Flexity Swift
Encyclopedia
The Flexity Swift tram
is a family of urban and inter-urban light-rail
vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation
for a wide number of customers across Europe. Bombardier also manufactures several other families of tram to suit the needs and requirements of customers including the Flexity Classic
and the Flexity 2
as well as legacy designs from its acquisition of Adtranz
such as the Flexity Outlook
.
is considering doing for future lines. The trams can also be coupled together into trains. Most vehicles typically weigh between 35 tonne, though the ones made for the Minneapolis line are heavier due to stricter crashworthiness
requirements in the United States
(particularly buff strength) and the vehicles in Rotterdam are also heavier due to increased length and more motors. The Flexity Swift family comes in two distinct versions with a 70% low-floor version to allow access to those in wheelchair
s without requiring the construction of high platforms in city streets and a high-floor version with level boarding at raised platforms in order to retain compatibility with stations built for older trams or trains.
Systems using the Flexity Swift tram include Cologne
(for which it was originally designed), south London's
Tramlink
, Istanbul
, Rotterdam
, Stockholm
(lines 12
and 22
), and the Minneapolis Hiawatha Line
. Merseytram
in Liverpool
/Merseyside
planned to use the same model as London, however the tram scheme has been cancelled. Several independent orders have been made for Flexity Swift trams for use on Manchester Metrolink
in England
which as of January 2010, have begun to be delivered at a rate of two units per month, additional units have since been ordered bringing the total to 62.
The Flexity Swift's closest competitors are Alstom
's Citadis
, the Siemens
Combino
and Avanto
, Sirio
from Ansaldobreda, and Bombardier
's other Flexity
trams.
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
is a family of urban and inter-urban light-rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
for a wide number of customers across Europe. Bombardier also manufactures several other families of tram to suit the needs and requirements of customers including the Flexity Classic
Flexity Classic
The Flexity Classic is a model of light-rail tram manufactured by Bombardier. Although it is marketed as the most traditionally-designed member of the Flexity family, it is nevertheless a modern bi-directional articulated tram with a low-floor section allowing improved accessibility, especially to...
and the Flexity 2
Flexity 2
The Flexity 2 is a family of tram or light-rail vehicle manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is 100% low-floor, in order to easily accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs. The trams are bi-directional, with cabs at both ends and doors on both sides, and are articulated with five sections...
as well as legacy designs from its acquisition of Adtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....
such as the Flexity Outlook
Flexity Outlook
The Flexity Outlook is a family of 100% low-floor articulated light-rail trams manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Part of the larger Flexity product line , Flexity Outlook cars fall into two distinct sub-categories with dramatically different appearances...
.
Introduction
The Flexity Swift family are all bi-directional with cabs at both ends and doors on both sides and an emphasis is placed on speed with units capable of safely reaching speeds of 80 km/h (49.7 mph) when running on dedicated lines. The trams vary in length and are articulated with three sections; the centre section is very short on most trams but can be replaced with a longer piece in order to increase capacity, as LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
is considering doing for future lines. The trams can also be coupled together into trains. Most vehicles typically weigh between 35 tonne, though the ones made for the Minneapolis line are heavier due to stricter crashworthiness
Crashworthiness
Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different criteria are used to determine the crashworthiness of...
requirements in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(particularly buff strength) and the vehicles in Rotterdam are also heavier due to increased length and more motors. The Flexity Swift family comes in two distinct versions with a 70% low-floor version to allow access to those in wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
s without requiring the construction of high platforms in city streets and a high-floor version with level boarding at raised platforms in order to retain compatibility with stations built for older trams or trains.
Systems using the Flexity Swift tram include Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
(for which it was originally designed), south London's
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Tramlink
Tramlink
Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Stockholm
Public transport in Stockholm
Public transport in Stockholm consists of bus, metro, regional/suburban rail, light rail, tram and archipelago boat operation in Stockholm County, Sweden. The bus and rail is organized by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik , SL, which is owned by the Stockholm County Council...
(lines 12
Nockebybanan
Nockebybanan is a tram line between Nockeby and Alvik in the western suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. The long line is part of the Storstockholms Lokaltrafik public transport network, and connects with the Stockholm Metro and Tvärbanan light rail at Alvik...
and 22
Tvärbanan
Tvärbanan is a light rail line in the suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. Its name literally translated into English is Crossways line. It links together many bus and rail lines crossways through its connections with the southern and western subway branches of the Stockholm Metro and the Stockholm...
), and the Minneapolis Hiawatha Line
Hiawatha Line
The Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St...
. Merseytram
Merseytram
Merseytram is a proposed tram system for Liverpool and surrounding districts of Merseyside, England. Originally proposed in 2001, forming part of the Merseyside Local Transport Plan, it consists of three lines, connecting outlying suburbs of the city with the city centre...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
/Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
planned to use the same model as London, however the tram scheme has been cancelled. Several independent orders have been made for Flexity Swift trams for use on Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
which as of January 2010, have begun to be delivered at a rate of two units per month, additional units have since been ordered bringing the total to 62.
The Flexity Swift's closest competitors are Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
's Citadis
Citadis
The Citadis is a low-floor tram built by Alstom in La Rochelle, France, and Barcelona, Spain. 1,140 Citadis are currently in use in 28 cities, among others: Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Orléans, the Paris area, and Barcelona, Dublin, Gdańsk, Katowice, Adelaide, Melbourne, Jerusalem and...
, the Siemens
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
Combino
Combino
The Combino is a low floor tram produced by Siemens Transportation Systems . The first prototype was produced in 1996 at the Duewag works in Düsseldorf; the trams are currently made in Krefeld-Uerdingen. Because of its modular design using standardised components, and the resulting reduced costs,...
and Avanto
Avanto (tram)
The Siemens S70 or Avanto is a low-floor light rail vehicle or tram manufactured by Siemens AG. In the United States, Siemens refers to this model only as the S70, while the Avanto name is used in Europe....
, Sirio
Sirio
thumb|220px|A Sirio in Athens.220px|thumb|A Sirio of [[Azienda Trasporti Milanesi|ATM]] in Milan.Sirio is a low-floor tram built by AnsaldoBreda, an Italian manufacturer of trains, trams and light rail vehicles...
from Ansaldobreda, and Bombardier
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
's other Flexity
Flexity
Flexity is the name given by Bombardier Transportation to most of the trams they manufacture. For specific information, see the following articles:...
trams.
Low-floor versions
| City | Operator | Type designation | Built in | Number of vehicles |
Length m (ft) |
Width m (ft in) |
Weight (empty) t (LT; ST) |
Maximum power kW (hp Horsepower Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cologne Cologne Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
KVB Cologne Stadtbahn The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne, including several surrounding cities... |
K4000 | 1995–1999, 2002 | 124 | 28.4 m (93.2 ft) | 2.65 metre | 35.5 t (34.9 LT) | 4 x 120 kW |
| K4500 | 2004–2007 | 69 | 28.5 m (93.5 ft) | 2.65 metre | 37.4 t (36.8 LT) | 4 x 120 kW | ||
| Croydon Croydon Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross... , (Tramlink Tramlink Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000... ) Greater London Greater London Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London... , United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
TfL Transport for London Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London... |
CR4000 CR4000 The CR4000 is a 76% low floor model of Flexity Swift tram built by Bombardier Transportation in Bautzen and Vienna between 1998 and 2000 and operated by London Tramlink.-The CR4000:... |
1998–2000 | 24 | 30.1 m (98.8 ft) | 2.65 metre | 36.3 t (35.7 LT) | 4 x 120 kW |
| Istanbul Istanbul Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and... , Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... |
ITC | 55 | 29.7 m (97.4 ft) | 2.65 metre | 39.2 t (38.6 LT) | 4 x 120 kW | ||
| Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States... (Hiawatha Line Hiawatha Line The Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St... ), USA |
Metro Transit Metro Transit (Minnesota) Metro Transit is the transit division of the Metropolitan Council, a regional governmental agency in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Metro Transit is the largest operator of bus services in the seven-county region surrounding Minneapolis and St... |
2003–2005 | 27 | 28.65 m (94 ft) | 2.65 metre | 48.5 t (47.7 LT) | ||
| Porto Porto Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes... , Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
Metro do Porto | 2010 | 30 | 37.07 m (121.6 ft) | 2.65 metre | |||
| RijnGouweLijn RijnGouweLijn The RijnGouweLijn or RGL is originally a plan for a light rail project in South Holland, Netherlands, with partly new rail tracks and partly using existing rail tracks of the Gouda–Alphen aan den Rijn railway and the Woerden–Leiden railway.... , Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
NS Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003... |
A32 | 1999–2003 | 6 (sold to Stockholm June 2010) |
29.7 m (97.4 ft) | 2.65 metre | 37.5 t (36.9 LT) | 4 x 120 kW |
| Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
SL Storstockholms Lokaltrafik Storstockholms Lokaltrafik AB, , commonly referred to as SL, is the organisation running all of the land based public transport systems in Stockholm County.... |
A32 | 1999–2008 | 37 (includes 6 in second hand) |
29.7 m (97.4 ft) | 2.65 metre | 37.5 t (36.9 LT) | 4 x 120 kW |
High-floor versions
| City | Operator | Type designation | Built in | Number of vehicles | Length | Width | Weight (empty) | Maximum power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonn Bonn Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999.... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
SWB Bonn Stadtbahn The Bonn Stadtbahn is a part of the local public transit system in Bonn and the surrounding Rhein-Sieg area. Although with six actual Stadtbahn lines and three tram lines it is relatively small, two of the Stadtbahn lines connect to the much larger Cologne Stadtbahn .The entire network comprises... |
K5000 | 2003 | 15 | 28.40 m | 2.65 m | 37.80 t | 4 x 120 kW |
| Bursa, Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... |
Bursaray Bursaray BursaRay is a metro system built in 2000 by TÜVASAŞ. It is the rapid transit system of Bursa, Turkey."Bursaray" will extend about 50 km in the future.-External links:* * *... |
2010 – | 30 | 28.00 m | 2.65 m | |||
| Cologne Cologne Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the... , Germany |
KVB Cologne Stadtbahn The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne, including several surrounding cities... |
K5000 | 2002–2003 | 59 | 28.40 m | 2.65 m | 37.80 t | 4 x 120 kW |
| ca. 2010 | 15 | 2.65 m | ||||||
| Frankfurt am Main, Germany | VgF Frankfurt U-Bahn The Frankfurt U-Bahn, together with the Frankfurt S-Bahn and the Frankfurt Straßenbahn, is the backbone of the public transport system of Frankfurt, Germany. Its name derives from the German term for underground, Untergrundbahn. The U-Bahn opened in 1968 and now consists of 87 stations on nine... |
U5-25 | 2008–2015 | 54 | 25.02 m | 2.65 m | 37.20 t | 4 x 130 kW |
| U5-50 | 2008–2015 | 92 | 24.764 m | 2.65 m | 36.15 t | 4 x 130 kW | ||
| İzmir Izmir Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey... , Turkey |
İzmir Metro Izmir Metro İzmir Metro is a subway network in İzmir, Turkey that is constantly being extended with new stations being put in service. The network, consisting of one line, starts from Üçyol station in Hatay in the southern portion of the metropolitan area and runs towards northeast to end in Bornova... |
MD | 30 | 23.50 m | 2.65 m | 32.00 t | 4 x 75 kW | |
| M | 15 | 23.50 m | 2.65 m | 4 x 75 kW | ||||
| Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... , United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group... |
M5000 M5000 The M5000 is a model of Flexity Swift high-floor tram, built by the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Transportation at its factories in Bautzen, Germany and test facility in Vienna, Austria with all electrical equipment supplied by Vossloh Kiepe of Werdohl, Germany.-Manchester Metrolink:As part of... |
2009 – | 62 | 28.40 m | 2.65 m | 39.70 t | 4 x 120 kW |
| Rotterdam Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre... , Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
RET Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram is the main public transport operator in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It currently operates 28 bus lines, 9 tram lines and five metro/light rail lines in Rotterdam and the surrounding municipalities.... |
MG2/1, SG2/1 | 1998–2002 | 81 | 30.50 m | 2.664 m | 44.20 t | 6 x 85 kW |
| RSG3 | 2008 - | 64 | 42.00 m | 2.664 m | 64.30 t | 8 x 130 kW |
External links
- Flexity official site
- About London's trams (unofficial)