CAF Urbos
The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Basque manufacturer CAF previously manufactured locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Metrovalencia, with the delivery of 16 trams until 1999. This was a variant of a Siemens design and some components were delivered by Siemens, including bogies and traction motors. This design was also sold to Lisbon Trams in 1995; CAF then decided to design and build the Urbos in-house.
There are three generations of the CAF Urbos, namely the Urbos 1, Urbos 2, and Urbos 3. The first generation was ordered by the Bilbao tram operator, who received eight trams between 2002 and 2004. The second generation was sold to other operators in Spain, and the third generation is sold in Spain, elsewhere in Europe, the United States, Australia and in the UK. Manufacturing locations include Beasain, Zaragoza and Linares, Spain; Elmira, New York, USA; Hortolandia, Brazil; Newport, UK; Huehuetoca, Mexico; and Bagnères-de-Bigorre, France.[1]
CAF Urbos 1
This series was only sold to Euskotren Tranbia to operate tram services in Bilbao.[2] The original Bilbao tram system was shut down in 1964 and the second generation opened in December 2002 with extensions in 2004.[3]
- Bilbao tram: 8 bidirectional trams, numbered 401–408[3] and locally designated the Euskotren 400 series. 70% low-floor trams with 3 bogies on 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge.[4]
CAF Urbos 2
In operation
| Location | System | Entered service | Gauge | Car body construction | Quantity | Notes[citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain | Bilbao tram and Vitoria-Gasteiz tram | 2008 | Metre | Aluminium | 11 | 3 units operate in Bilbao, while 8 operate in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Locally designated the Euskotren 500 series. |
| Seville, Spain | Seville Metro - Line 1 | 2009 | Standard | Steel | 21 | 5 units transferred from MetroCentro 3 units transferred from Sydney |
| Antalya, Turkey | AntRay | Aluminium | 14 | Standard gauge variation of the Bilbao/Vitoria-Gasteiz version |
Withdrawn
| Location | System | In service | Quantity | Notes[citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vélez-Málaga, Spain | Vélez-Málaga Tram | 2006–2012 | 3 | Transferred to Sydney |
| Seville, Spain | MetroCentro | 2007–2011 | 5 | 4 units transferred to Metro line 1 1 unit transferred to Sydney |
| Sydney, Australia | L1 Dulwich Hill line | Mar–Jul 2014 | 4 | Transferred to Seville Metro line 1 |
CAF Urbos 3
| CAF Urbos 3 | |
|---|---|
| Urbos 3 tram in Besançon | |
| Manufacturer | Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles |
| Constructed | 2011–present |
| Predecessor | CAF Urbos 2 |
| Capacity | 129-327 seated and standing total, depending on tram length |
| Specifications | |
| Train length | 18–56 m (59 ft 1 in – 183 ft 9 in) |
| Width | 2,300–2,650 mm (7 ft 6+9⁄16 in – 8 ft 8+5⁄16 in) |
| Floor height | 356 mm (14 in) |
| Low-floor | 70–100% |
| Doors | 8-20, depending on tram length |
| Articulated sections | 2-9[5] |
| Maximum speed | 70–80 km/h (43–50 mph) |
| Weight | 34,860 kg (76,850 lb) (3-car tram)[6] |
| Traction system | IGBT–VVVF |
| Electric system(s) | 600–750 V DC from overhead catenary Internal supercapacitor (Kaohsiung) |
| Current collector(s) | Pantograph |
| Bogies | fixed |
| Minimum turning radius | 18 m (59 ft 1 in) (3-car tram) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge or 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge |
The CAF Urbos 3 is the successor of the Urbos 2; all new sales are of Urbos 3. The standard variants, the Urbos 100 and Urbos 70, have either a 100% or 70% low floor design, respectively, and a maximum speed of 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph). The tram type is offered in metre gauge and standard gauge and allows for a tram width of 2,300, 2,400 or 2,650 mm (7 ft 6+9⁄16 in, 7 ft 10+1⁄2 in or 8 ft 8+5⁄16 in). Trams can be assembled from 3, 5, 7 or (only for the Urbos 100) 9 modules, with the length ranging between 23 and 56 metres (75 and 184 ft).[7]
CAF has developed an option to build 'Greentech Freedrive' lithium-ion supercapacitors and batteries into the Urbos 3,[8] allowing brief operation without an external electrical supply.[9] This ACR system (Acumulador de Carga Rápida) allowed the tramway operator in Seville to remove the overhead wires in key locations during Holy Week 2011.[10] It has also been used in Luxembourg, Granada, Zaragoza and the West Midlands.[11]
Urbos 70 and Urbos 100
| City, country, (system) | Quantity | Order value | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe/America | ||||
| Antwerp, Belgium | 58 | |||
| Coast Tram, Belgium | 48 | Delivered 2020–2021[12] Name: Zeelijner | ||
| Ghent, Belgium | 18 | |||
| Liège, Belgium | €360 million [13] | |||
| Besançon, France | 19 | €34.4 million | [14] | |
| Nantes, France | 8 | €22 million | Option for 4 more trams for €10 million[15] | |
| Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany | 17 | [16][17][18] plus 8 more ordered [19] | ||
| Budapest, Hungary | 73+20 | €90 million | Option for 31 more trams[20][21][22] | |
| Debrecen, Hungary | 18 | [23] | ||
| Luxembourg, Luxembourg | 21 | €83.0 million | In service since 2017[24] | |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | 72 [25] | Initial order was 63 in 2016.[26] In operation from January 2021.[27] | ||
| Utrecht, Netherlands Utrecht sneltram | 27 | To be operational in 2018[28] | ||
| 22 | To be operational in 2020 | |||
| Oslo, Norway | 87 | NKr 4.2 billion[29] | Locally designated as SL18. First two were delivered in 2020. In operation from January 2022, with trial period of 5 months.[30] Option for 60 more.[31] | |
| Belgrade, Serbia | 30 | [32] | ||
| Granada, Spain | 13 | €43.9 million | Option for 4 more trams | |
| Málaga, Spain | 14 | [33] | ||
| Seville, Spain | 5 | MetroCentro line, 1 reserved | ||
| Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain | 7 | Locally designated the Euskotren 600 series. | ||
| Zaragoza, Spain | 21 | [34] | ||
| Lund, Sweden | 7 | To be operational 2020 | ||
| West Midlands, England, United Kingdom | 21 | £40 million | 2021 and 2022 service suspended due to these trams having cracks appearing in them; 20-49 more trams being constructed for 2 new lines.[35][36] | |
| Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom | 27 | |||
| Cuiabá, Brazil | 40 | [37] | ||
| Salvador, Brazil | ||||
| Kansas City, Missouri, United States | 6 | [38][39][40] | ||
| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | 5 | $25 million | [41] | |
| Seattle, Washington, United States | 10 | $50 million | [39] | |
| Asia | ||||
| Kaohsiung, Taiwan | 9 | ACR system built in; no need for catenary[42] | ||
| Jerusalem, Israel | 114 | For Green Line. To be operational in 2024 | ||
| Asia-Pacific | ||||
| Canberra, ACT, Australia | 14 | A$65 million | 5-module 100. Delivered 2018, operational April 2019[43] | |
| Newcastle, NSW, Australia | 6 | 5-module 100 supercapacitor wire free. Delivered 2018–19[44] | ||
| Sydney, NSW, Australia | 16 | A$20 million (1st order) | 5-module 100. Initial order for 6 trams; subsequently increased to 12.[45] Four more trams for the line were ordered from CAF in June 2021,[46] they will enter service in 2023. [47] Operates on the Inner West Light Rail. As of November 2021, these LRVs are temporarily out of service due to cracks discovered in all 12 of them.[48] | |
| 13 | 7-module 100 battery wire free. Will operate on the Parramatta Light Rail, set to open 2023.[49] | |||
| Africa | ||||
| Mauritius | 18 | €100 million | In service since December 2019[50] | |
Design flaws
In December 2017, the Besançon Tramway in Besançon, France, discovered cracks in their Urbos 3s vehicles around the bogie box area of the bodies, which in December 2020 CAF paid for remedial work to be performed with each unit affected requiring one month downtime for the work to be completed.[51]
On 11 June 2021, the West Midlands Metro (operating between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, England) were forced to suspend their services due to similar cracks being discovered in the bogie box areas of their Urbos 3s vehicles, with ongoing investigations continuing to identify any other issues relating to the cracks and to find options for remedial works to be performed.[51]
Following on from these instances, in November 2021 the New South Wales transport minister Rob Stokes announced that the Sydney L1 Dulwich Hill Line would be decommissioned for up to 18 months, due to serious design flaws in all 12 of the CAF Urbos 3s tram sets that were running on the line. Stokes stated that the flaws (in the bogie boxes) were likely to be far broader in scope than those identified in Sydney due to the thousands of the same tram type operated around the world.[52]
Similar issues relating to cracks in the bogie box area are currently being discovered in the Urbos 3 vehicles supplied to the Belgrade Tramway Network.[51]
The discovery of further cracks in the West Midlands trams lead to the service being suspended again from 12 November 2021[53] to December 2021.[54]
Following vehicle inspections, services in the West Midlands were again suspended on 20 March 2022 until further notice due to cracks described by the operator as 'bodywork cracks'.[55] Midland Metro was working directly with the manufacturer to assess the safety and operational impact.
Urbos AXL
Vehicles in the Urbos AXL series have larger modules and railway-style pivoting axle bogies. With a maximum speed of 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph), it is designed for high-capacity, mass rapid transit systems.[7] This type of trams are currently in use only in two Northern European countries:
Urbos TT
The Urbos TT series is built with tram-train technology, connecting existing heavy rail infrastructure directly to urban tramway systems.[7]
- Cádiz, Spain (7 vehicles)
Urbos LRV
A three-section articulated car supported by three bogies, the LRV variant of Urbos is designed for the North American market and is customizable.
LRTA 13000 class (Metro edition)
The LRTA 13000 class is a high-floor light rail vehicle variant of the Urbos, with 120 units were ordered for the LRT Line 1 medium-capacity rail system in Metro Manila, Philippines.[59] It was designed by CAF along with Mitsubishi Corporation and were built in CAF's facility in Huehuetoca, Mexico.[60] The first two trainsets of 8 cars have arrived in January 2021. These are expected to enter service by 2022 and the delivery for all 120 units shall be completed by 2022. Once all the trainsets have entered service, they will eventually replace the aging LRTA 1000 class LRVs which are nearing 40 years old.[61]
References
- ^ "CAF's major rail projects and facilities worldwide". CAF. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2012.
- ^ a b (in Spanish). 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Bilbao Tram". CAF. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ "Urbos, the most innovative generation of CAF trams and light railways". CAF. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ (PDF). APTA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ a b c "There is an Urbos for each type of city". CAF, your railway solutions. Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Catenary-free trams". CAF.
- ^ (PDF). CAF. 16 February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ Sevilla, Diario de (18 March 2010). "Las catenarias del Metrocentro serán desmontadas este fin de semana de cara a la Semana Santa". Diario de Sevilla.
- ^ "CAF Power & Automation awarded at Global Light Rail Awards". www.cafpower.com. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ "De Lijn mag 146 lagevloertrams bestellen bij CAF". delijn.prezly.com (in Flemish). Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- ^ "Le réseau de tram verra bien le jour à Liège: voici les détails du projet". RTL Info. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "CAF wins Urbos tram contracts". Railway Gazette International. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ a b "CAF wins Urbos tram contracts". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ "VAG kauft Trams bei spanischem Hersteller". Badische Zeitung. 25 February 2013.
- ^ "Von 2015 an rollen spanische Trams". Badische Zeitung. 15 March 2013.
- ^ "Fünf neue Urbos 100". VAG Freiburg (in German). Freiburger Verkehrs AG. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "VAG bestellt acht weitere Urbos 100". VAG Freiburg (in German). Freiburger Verkehrs AG. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Elkészült Budapest első CAF villamosa". 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ . Railway Gazette International. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ^ "37 instead of 47 units of the new tram arrives in Budapest". Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ "Átadták a debreceni 2-es villamosvonalat-Linie2 Open in Debrecen". 26 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ "CAF delivers first Luxembourg tram". International Railway Journal. 10 February 2017.
- ^ "Amsterdam: Double traction and commissioning of the new trams". Urban Transport Magazine. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "Zo gaan de nieuwe trams van GVB er uitzien - Amsterdam - PAROOL". Het Parool (in Dutch). 30 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ "Upgraded Dutch light rail lines enter service". International Railway Journal. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ . Uithoflijn. 1 December 2014. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ Lorvik, Jørgen Berge, Nina (12 October 2020). "Her er Oslos nye trikk". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Nå kan alle kjøre Oslos nye trikk. Men det skal jobbes mer for å få den til å passe helt inn". www.aftenposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Oslo velger spanske trikker", Teknisk Ukeblad, 11 June 2018
- ^ . Railway Gazette International. 6 November 2009. Archived from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ "Urbos 3 concept on display in Málaga". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ "Zaragoza tram Line 1 enters service", Railway Gazette International, 26 April 2011
- ^ "CAF named preferred bidder to supply new Midland Metro trams". Railway Gazette International. 2 February 2012.
- ^ . Railway Gazette International. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ^ . revistaferroviaria.com.br. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ "Spanish firm CAF will supply streetcars". bizjournals.com. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ^ a b Barrow, Keith. "Seattle and Kansas City order CAF Urbos LRVs". Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "KC Streetcar | Welcome Home #805". 9 May 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Streetcar Vehicle Production Under Way". City of Cincinnati. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ "Kaohsiung picks CAF to build catenary-free trams". Railway Gazette International. 7 January 2013.
- ^ . The Canberra Times. 1 February 2016. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Baird government announces progress on Newcastle light rail Newcastle Herald 21 June 2016
- ^ "CAF wins Sydney tram order". Railway Gazette International.
- ^ "The CAF Group has secured tram supply extension contracts in Belgium and Australia, worth a combined value of nearly 100m euros (119.05m USD), in addition to a new signalling installation contract in Turkey". 30 June 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Rabe, Tom (7 November 2020). "Four new trams promised for Sydney's crowded Inner West line". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ "Inner West light rail services suspended for up to 18 months". MSN. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ "Transfer Australasia Consortium Secures Parramatta Light Rail". 20 December 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "Metro Express Limited launches Free Passenger Service". Republic of Mauritius Government News. 23 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "Cracks force suspension of Metro Service". Tramways and Urban Transit August 2021 No. 1004. 1 August 2021.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Matt (5 November 2021). "Sydney's inner west light rail line out of action for up to 18 months". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ "Mayor voices disappointment at West Midlands Metro suspension". BBC News. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Bates, Isabelle (10 December 2021). "West Midland Metro trams to restart from next week". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
- ^ "West Midlands Metro services suspended as cracks found". BBC News. 20 March 2022.
- ^ "Estland: CAF liefert weitere Straßenbahnen nach Tallinn". 26 February 2014.
- ^ "Stockholm's first Lidingö light rail vehicle on test". 5 June 2014.
- ^ Barrow, Keith (8 January 2015). "CAF LRVs enter service in Houston". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ CAF LRT 1 4th Generation LRVs (16:9) (Facebook Watch). Manila: Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, reposted by Ang Litratista ng Daang Bakal Facebook page. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ "CAF and Mitsubishi win LRV contract in Manila". Railway PRO. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ^ Mercurio, Richmond. "Trains for LRT-1 Cavite extension arrived". Philstar.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
External links
- CAF website