Tram-train

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This article is about trams sharing tracks with main-line railways. ‘Tram train’ can also refer to a train of two or more connected trams operating on a regular tramway.

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A tram-train is a light-rail public transport system where trams are able to run on train tracks for greater flexibility and convenience. The Karlsruhe model pioneered this concept in Karlsruhe, Germany, which has since been adopted at the RijnGouweLijn in the Netherlands, and in Kassel and Saarbrücken, both Germany.

Its advantage over separate tram and train systems is that passengers travelling from outside of a city need not change from train to tram at a central station, though some passengers are displeased by the replacement of regular trains with tram-trains, which usually lack amenities such as on-board toilets.

1 Technology
2 Existing systems
3 Proposed systems
4 Manufacturers
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] Technology

Tram-trains are fitted with dual equipment to suit the respective needs of tram and train, such as support for multiple voltages, safety equipment such as train stops, and the like.

The idea is not new; in the early 20th century, interurban streetcar lines often operated on the same tracks as steam trains, until crash standards made old-style track sharing impossible. The difference between modern tram-trains and the older interurbans and radial railways is that the tram-trains are upgraded to meet mainline railway standards, rather than ignoring them (exception is the USA's River LINE, for reasons explained below). The Karlsruhe and Saarbrücken systems also use an automatic train protection signalling system called ‘PZB’ or ‘Indusi’, so that even if the driver accidentally misses a stop signal (having, perhaps, become unwell) safety will be ensured by means of an application of the emergency brakes. Regarding deadman's pedals and deadman's handles, a Sifa must also be operational on railtracks as well.

The River LINE light-rail system in New Jersey runs along freight tracks with strict time separation: passenger trains run by day, and freight by night. This, like the O-Train in Ottawa, Canada, and the Newark City Subway extension in Belleville and Bloomfield, New Jersey (with similar FRA-imposed time-share waivers), does not qualify it as a tram-train per se, whose chief characteristic is shared-use of mainline tracks at all times.