Translohr#List of systems

File:Clermont-tram-place-de-jaude.jpg.]]

Translohr is the name of a rubber-tyred tramway technology, originally developed by Lohr Industrie of France and now run by a consortium of Alstom Transport and Fonds stratégique d'investissement (FSI) as newTL,[http://www.newtl.com/en/ newTL] which took over from Lohr in 2012. It is used in Paris and Clermont-Ferrand, France; Medellín, Colombia; and Venice-Mestre and Padua in Italy.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ferrovie.it/portale/leggi.php?id=1378|title=Ferrovie.it - Il Translohr arriva a Venezia}} In June 2012, Alstom Group and the Strategic Investment Fund acquired Translohr for €35 million.{{Cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2012/06/11/alstom-et-le-fsi-rachetent-translohr-pour-35-millions-d-euros_1716640_3234.html|title=Alstom et le FSI rachètent Translohr pour 35 millions d'euros|date=11 June 2012|work=Le Monde.fr|access-date=21 November 2017|language=fr|issn=1950-6244}}

Description

The Translohr system is more like a tram or light railway than a bus or trolleybus. Unlike other guided bus systems, including the similar but incompatible Guided Light Transit system developed by Bombardier Transportation, Translohr cars permanently follow guide rails that they cannot divert from, like traditional steel-wheeled rail vehicles.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The guide rail automatically guides the vehicle, with a driver who stops and starts, accelerating and braking when needed. Power is provided by overhead wires and collected with a pantograph in the same way as a tram. The vehicle carries internal battery packs for use on non-electrified sections of the route.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

There are two main designs for the vehicles: the bi-directional STE series, and the unidirectional SP Prime series. They consist of three to six articulated sections like a conventional tram, with a length from {{convert|25|to|46|m|ftin|frac=8}} long and {{convert|2.2|m|ftin|frac=8}} wide. Their net weight is {{convert|23|-|44|t|1}}, depending upon the number of car sections.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

As Translohr LRVs cannot run without a guide rail they are not classified as buses. For example, those used on the Clermont-Ferrand network do not need to have license plates.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

File:Système de guidage Translohr - Annoté.svg|Guidance system.
1- Pavement, 2- Gap (empty space), 3- Guide rail, 4- Resin, 5- Flange, 6- Spring, 7- Railway tire

File:Guide rail used in the Translohr guidance system for rubber-tyred trams.jpg|Translohr system guide rail cross-section

File:Michelin 5227.JPG|Tires made by Michelin used on translohr vehicles

File:Translohr-rail-crossing.jpg|Translohr rail crossing

File:Scambio Translohr Deposito Favaro 071120.jpg|Translohr flexible single rail switch

File:Scambio Translohr Padova Santo 041015.jpg|Translohr rigid two-rail switch

List of systems

class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

!Country

!City

!Image

!System name

!Opening

!Closure

!Length

!Number of stops

!Number of vehicles

!Vehicle type

!Notes

rowspan="2" | {{flagcountry|China}}

|Shanghai (Zhangjiang)

|File:LOHR Translohr STE 3.JPG

|Zhangjiang Tram

|1 July 2009

|31 May 2023{{cite web |date=2023-05-31 |title=Erste Translohr-Straßenbahn stillgelegt: Shanghai |url=https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/erste-translohr-strassenbahn-stillgelegt-shanghai/ |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=Urban Transport Magazine |language=de-DE}}

|{{convert|9.8|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|15

|{{0}}9

|STE3

Tianjin (TEDA)

|File:New Tram in Tianjin.jpg

|TEDA Modern Guided Rail Tram

|6 December 2006

|1 June 2023{{Cite web |last=轨道世界 |date=2023-06-02 |title=天津开发区导轨电车暂停运营 |url=https://k.sina.com.cn/article_1002429827_3bbfdd83019017nq3.html |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=t.cj.sina.cn}}

|{{convert|7.86|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|14

|{{0}}8

|STE3

|Also refer to trams in Tianjin.

|Medellín

|File:2019 Medellín - Tranvía en la estación Bicentenario.jpg

|Ayacucho Tram

|15 October 2015{{cite web|access-date=2016-01-12 |date=2015-10-26 |language=en |title=Medellin starts commercial operations on Ayacucho tramway line |url=http://www.railway-technology.com/news/newsmedellin-starts-commercial-operations-on-ayacucho-tramway-line-4701821 |website=railway-technology.com}}

|{{convert|4.3|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|{{0}}9

|12

|STE5

rowspan="3" | {{flagcountry|France}}

|Clermont-Ferrand

|File:Clermont-Ferrand Translohr 2011 centrum.jpg

|Clermont-Ferrand tramway

|14 October 2006

|{{convert|15.4|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|34

|25

|STE4

rowspan="2" | Paris

|File:Translohr STE 3 sur le T5 à Pierrefiite.jpg

|Île-de-France tramway Line 5

|29 July 2013

|{{convert|6.6|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|T5: 16

|17

|STE3

|rowspan="2" | Lines 5 and 6 of Île-de-France tramway {{convert|20.6|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

File:58,300 T6 Translohr n°622 par Cramos.JPG

|Île-de-France tramway Line 6

|13 December 2014

|{{convert|14|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|T6: 21

|28

|STE6

rowspan="2" | {{flagcountry|Italy}}

|Padua

|File:Tram translohr padffova9.JPG

|Trams in Padua

|24 March 2007

|{{convert|10.3|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|25

|20

|STE3

Venice (Mestre)

|File:Actv tram Venezia 07 2017 4163.jpg

|Trams in Mestre

|19 December 2010

|{{convert|18.9|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|T1: 23
T2: 14

|20

|STE4

Criticism

The {{convert|14|km|mi|abbr=on}} Châtillon–Viroflay Line in Paris cost €27.4m per km, including infrastructure, improvements of the right-of-way, and the purchase of 28 STE6 vehicles.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lesechos.fr/11/05/2016/LesEchos/22189-359-ECH_la-ligne-de-tramway-t6-entre-chatillon-et-viroflay-achevee.htm#|title = La ligne de tramway T6 entre Châtillon et Viroflay achevée|date = 11 May 2016}} In addition, due to the tyres constantly running over the same area of road, there is significant erosion of the roadway; this has already happened with the comparable Bombardier Guided Light Transit system, resulting in extensive repairs at significant cost to the operator. This adds to already high running costs. Providing roll ways, as used by rubber-tyred metros, embedded in the road surface might have been useful.{{Editorialising|date=May 2025}} Ride quality is also said to be poor, little better than a bus, due to the four-wheeled design, whereas trams have trucks (bogies) with shock absorbers or springs.{{Citation needed |date=May 2023}}

The Tianjin system suffered a derailment on 20 August 2007, three months after its inauguration.{{cite news |url=http://news.qq.com/a/20070820/002969.htm |title=国内首条现代导轨电车出轨 |trans-title=The First Modern Guided Tram in China Derails |language=Chinese |website=News.QQ.com }} There were five derailments on Padua's new installation in 2007 before its inauguration,{{cite news |url= http://www.lightrailnow.org/news/n_newslog2007q2.htm |title="Guided-bus" ("BRT") plagued by derailments |newspaper=Light Rail Now! Newslog |publisher=Light Rail Now! Project |date=13 May 2007 }} and one on 22 April 2010[http://www.tgpadova.it/index.cfm/hurl/contenuto=161511/cronaca/deraglia_il_tram_terrore_a_bordo_nessun_ferito.html TGPadova.it - tram derails, chaos on board, no casualties] (in Italian) due to a misaligned switch.[http://ricerca.gelocal.it/mattinopadova/archivio/mattinodipadova/2010/04/23/MC2PO_MC201.html tram derailed, travel by bus - il mattino di Padova dal 2003.it] (in Italian)

File:Translohr neve snow venice mestre padua padova.JPG

Where snowfall is an issue this system may not be practical: since the guide rail forms the return leg of the electrical circuit, accumulation of ice and snow on the rail could cause intermittent power interruptions to the vehicle. Also, as the guide wheels support almost no weight, snow packed into the flangeways or atop the rail by road traffic may cause the wheels to lose grip and become slippery. Since the guide wheels each grip the guide rail at a 45-degree angle and thus are at 90-degree angle to each other, the risk of the guide wheels being lifted completely off the rails is minimal.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Critics of the system also point out that Translohr is a proprietary system subject to vendor lock-in, requiring purchase of any further vehicles from Lohr Industrie.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.lrta.info/articles/art0105.html |title=There's another one behind! |magazine=Tramways & Urban Transit|last=Taplin|first=Michael|via=Light Rail Transit Association |date=May 2001 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127164639/http://www.lrta.info/articles/art0105.html |archive-date=27 November 2006 }} This may no longer be a problem after the patents expire if other manufacturers produce compatible vehicles.{{Citation needed |date=August 2023}}

Several lines under construction or already built were eventually abandoned or shut down due to planning changes and operational difficulties. For example, L'Aquila, which started demolition work in 2013;[http://www.facoltadinotizia.it/node/1830 L'Aquila, o si fa la metro o si muore | Facoltà di notizia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329074612/http://www.facoltadinotizia.it/node/1830|date=29 March 2009}}{{cite web|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=14 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914061257/http://www.abruzzoweb.it/contenuti/l-aquila-metro-di-superficie-cala-il-sipario-smontati-pali-e-cavi/507373-4/|title=L'AQUILA: METRO DI SUPERFICIE, CALA IL SIPARIO; SMONTATI PALI E CAVI|url=http://www.abruzzoweb.it/contenuti/l-aquila-metro-di-superficie-cala-il-sipario-smontati-pali-e-cavi/507373-4/|website=AbruzzoWeb}} Latina, which purchased new vehicles in 2016 but did not put them into operation because the infrastructure was not completed;[http://www.comune.latina.it/news.php?id=3710 Comune di Latina] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001151/http://www.comune.latina.it/news.php?id=3710|data=3 dicembre 2013}}{{cite news|date=26 April 2016|periodical=Il Mattino|title=I nuovi tram hanno cinque anni|url=http://mattinopadova.gelocal.it/padova/cronaca/2016/04/26/news/i-nuovi-tram-hanno-cinque-anni-1.13369038}} Shanghai Zhangjiang Tram, which was demolished shortly after it stopped running on 1 June 2023;{{Cite web |title=张江有轨电车1路已运营超过13年，将于6月1日起停运，相关配套方案已做好，确保白领、居民出行 |url=https://www.shanghai.gov.cn/nw4411/20230530/a256d290e7344bf09b386ee2c935ce4d.html |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=www.shanghai.gov.cn}}{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Chunwei |date=2015-07-07 |title=沪张江有轨电车年亏2000多万元目前靠借贷维持 [The Shanghai-Zhangjiang tram has an annual loss of more than 20 million yuan and is currently maintained by borrowing] |agency=Dongfang.com |url=https://finance.china.com.cn/industry/wl/20150707/3216048.shtml}} and the TEDA Modern Guided Rail Tram shut down the next day on 1 June 2023, and was to be demolished.{{Cite web |author=轨道世界 |date=2023-06-02 |title=天津开发区导轨电车暂停运营 |url=http://k.sina.com.cn/article_1002429827_3bbfdd83019017nq3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606200526/http://k.sina.com.cn/article_1002429827_3bbfdd83019017nq3.html |archive-date=2023-06-06 |accessdate=2023-06-03 |publisher=新浪网 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=2023-07-19 |title=天津经济技术开发区建设和交通局政府采购意向公告 |url=http://ccgp-tianjin.gov.cn/portal/documentView.do?method=view&id=437285240&ver=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731171748/http://ccgp-tianjin.gov.cn/portal/documentView.do?method=view&id=437285240&ver=2 |archive-date=2023-07-31 |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=天津市政府采购网}}