fine had four objectives:
- to test the rolling stock in its definitive configuration;
- to test the actual track and its components;
- to train drivers in real traffic situations;
- and especially to let the public discover their new service.
Such trials have been carried out on certain sections over the past few weeks: in the south between "Hôpital de la Source" and "Lorette" and in the north between Fleury-les-Aubrais and the SNCF main station several rakes have been daily "testing the waters".
Romania
Munich gives trams to Timisoara
THE RATT (Regia Autonoma de Transport Timisoara, and the Munich
transport authorities (Stadtwerke München - SWM), signed
a "gift" agreement for the transfer of 25 trams (mater
vehicle and trailer) that, in future, will be running on the Romanian
network.
The first nine vehicles will be sent on their way this autumn
and the rest will follow over the period until 2005.
Some articulated vehicles Type P (presently being replaced by
new four-section, low-floor trams) will also follow over the next
few years.
Altogether, 118 trams, that had been taken out of service in Munich
in the last few years, are now running in Bucharest and Brasov.
These are covering the period until new rolling stock can be bought.
However, the population, being poor, reply more and more on public
transport.
The network in Timisoara includes 10 tram routes and several trolley-bus
lines.
United States
Light rail success in Denver
ON 14 July last, the Regional Transportation District at Denver,
Colorado, opened the 14-kilometre southwest extension. For years,
Denver, with a metropolitan area population of about two million,
had debated whether it needed a rapid transit system. But, in
an attempt to revive its declining urban centre, RTD did create
on 16th Street a 1.5-kilometre transit mail, with vehicles limited
to a fleet of low-floor buses with few seats and wide doors designed
for short-distance rides. At either end of the mail, terminals
for local and regional bus routes were built. Transfer to the
mail buses is convenient, and no fares are charged.
For major corridors leading into the city centre, a combination
of buses operating on existing freeways and light rail on a modest
scale was finally picked, augmented perhaps with commuter rail
service on existing railways serving the city. The first 8.5-kilometre
"starter" section of the system was opened in October,
1994 and was an immediate success.
It loops through the city centre on existing streets, serves a
large college campus, and ends at a station at Broadway and interstate
highway 125. This is also the terminal for bus routes from the
surrounding area, and includes a large carpark. Ridership greatly
exceeded estimates, and the fleet of 11 SD100 light-rail vehicles
from Siemens was not enough.
Additional coaches were immediately ordered. In addition, to reduce
the crush loads, some bus routes were rerouted back to the city
centre. Work was begun on the southwest extension-14 kilometres
parallel to an existing railway corridor to the suburb of Littleton.
A funding referendum on the November, 1999 election ballot was
approved by the voters. It passed by a stunning 65.6% and authorized
the sale of bonds to finance the local share of construction of
a proposed 31.5-kilometre southeast extension. This will be built
from the Broadway/1-25 station in the median of 1-25 as an integral
part of an expansion of the Interstate highway. Still to be obtained
is a commitment for funds from the Federal Government. The opening
weeks of service on the completed southwest extension were a repeat
of the experience when the starter fine was opened.
Loads have exceeded predictions by 30% and have exhausted space
in the carparks at the stations. More spaces are being sought.
Daily boardings are now about 11,250 for the extension and 28,500
for the entire route. An additional six light-rail vehicles have
been ordered, bringing the fleet total to 37. Success of the starter
section and now of the southwest extension has resulted in increased
pressure for other expansions.
Already in advanced planning was the of the 2.9-kilometre Platte
Valley extension out to amusement and sports venues. This now
seems assured of construction.
It branches from the original fine to skirt the city centre and
end near the north end of the 16th Street transit mail. Pressure
is now growing for a new fine running west along an existing railway
right of way already owned by the RTA. It would serve the suburb
of Lakeview and a government centre.
An environmental impact study has been authorized. The RTD already
owns much of the right-of-way for the proposed 20.8-kilometre
route.
Denver has been a practical demonstration of the need to first
build a small but well-planned demonstration project. Once enough
sceptics are convinced that urban rail is a good thing, expansion
follows.
Canada
Toronto Airport by rail or bus?
PLANNERS in Toronto are beset by conflicting plans for a connection
to Pearson Airport from the city centre. Federal Transport Minister,
David Collenette, is in favour of a 24-kilometre rail link out
from Union Station, that would cost between CAD250 and CAD350
million to build. It would be built entirely by the private sector,
as the province of Ontario is unwilling to put money into the
scheme. Previous estimates had put the price
at CAD1 billion, but now it seems that the new fine would run
west out of Union Station along the Canadian National's Lakeshore
fine, and would then veer north on CN'S underused Weston subdivision
right-of-way, which the federal government hopes to purchase from
the railway.
This section of th fine would have a stop at Bloor Street to interconnect
with the underground, and then head northwest to Woodbine Racetrack
for interchange with VIA Rail and GO Transit. A south-west turn
would then bring it into Pearson just north of Terminal 3, where
it would connect with the airport's "people mover" monorail.
According to Collenette, the federal government is negotiating
to buy right-of-way, and "It's net inconceivable that as
part of the process with the private sector that the actual link
could be in government hands, but that the operation and administration
of the track and signaling would be up to the private sector.
"
Other projects Competing link ideas include a rapid
tram connection from the city up the West on right-of-way and
into the airport, GO Transit trains running between Union and
Woodbine, with a monorail taking passengers from the racetrack
into Pearson, bath much cheaper alternatives. The advantage of
the GO project would be direct connections from the Greater Toronto
Area, other than the city centre.
An even cheaper project would be a dedicated busway, promoted
by the Ontario Motor Coach Association, which could be built for
a quarter to a tenth of the cost of a rail link, and which would
be much more flexible.
At the moment,the economics point to a cheaper solution, for only
17% of travelers from the airport came into the city centre, with
a
taxi connection taking 20 minutes and costing CAD35, a price that
would probably become more competitive if other services were
installed.
Collenette would ideally like to have it in place by the time
of the opening of the first stage of the new terminal in 2003,
but the construction of a rail fine would be probably be for 2006,
when the second phase will be finished, and in any case by 2008,
when Toronto hopes to get the Olympic Games.
"Games.dependent" projects Other projects
heralded for the eventuality of the Games, and to be considered
for the 10-year capital budget to be announced this December,
include:
. a 700-metre connection between Exhibition East loop and the
Dufferin loop;. a two-kilometre extension of the St Clair Streetcar
to Jane Street instead of Runnymede and Dundas, as a previous
proposal suggested;. new track to improve the TTC's connections
with Ontario Place.
In the farther future, the Robert Fung Waterfront Redevelopment
proposals and the proposals surrounding housing in the West Don
Lands (formerly Ataritiri) has the TTC thinking about improved
tram service to serve this area. This includes a private right-of
way on King Street (somehow), a Front Street/Cherry Street tram
and a Queen's Quay East tramline. The TTC projects that the number
of new residents could eventually overwhelm the current services
in the area, including the King and Queen trams. The Queen's Quay
tram seems most feasible, but the TTC will probably have to rebuild
its tram loop under Union Station in order to make this (or a
Front/Cherry tram) work. A
All news are from Urban Transport International sept-oct
2000