Trolley-Train Hybrid Tackles City Streets, Then Speeds to Suburbs [View all]

Trolley-Train Hybrid Tackles City Streets, Then Speeds to Suburbs

By Keith Barry
02.06.14
6:30 AM




The city of Sheffield, U.K. is installing the country’s first tram-train, a public transit hybrid that can serve both the suburbs and a city’s urban core thanks to a special wheel design that can handle both the tight turns and higher speeds.

When it’s complete in 2016, tram-trains will run eight miles along the national rail tracks from Rotherham Parkgate to Sheffield, just like a traditional commuter rail line. But instead of stopping at a station at the edge of the city and forcing riders to switch to local transit, when the train gets to Sheffield’s center — er, centre — it will seamlessly transition onto the existing rails of the Sheffield SuperTram.

Sheffield’s system is a $98 million pilot project to determine whether tram-trains will work in the rest of the U.K. On paper, at least, it seems like a good fit: The tram-train setup not only gives passengers an easier ride downtown, but turns any existing rail right-of-way into a potential light rail system. Maintenance costs are lower for trams, and a tram-train gives transit authorities added flexibility.

Technologically speaking, building a tram-train may not sound like a spectacular feat, but trust us, it is. Even if they’re of the same gauge of track, the two modes often have different signaling and safety standards, and a tram-train must comply with both. .........................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/02/tram-train/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wiredautopia+%28Wired%3A+Blog+-+Autopia%29