The Eurotram light rail vehicles was originally designed for the Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS) specifically for use on the Strasbourg tramway; design requirements included a 100% low floor design, airconditioning, and a higher than usual power to weight ratio for the 8% gradients in the tunnel under Strasbourg's main station. The appearance was stylised by Belgian designer Philippe Neerman.^[1]

Tenders for manufacture of the tram led to contracts with ABB Group and Socimi (Milan, Italy); Socimi subsequently went bankrupt and ABB completed production alone, on the basis of Socimi's prototypes; the trams were manufactured at ABB's York Carriage Works and Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England, with some parts from ABB Trazione (Italy).^[1][2]

The tram design was modular, consisting 2.575-metre (8 ft 5+3⁄8 in) cabs, 7.550-metre (24 ft 9+1⁄4 in) passenger units, and 2.350-metre (7 ft 8+1⁄2 in) articulation sections. The initial Strasbourg vehicles used seven modules: two cabs, three passenger units and two articulation sections, for a train length of 33.1 metres (108 ft 7+1⁄8 in) Each train has a mixture of powered and unpowered bogies;^[3] the bogie design used independently rotating wheels, each on a stub axle,^[4] the primary suspension was of the radial arm type, and the secondary suspension air spring type.^[5] Each wheel of a powered bogie was separately powered by bogie mounted three phase asynchronous motors, connected via a gearbox, with the wheel and motor axises of rotation parallel.^[6]

The maximum capacity of the Strasbourg seven module trams was 285 with 66 seated, the nine-module trams had an increased capacity of 370 passengers, with 92 seated.^[7] Total installed traction power was 324 and 416 kilowatts (434 and 558 hp) for the seven and nine module trams.^[8]

After the acquisition of Adtranz (ABB transportation group's successor) by Bombardier the design was marketed as part of the Flexity Outlook family.^[9]

The Eurotram design was planned to be used on the Nottingham Express Transit system which was under development in 1998.^[10] However safety regulations relating to door closing, coupled with the relatively slow motion of the Eurotram's single leaf door meant that the tram would be delayed at stops; an alternative design was chosen, the double leaf doored Incentro tram.^[11][12]

In December 2002 Porto tram number 018 was taken to Australia, five sections being placed on static display outside Customs House, Sydney for two weeks before being taken to Melbourne where it operated on the local tram network until March 2003 as a seven section tram.^[13][14][15]

Twenty-six 33.1m (7 module) Eurotrams were delivered to (Strasbourg tramway) CTS for service on Strasbourg's line A between 1994 and 1995. CTS placed a second order in 1996 for twenty-seven units, nine of which were 7 module trains, and eighteen were 9 module trains.^[7]

The Milan tram system (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi) acquired 20 units from Adtranz.^[16]

72 units were built for the Porto tram network (Porto Metro) were constructed from 2001 at Bombardier's factory in Amadora Portugal.^[9] (see Sorefame.)

Over 150 units were built between 1994 and 2004.^[17]

Sources edit

• Wansbeek, C.J. (March 2003), "Strasbourg: Interurban tram strategy strengthens city system", Tramways & Urban Transit, archived from the original on 20 July 2011
• Darter, Michael I.; Hall, Kathleen Theresa (1995), "Applicability of low-floor light rail vehicles in North America", Transit Cooperative Research Program Report, no. 2, National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board, ISBN 0309053730