Tram

:For other meanings of tram, see tram (disambiguation).

Technical developments

Later, cable cars were attached to a moving cable underneath the road. The cable would be pulled by a steam engine at a powerhouse. The Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, have some of the appearance of trams, but are more accurately funiculars. Modern trams generally use overhead electric cables, from which they draw current through a pantograph, a bow collector (less commonly) or the now-rare trolley pole (the first is most common and used on most new tram designs). The first operational electric street railway was started in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but the first large-scale electric street railway system was built in Richmond, Virginia in January, 1888. By 1890 over 100 such systems had been begun or were planned.

Related Topics:
Cable car - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Funicular - Pantograph - Bow collector - Trolley pole - Scranton, Pennsylvania - Richmond, Virginia - January - 1888

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There are other methods of powering electric trams, sometimes preferred for aesthetic reasons since poles and overhead wires are not required. The old tram systems in London, Manhattan (New York City), and Washington D.C. used live rails, like those on third-rail electrified railways, but in a conduit underneath the road, from which they drew power through a plough. Washington's was the last of these to close, in 1962. Today, no commercial tramway uses this system. More recently, a modern equivalent has been developed which allows for the safe installation of a third rail on city streets, which is known as surface current collection or ground level power supply; the main example of this is the new tramway in Bordeaux.

Related Topics:
London - Manhattan - New York City - Washington D.C. - Plough - 1962 - Third rail - Ground level power supply - Bordeaux

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In narrow situations double-track tram lines sometimes reduce to single track, or, to avoid switches, have the tracks interlaced, e.g. in the Leidsestraat in Amsterdam on three short stretches (see map detail); this is known as interlaced or gauntlet track.

Related Topics:
Switches - Amsterdam - Gauntlet track

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Traditionally trams had high floors, requiring passengers to climb several steps in order to board, but since the 1990s this design has been largely replaced by low-floor trams, or occasionally by high-floor trams with level boarding platforms, as in Manchester's Metrolink and some parts of Cologne's network, which allow passengers in wheelchairs or with perambulators to access vehicles more easily.

Related Topics:
1990s - Low-floor - Manchester's Metrolink - Cologne - Wheelchair - Perambulator

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Tram-train

Tram-train operation uses vehicles such as the Flexity Link and Regio-Citadis which are suited for use on urban tram lines, but also meet the necessary indication, power, and resistance requirements to be certified for operation on main line railways. This allows passengers to travel from suburban areas into city-centre destinations without having to change from a train to a tram when they arrive at the central station.

Related Topics:
Tram-train - Flexity Link - Citadis

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It has been primarily developed in Germanic countries, in particular Germany and Switzerland. Karlsruhe is a notable pioneer of the tram-train. This system should be brought into service in the Paris area in 2005.

Related Topics:
Germany - Switzerland - Karlsruhe - 2005

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