127-520: The CityLynx Gold Line is a streetcar line in Charlotte, North Carolina . A component of the Charlotte Area Transit System 's Lynx rail system, it follows a primarily east-west path along Beatties Ford Road, Trade Street and Central Avenue through central Charlotte. The initial 1.5-mile (2.4 km), six-stop segment (Phase 1) between Time Warner Cable Arena (now Spectrum Center ) and Presbyterian Hospital opened for service on July 14, 2015. A further 2.5-mile (4.0 km) segment (Phase 2) from
254-622: A tram engine in the UK) at the head of a line of one or more carriages, similar to a small train. Systems with such steam trams included Christchurch , New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; other city systems in New South Wales ; Munich , Germany (from August 1883 on), British India (from 1885) and the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway (from 1888) in Ireland. Steam tramways also were used on
381-496: A 'formal apology' from the 40 firms involved was read out in court and the case ( Various Claimants v McAlpine & Ors ) was closed. In December 2017, Unite announced it had issued high court proceedings relating to blacklisting against twelve major contractors, including Balfour Beatty. In April 2019, Balfour Beatty was suspended from the UK Government's Prompt Payment Code , for failing to pay suppliers on time. It
508-520: A Vermont blacksmith, had invented a battery-powered electric motor which he later patented. The following year he used it to operate a small model electric car on a short section of track four feet in diameter. Attempts to use batteries as a source of electricity were made from the 1880s and 1890s, with unsuccessful trials conducted in among other places Bendigo and Adelaide in Australia, and for about 14 years as The Hague accutram of HTM in
635-524: A director in the company by this time, and was released from service with the Army to participate in construction projects at the behest of the Admiralty. The company's construction efforts were dominated by the war effort; notable projects included blocking the approaches to Scapa Flow and the building of six Mulberry harbour units. Peacetime saw a resumption of Balfour Beatty's traditional work, which
762-407: A groundbreaking ceremony on January 14, 2017, with completion required by August 31, 2020, under the terms of the federal funding used. Starting on June 3, 2019; CATS replaced streetcar service along the line with a shuttle bus in order to facilitate construction of Phase 2 and increase the heights of the existing stations by a few inches to accommodate the new Siemens streetcars. Streetcar service
889-535: A merger with its rival. In October 2005, Balfour Beatty was found guilty of breaching health and safety laws, and were fined £10 million for its involvement in the October 2000 Hatfield rail crash . The crash resulted in the death of four people, and injured more than 70. In March 2009, the company was found to be a subscriber to the Consulting Association , a firm which was then prosecuted by
1016-429: A portion of new property taxes created from development along the line. Other options to raise funds, which would have required approval from the state, included: increasing the rental car tax, hotel/motel tax or prepared food and beverage tax, levying a special fee on parking spaces or lobbying for a higher vehicle registration fee. Many city council members stated they did not favor an increase in property taxes to build
1143-421: A primary backer of the project, delivered the keynote speech. In early 2012, Mayor Anthony Foxx proposed building the next stage of the streetcar line, a 2.5-mile (4.0 km), $ 119 million segment which would extend the line to Johnson C. Smith University. The proposal was turned down by a majority of the city council; on June 30, Foxx vetoed a revised city budget by the council which would have eliminated
1270-502: A second round of bidding the following month. In November 2016, Siemens Mobility was awarded a $ 40 million contract for low-floor streetcars and associated parts to service the entire Gold Line route. On November 28, the council awarded a $ 94 million construction contract to Johnson Bros. Corporation to build the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of trackage in Phase 2, as well as associated road and landscaping work. Construction began with
1397-956: A shorter distance. Since its opening, the Gold Line streetcar has been criticized for its street running design, instead of having a dedicated right of way; this has been cited as contributing to frequent service delays. Other transit in the United States: Streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in the United States) is a type of urban rail transit consisting of either individual railcars or self-propelled multiple unit trains that run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way . The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Because of their close similarities, trams are commonly included in
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#17327810941931524-726: A similar technology, Pirotsky put into service the first public electric tramway in St. Petersburg, which operated only during September 1880. The second demonstration tramway was presented by Siemens & Halske at the 1879 Berlin Industrial Exposition. The first public electric tramway used for permanent service was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It
1651-518: A strategy of growth via acquisition, primarily in the United Kingdom and North America, including Mansell plc, Birse Group , Rok plc , Centex Construction , Parsons Brinckerhoff , and Howard S. Wright . During the 2010s, several instances of legal action was taken against the company for its alleged use of blacklists . In 2014, Balfour Beatty rebuffed three offers by Carillion , its primary British-based rival at that time, to purchase
1778-506: A vote on May 28. On May 15, 2013, Bay Area Economics, an independent consultant hired by the city in 2009 to conduct a streetcar economic impact study, reported the proposed second phase could generate 1,100,000 square feet (102,193 m) of new development for the city by 2035, and nearly $ 2.4 million in new property taxes. On May 28, the Charlotte city council voted 7-4 to build the Phase 2 extension, setting aside $ 63 million for
1905-593: A water and wastewater contractor based in the United States, for £12 million and in January 2013, it bought Subsurface Group, a consulting and engineering firm based in the United States. Balfour Beatty was a part of the Metronet consortium that was founded in 1999 to bid for PPP contracts. Metronet successfully bid for two 30-year contracts that covered multiple London Underground lines under which it
2032-482: A week from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. In 2015, during its first month of operation, weekday ridership on the first phase of the CityLynx Gold Line exceeded initial projections, averaging 1,507 trips against an official projection of 1,100 trips. In its first year, Phase 1 averaged 1,600 weekday trips, slightly falling to an average of 1,480 weekday trips by July 2017. Ridership declined by 41.9 percent over
2159-946: A well-known tourist attraction . A single cable line also survives in Wellington (rebuilt in 1979 as a funicular but still called the " Wellington Cable Car "). Another system, with two separate cable lines and a shared power station in the middle, operates from the Welsh town of Llandudno up to the top of the Great Orme hill in North Wales , UK. Hastings and some other tramways, for example Stockholms Spårvägar in Sweden and some lines in Karachi , used petrol trams. Galveston Island Trolley in Texas operated diesel trams due to
2286-575: Is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index , the company is active across the UK, US and Hong Kong. In terms of turnover, Balfour Beatty was ranked in 2021 as the biggest construction contractor in the United Kingdom. It was formed on 12 January 1909 by
2413-612: Is intended to connect the University Park area of west Charlotte with Eastland Community Transit Center in east Charlotte via Uptown Charlotte . In 1994, the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County jointly approved a "Centers and Corridors Vision", a comprehensive plan which focused future regional development along five major transport corridors. In support of this plan, a "2025 Integrated Transit/Land Use Plan" in 1998 reviewed transit options for five transportation corridors in
2540-406: Is intended to serve, though the net benefits from future development as a result of the streetcar line are difficult to assess. Recent cost-benefit analyses have shown that at a cost of $ 1.58 per passenger mile (predicted for 2019), it would cost twice as much to operate as either city bus (77 cents/passenger mile, in 2012) or light rail services (68 cents/passenger mile, in 2012), while traveling over
2667-640: Is still in operation in modernised form. The earliest tram system in Canada was built by John Joseph Wright , brother of the famous mining entrepreneur Whitaker Wright , in Toronto in 1883, introducing electric trams in 1892. In the US, multiple experimental electric trams were exhibited at the 1884 World Cotton Centennial World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana , but they were not deemed good enough to replace
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#17327810941932794-734: Is the sole survivor of the fleet). In Italy, in Trieste , the Trieste–Opicina tramway was opened in 1902, with the steepest section of the route being negotiated with the help of a funicular and its cables. Cable cars suffered from high infrastructure costs, since an expensive system of cables , pulleys , stationary engines and lengthy underground vault structures beneath the rails had to be provided. They also required physical strength and skill to operate, and alert operators to avoid obstructions and other cable cars. The cable had to be disconnected ("dropped") at designated locations to allow
2921-713: The Bleecker Street Line until its closure in 1917. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , had its Sarah Street line drawn by horses until 1923. The last regular mule-drawn cars in the US ran in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas , until 1926 and were commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1983. The last mule tram service in Mexico City ended in 1932, and a mule tram in Celaya, Mexico , survived until 1954. The last horse-drawn tram to be withdrawn from public service in
3048-511: The Charlotte Transportation Center to French Street , and from Hawthorne & 5th to Sunnyside Avenue , opened for service on August 30, 2021. The third and final phase, comprising extensions between Hawthorne Lane and Eastland CTC, and from French Street to Rosa Parks CTC, has been planned, but lacks funding. Originally projected to be 10 miles (16 km) long with 35 stops, the Gold Line when fully completed
3175-492: The Glasgow Inner Ring Road . Between 1986 and 1995, Balfour Beatty operated Balfour Beatty Homes; after a collapse of the housing market, Balfour Beatty Homes was renamed Clarke Homes and then sold to Westbury . During the 2000s, the company's business strategy diversified from the construction of infrastructure alone towards the financing, operation, design and management functions. Balfour Beatty also pursued
3302-870: The Lamm fireless engines then propelling the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar in that city. The first commercial installation of an electric streetcar in the United States was built in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio , and operated for a period of one year by the East Cleveland Street Railway Company. The first city-wide electric streetcar system was implemented in 1886 in Montgomery, Alabama , by the Capital City Street Railway Company, and ran for 50 years. In 1888,
3429-1005: The London Underground . Extensive overseas work started in 1924 when Balfour Beatty took over the management of the East African Power & Lighting company; construction work included hydro electric schemes in the Dolomites , Malaya and India, power stations in Argentina and Uruguay, and the Kut Barrage on the Tigris in Iraq. By the onset of the Second World War , control of the firm had changed: Andrew Beatty had died in 1934 and George Balfour died in 1941. David Balfour, son of George Balfour, had become
3556-780: The Mto Mtwara harbour in Tanganyika (now Tanzania ) and the Wadi Tharthar irrigation scheme in Iraq . However, the company's foreign activities were hindered by political factors in the Middle East and South America . The business strategy pursued during this era was to develop its presence as contractor in power and civil engineering. Highlights of its portfolio in this area include Staythorpe B power station , Berkeley nuclear power station , and extensive upgrades to
3683-715: The Richmond Union Passenger Railway began to operate trams in Richmond, Virginia , that Frank J. Sprague had built. Sprague later developed multiple unit control, first demonstrated in Chicago in 1897, allowing multiple cars to be coupled together and operated by a single motorman. This gave rise to the modern subway train. Following the improvement of an overhead "trolley" system on streetcars for collecting electricity from overhead wires by Sprague, electric tram systems were rapidly adopted across
3810-824: The West Midlands Metro in Birmingham , England adopted battery-powered trams on sections through the city centre close to Grade I listed Birmingham Town Hall . Paris and Berne (Switzerland) operated trams that were powered by compressed air using the Mekarski system . Trials on street tramways in Britain, including by the North Metropolitan Tramway Company between Kings Cross and Holloway, London (1883), achieved acceptable results but were found not to be economic because of
3937-1241: The 1850s, after which the "animal railway" became an increasingly common feature in the larger towns. The first permanent tram line in continental Europe was opened in Paris in 1855 by Alphonse Loubat who had previously worked on American streetcar lines. The tram was developed in numerous cities of Europe (some of the most extensive systems were found in Berlin, Budapest , Birmingham , Saint Petersburg , Lisbon , London , Manchester , Paris , Kyiv ). The first tram in South America opened in 1858 in Santiago, Chile . The first trams in Australia opened in 1860 in Sydney . Africa's first tram service started in Alexandria on 8 January 1863. The first trams in Asia opened in 1869 in Batavia (Jakarta), Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) . Limitations of horsecars included
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4064-713: The 1894-built horse tram at Victor Harbor in South Australia . New horse-drawn systems have been established at the Hokkaidō Museum in Japan and also in Disneyland . A horse-tram route in Polish gmina Mrozy , first built in 1902, was reopened in 2012. The first mechanical trams were powered by steam . Generally, there were two types of steam tram. The first and most common had a small steam locomotive (called
4191-766: The 1970s, Balfour Beatty expanded its presence in the road construction sector through schemes such as the M73 motorway and the Glasgow Inner Ring Road ; however, the M1 motorway proved to be quite challenging to deliver. The business also continued its involvement in the energy sector, like the Anglo-Dutch Offshore Concrete venture for the North Sea oil industry, along with an increasing focus upon large overseas projects, such as Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai and
4318-420: The 1980s. The history of passenger trams, streetcars and trolley systems, began in the early nineteenth century. It can be divided into several distinct periods defined by the principal means of power used. Precursors to the tramway included the wooden or stone wagonways that were used in central Europe to transport mine carts with unflanged wheels since the 1500s, and the paved limestone trackways designed by
4445-943: The 2000s and 2010s, the company pursued a strategy of growth via acquisition, primarily in the United Kingdom and North America, partially as organic growth had been deemed to be too slow. During 2004, it also acquired Skanska 's 50% stake in Hong Kong's Gammon Construction . Balfour Beatty's domestic acquisitions have included the construction services business Mansell plc for £42m in November 2003, construction and civils contractor Birse Group for £32m in August 2006, Bristol construction company Cowlin Construction, also in October 2007, and regional contractor Dean & Dyball for £45 million in February 2008. In November 2010,
4572-537: The 2010s and 2020s, Balfour Beatty has been heavily involved in several major railway projects in Britain, including High Speed 2 , Crossrail , and the modernisation of the Great Western Main Line . International railway projects the company has been involved in have included the electrification of Caltrain in California . In August 2014, the company rebuffed three offers by its rival in
4699-422: The Australian state of Queensland between 1909 and 1939. Stockholm , Sweden, had a steam tram line at the island of Södermalm between 1887 and 1901. Tram engines usually had modifications to make them suitable for street running in residential areas. The wheels, and other moving parts of the machinery, were usually enclosed for safety reasons and to make the engines quieter. Measures were often taken to prevent
4826-426: The Blue Line Extension could be at risk if Charlotte persisted with plans to build an extension to the streetcar line. On April 10, 2013, the project was temporarily dropped from the budget, though Carlee hoped to have a separate streetcar plan ready to vote on by June 2013. After protracted debate, on May 13, 2013, Ron Carlee, the new Charlotte city manager, said the $ 126 million extension to what had been renamed
4953-407: The British newspaper Newcastle Daily Chronicle reported that, "A large number of London's discarded horse tramcars have been sent to Lincolnshire where they are used as sleeping rooms for potato pickers ". Horses continued to be used for light shunting well into the 20th century, and many large metropolitan lines lasted into the early 20th century. New York City had a regular horsecar service on
5080-464: The Charlotte metro area, including the Center City corridor. Voters approved a half-cent sales and use tax to support the plan in November 1998. In November 2002, the Charlotte city council adopted the "2025 Transit Plan", which selected a streetcar as the preferred transit option for the Center City corridor. As originally conceived, the plan envisioned a single streetcar line, the "Trade Street Streetcar", linking Presbyterian Hospital (eastern portion of
5207-436: The CityLynx Gold Line could be funded without a property tax increase if the city could receive a federal grant for half the estimated cost, possibly through the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts Program. The remaining $ 63 million could be covered with surplus funds from other city programs. City council members voted to send the proposal to the Metropolitan Transit Commission on May 22, and with their approval, take
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5334-405: The Derbyshire firm of David M Adams to give it an annualised production rate of up to 700 houses. During the late 1980s, Balfour Beatty secured its role in the construction of the Channel Tunnel, which would be completed in 1994. During the early 1990s, through its parent BICC, Clarke Homes was purchased. However, this acquisition came barely one year prior to a collapse of the housing market. By
5461-477: The Entertainment Centre, and work is progressing on further extensions. Sydney re-introduced trams (or light rail) on 31 August 1997. A completely new system, known as G:link , was introduced on the Gold Coast, Queensland , on 20 July 2014. The Newcastle Light Rail opened in February 2019, while the Canberra light rail opened on 20 April 2019. This is the first time that there have been trams in Canberra, even though Walter Burley Griffin 's 1914–1920 plans for
5588-402: The Fife Tramway Light and Power Company. Balfour Beatty's fortunes were heavily impacted by the outbreak of the First World War . A portion of its staff were drawn away to serve in the British Army . Its expertise in general construction was put to use in the development of numerous army camps, including a large complex at Ripon . It also built an 8km aquaduct at Kinlochleven to supply
5715-416: The Irish coach builder John Stephenson , in New York City which began service in the year 1832. The New York and Harlem Railroad's Fourth Avenue Line ran along the Bowery and Fourth Avenue in New York City. It was followed in 1835 by the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana , which still operates as the St. Charles Streetcar Line . Other American cities did not follow until
5842-412: The Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) voted on the priority for its construction in November 2006. At its November meeting the MTC voted to prioritize the construction and completion of both the Blue Line Extension to UNC Charlotte and the Red Line commuter rail to Lake Norman , with the Central City streetcar coming third. At the same time, the MTC determined that initial engineering studies for
5969-435: The National Grid. While further such projects, including facilities at Drax , Tilbury , Cockenzie , and Dungeness , were secured, it became clear by the 1960s that the company needed to expand beyond this sector. Balfour Beatty's biggest competitor in the power sector was BICC , an established cable manufacturer; during 1969, Power Securities, which by owned Balfour Beatty at that time, was taken over by BICC. Throughout
6096-430: The Netherlands. The first trams in Bendigo, Australia, in 1892, were battery-powered, but within as little as three months they were replaced with horse-drawn trams. In New York City some minor lines also used storage batteries. Then, more recently during the 1950s, a longer battery-operated tramway line ran from Milan to Bergamo . In China there is a Nanjing battery Tram line and has been running since 2014. In 2019,
6223-436: The North Sydney line from 1886 to 1900, and the King Street line from 1892 to 1905. In Dresden , Germany, in 1901 an elevated suspended cable car following the Eugen Langen one-railed floating tram system started operating. Cable cars operated on Highgate Hill in North London and Kennington to Brixton Hill in South London. They also worked around "Upper Douglas" in the Isle of Man from 1897 to 1929 (cable car 72/73
6350-463: The Romans for heavy horse and ox-drawn transportation. By the 1700s, paved plateways with cast iron rails were introduced in England for transporting coal, stone or iron ore from the mines to the urban factories and docks. The world's first passenger train or tram was the Swansea and Mumbles Railway , in Wales , UK. The British Parliament passed the Mumbles Railway Act in 1804, and horse-drawn service started in 1807. The service closed in 1827, but
6477-448: The Scottish tramways in 1935 to Scottish Motor Traction , Cheltenham was sold in July 1939 to Red & White Services with the remaining operations transferred to the Tilling Group . George Balfour was elected to the House of Commons in 1918 and played a large part in the debates which established the National Grid . To service this new market, George Balfour, Andrew Beatty and others formed Power Securities to finance projects, and
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#17327810941936604-413: The Second Street Cable Railroad, which operated from 1885 to 1889, and the Temple Street Cable Railway, which operated from 1886 to 1898. From 1885 to 1940, the city of Melbourne , Victoria, Australia operated one of the largest cable systems in the world, at its peak running 592 trams on 75 kilometres (47 mi) of track. There were also two isolated cable lines in Sydney , New South Wales, Australia;
6731-410: The UK Information Commissioner's Office for breaching the Data Protection Act by holding a secret database of construction workers details, including union membership and political affiliations, and six enforcement notices were issued against Balfour Beatty companies. In January 2010, individual workers had started suing the company for being on the blacklist ; the first of these cases, however,
6858-562: The UK at Lytham St Annes , Trafford Park , Manchester (1897–1908) and Neath , Wales (1896–1920). Comparatively little has been published about gas trams. However, research on the subject was carried out for an article in the October 2011 edition of "The Times", the historical journal of the Australian Association of Timetable Collectors, later renamed the Australian Timetable Association. The world's first electric tram line operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg invented and tested by inventor Fyodor Pirotsky in 1875. Later, using
6985-410: The UK took passengers from Fintona railway station to Fintona Junction one mile away on the main Omagh to Enniskillen railway in Northern Ireland. The tram made its last journey on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed. The "van" is preserved at the Ulster Transport Museum . Horse-drawn trams still operate on the 1876-built Douglas Bay Horse Tramway on the Isle of Man , and at
7112-415: The United Kingdom, Carillion , for the two companies to merge. The last bid, which valued Balfour Beatty at £2.1 billion, was unanimously rejected by the Balfour Beatty board on 20 August 2014, one day before a deadline for negotiations to conclude. Balfour refused to allow an extension of time for negotiations which could have prompted a fourth bid. Carillion subsequently announced it would no longer pursue
7239-414: The United States, for $ 626 million. Balfour Beatty sold Parsons Brinckerhoff to WSP Global for $ 1.24bn in October 2014. In October 2010, the company bought Halsall Group, a Canadian professional services firm, for £33 million. In June 2011, it bought Howard S. Wright , one of the oldest contractors on the West Coast of the United States, for £58 million as well as Fru-Con Construction,
7366-508: The advantages over earlier forms of transit was the low rolling resistance of metal wheels on steel rails, allowing the trams to haul a greater load for a given effort. Another factor which contributed to the rise of trams was the high total cost of ownership of horses. Electric trams largely replaced animal power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Improvements in other vehicles such as buses led to decline of trams in early to mid 20th century. However, trams have seen resurgence since
7493-584: The blacklisting was scheduled for May 2016. In October 2015, during preliminary stages of the case, the eight firms did not accept the loss of earnings that the blacklisting victims had suffered, but, in January 2016, they increased their compensation offers. On 22 January 2016, the High Court ordered 30 construction firms to disclose all emails and correspondence relating to blacklisting by 12 February 2016, after it emerged that Balfour Beatty managers had referred to blacklisted workers as ‘sheep’. However, some settlements were eventually agreed, and on 11 May 2016,
7620-403: The building of six Mulberry harbour units. For a time, Balfour Beatty's activities were dominated by two domestic sectors: power stations and the railways. It also opted to develop its presence as contractor within various power and civil engineering projects. Throughout the 1970s, Balfour Beatty expanded its presence in the road construction sector through schemes such as the M73 motorway and
7747-460: The busiest tram line in Europe, with a tram running once per minute at rush hour. Bucharest and Belgrade ran a regular service from 1894. Ljubljana introduced its tram system in 1901 – it closed in 1958. Oslo had the first tramway in Scandinavia , starting operation on 2 March 1894. The first electric tramway in Australia was a Sprague system demonstrated at the 1888 Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne ; afterwards, this
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#17327810941937874-439: The capital then in the planning stage did propose a Canberra tram system. In Japan, the Kyoto Electric railroad was the first tram system, starting operation in 1895. By 1932, the network had grown to 82 railway companies in 65 cities, with a total network length of 1,479 km (919 mi). By the 1960s the tram had generally died out in Japan. Two rare but significant alternatives were conduit current collection , which
8001-458: The car up the hill at a steady pace, unlike a low-powered steam or horse-drawn car. Cable cars do have wheel brakes and track brakes , but the cable also helps restrain the car to going downhill at a constant speed. Performance in steep terrain partially explains the survival of cable cars in San Francisco. The San Francisco cable cars , though significantly reduced in number, continue to provide regular transportation service, in addition to being
8128-402: The cars to coast by inertia, for example when crossing another cable line. The cable then had to be "picked up" to resume progress, the whole operation requiring precise timing to avoid damage to the cable and the grip mechanism. Breaks and frays in the cable, which occurred frequently, required the complete cessation of services over a cable route while the cable was repaired. Due to overall wear,
8255-531: The city did not then state how it would pay for an estimated $ 1.5 million in operating costs. In November 2012, the Charlotte city council awarded a $ 26.3 million contract for construction of the starter segment to a partnership between Balfour Beatty Rail and Blythe Development Company. The groundbreaking for the initial segment took place on December 12, 2012, in front of Presbyterian Hospital, with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Mayor Foxx and other officials in attendance. By May 2014, Phase 1
8382-439: The city of Charlotte issued requests for qualifications for prospective firms to build the final phase of the Gold Line, which by then had been 30% designed. Firms were given until April 30 to apply, with final selections to be made by June 4 at the latest. As of 2021, no cost estimates have been developed for the third phase, nor have local, state or federal funds been allocated for construction. According to John Lewis, CATS CEO,
8509-409: The city's hurricane-prone location, which would have resulted in frequent damage to an electrical supply system. Although Portland, Victoria promotes its tourist tram as being a cable car it actually operates using a diesel motor. The tram, which runs on a circular route around the town of Portland, uses dummies and salons formerly used on the Melbourne cable tramway system and since restored. In
8636-503: The classic tramway built in the early 20th century with the tram system operating in mixed traffic, and the later type which is most often associated with the tram system having its own right of way. Tram systems that have their own right of way are often called light rail but this does not always hold true. Though these two systems differ in their operation, their equipment is much the same. Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc. Balfour Beatty plc ( / ˌ b æ l f ʊ ˈ b iː t iː / )
8763-416: The combined coal consumption of the stationary compressor and the onboard steam boiler. The Trieste–Opicina tramway in Trieste operates a hybrid funicular tramway system. Conventional electric trams are operated in street running and on reserved track for most of their route. However, on one steep segment of track, they are assisted by cable tractors, which push the trams uphill and act as brakes for
8890-416: The company bought the remnant of collapsed construction company Rok plc for £7 million. In February 2007, Balfour Beatty acquired Texas-based Centex Construction for £180m. In February 2008, the company bought GMH Military Housing, a United States–based military accommodation business, for £180m. In September 2009, the company agreed to buy Parsons Brinckerhoff , a project management firm based in
9017-419: The company. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, Balfour Beatty has been heavily involved in several major railway projects in Britain, including High Speed 2 , Crossrail , and the modernisation of the Great Western Main Line . In October 2005, Balfour Beatty was found guilty of breaching health and safety laws, and were fined £10 million for its involvement in the October 2000 Hatfield rail crash . Balfour Beatty
9144-404: The construction of infrastructure alone, Balfour Beatty diversified into the financing, operation, design and management functions as well. This change was accompanied by strong positive financial performance across the following decade. Between 2000 and 2010, the company's turnover increased sharply from £2bn to £10bn while the value of the business had reportedly increased four-fold. Throughout
9271-613: The corridor would commence in 2013 with a phased completion by 2023. Although construction was not slated to commence until the mid-2010s, streetcar tracks were installed as part of a streetscape project along the Elizabeth Avenue segment between CPCC and Presbyterian Hospital, to be complete by 2009. Although the streetcar line had been given third priority by the MTC, by 2008 CATS began to determine means to speed up its construction and have it operational by 2013. To further expedite
9398-422: The development of Britain's National Grid and various power stations . Early international projects include hydro electric power schemes in the Dolomites , Malaya and India, power stations in Argentina and Uruguay, and the Kut Barrage on the Tigris in Iraq. During the Second World War , the company's construction efforts were dominated by the war effort, including blocking the approaches to Scapa Flow and
9525-679: The downhill run. For safety, the cable tractors are always deployed on the downhill side of the tram vehicle. Similar systems were used elsewhere in the past, notably on the Queen Anne Counterbalance in Seattle and the Darling Street wharf line in Sydney. In the mid-20th century many tram systems were disbanded, replaced by buses, trolleybuses , automobiles or rapid transit . The General Motors streetcar conspiracy
9652-547: The engineer George Balfour and the accountant Andrew Beatty. Initially working on tramways , the company soon expanded into power and general contracting; the First World War saw it construct several army bases and various other works to support the British war effort. During the 1920s and 1930s, Balfour Beatty reoriented away from bus and tramway operations towards more lucrative heavy civil engineering, particularly
9779-446: The engines from emitting visible smoke or steam. Usually the engines used coke rather than coal as fuel to avoid emitting smoke; condensers or superheating were used to avoid emitting visible steam. A major drawback of this style of tram was the limited space for the engine, so that these trams were usually underpowered. Steam trams faded out around the 1890s to 1900s, being replaced by electric trams. Another motive system for trams
9906-429: The entire length of cable (typically several kilometres) had to be replaced on a regular schedule. After the development of reliable electrically powered trams, the costly high-maintenance cable car systems were rapidly replaced in most locations. Cable cars remained especially effective in hilly cities, since their nondriven wheels did not lose traction as they climbed or descended a steep hill. The moving cable pulled
10033-742: The erection of the longest high voltage lines in the western hemisphere in Argentina . Also during this time Balfour Beatty was involved in an early effort to construct the Channel Tunnel , although the project was cancelled on political grounds. In 1986, Balfour Beatty began to move away from its traditional area of expertise when it formed Balfour Beatty Homes, building on a modest scale from its office in Nottingham . It also opened offices in Paisley and Leatherhead , and in 1987, it bought
10160-404: The expanded Gold Line averaged 1,230 weekday trips. One year after it had reopened, the line averaged 1,895 weekday trips. Per the original plan, in 2006 CATS estimated the Gold Line would have an average daily ridership of between 14,200 and 16,700 passengers when fully completed. The CityLynx Gold Line project has been criticized for its high cost and limited projected benefits for the areas it
10287-847: The extension and to apply for the Federal Small Starts grant in September 2014. On September 8, 2014, the Charlotte city council voted 7-4 to build the second phase and proceed with applying for the federal grant. As part of the extension project, the Hawthorne Lane bridge over Independence Boulevard would be replaced to handle the weight of the streetcars. On June 22, 2015, the Charlotte city council voted 7–4 to approve $ 7.7 million for further Phase 2 design work. The initial request for construction bids returned two bids in July 2016 that came in over budget, leading CATS to request
10414-439: The fact that any given animal could only work so many hours on a given day, had to be housed, groomed, fed and cared for day in and day out, and produced prodigious amounts of manure, which the streetcar company was charged with storing and then disposing. Since a typical horse pulled a streetcar for about a dozen miles a day and worked for four or five hours, many systems needed ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar. In 1905
10541-434: The final phase of the Gold Line will cost significantly more than the previous two phases, as the 4-mile-long (6.4 km) segment from Sunnyside Avenue near Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center to the former Eastland Mall property near North Sharon Amity Road requires faster travel times, necessitating construction of a separate track in that area instead of having the streetcar share the road with traffic. This would make
10668-456: The first passengers boarding at the Hawthorne & 8th stop. The third and final phase of the CityLynx Gold Line, comprising extensions between Hawthorne Lane and Eastland CTC, and from French Street to Rosa Parks CTC, has been planned, but lacks funding. This 6-mile-long (9.7 km) segment was originally scheduled for completion by 2023 at a cost of $ 231 million. In early April 2021,
10795-550: The following year, SSL, a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and the French railway manufacturer Alstom , was awarded several signalling-related contracted cumulatively valued at €43m. During 2015, the company withdrew from a railway electrification scheme valued at £75m after acknowledging it would not be completed to schedule or within budget. In June 2019, Balfour Beatty opened its new Rail Innovation Centre in Derby . Throughout
10922-535: The following year, with the line only averaging 803 weekday trips in July 2018. As of April 2019, the last month for which figures were available before service was temporarily suspended, weekday ridership averaged 687 trips. At the opening of the second phase in 2021, CATS CEO John Lewis said the daily ridership goal for the newly expanded line would be 4,100 daily trips. He expected this target would be achieved by roughly 2023 due to COVID-19-induced declines in public transit ridership. In its first full month of operation,
11049-551: The late 19th and early 20th centuries a number of systems in various parts of the world employed trams powered by gas, naphtha gas or coal gas in particular. Gas trams are known to have operated between Alphington and Clifton Hill in the northern suburbs of Melbourne , Australia (1886–1888); in Berlin and Dresden , Germany; in Estonia (1921–1951); between Jelenia Góra , Cieplice , and Sobieszów in Poland (from 1897); and in
11176-402: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was one particular hazard associated with trams powered from a trolley pole off an overhead line on the early electrified systems. Since the tram relies on contact with the rails for the current return path, a problem arises if the tram is derailed or (more usually) if it halts on a section of track that has been heavily sanded by a previous tram, and
11303-501: The line in detail. On January 27, 2014, the Charlotte city council voted 8–3 to spend up to $ 12 million on engineering work for the extension. Carlee said the city would have to spend some of the $ 63 million it had allocated for the extension in May to demonstrate to the FTA that the project was viable. On February 26, the FTA issued its approval for CATS to begin project development for
11430-536: The line) and Johnson C. Smith University (western portion), with three subsequent extensions: In June 2006 initial costs for the completion of the Center City Corridor streetcar line were roughly estimated at $ 250 million. The line was then intended to replace the No. 7 and No. 9 CATS bus routes serving Beatties Ford Road and Central Avenue, respectively. With cost and ridership projection estimates made,
11557-476: The middle of the 1990s, sales were down to only five hundred per year, and although no financial figures were ever published, the housing operation was believed to have suffered heavy losses. Balfour Beatty Homes was renamed Clarke Homes and then sold to Westbury in 1995. In May 2000, BICC, having sold its cable operations, renamed itself Balfour Beatty. Beyond the name change, the company's business strategy shifted considerably; while it traditionally focused on
11684-534: The necessity of overhead wire and a trolley pole for street cars and railways. While at the University of Denver he conducted experiments which established that multiple unit powered cars were a better way to operate trains and trolleys. Electric tramways spread to many European cities in the 1890s, such as: Sarajevo built a citywide system of electric trams in 1895. Budapest established its tramway system in 1887, and its ring line has grown to be
11811-533: The oldest operating electric tramway in the world. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram was opened near Vienna in Austria. It was the first tram in the world in regular service that was run with electricity served by an overhead line with pantograph current collectors . The Blackpool Tramway was opened in Blackpool, UK on 29 September 1885 using conduit collection along Blackpool Promenade. This system
11938-637: The poor paving of the streets in American cities which made them unsuitable for horsebuses , which were then common on the well-paved streets of European cities. Running the horsecars on rails allowed for a much smoother ride. There are records of a street railway running in Baltimore as early as 1828, however the first authenticated streetcar in America, was the New York and Harlem Railroad developed by
12065-488: The project a $ 25 million grant. On September 19, 2011, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood formally awarded Charlotte the grant for a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) starter streetcar line from Time Warner Cable Arena to Presbyterian Hospital. Construction began in December 2012, with the line expected to open for service in 2015. Total costs were estimated at $ 37 million, with the city paying $ 12 million; however,
12192-596: The project, in May 2008, the Charlotte City Council approved $ 500,000 to study the corridor in terms of an updated cost estimate, economic benefits and the eligibility of the corridor for federal funding. To complete the line by 2013, however, CATS stated that additional capital would be required as other projects had already been budgeted for and were in progress. In the spring of 2010, the Federal Transit Administration awarded
12319-445: The purpose; the new segment would extend from Sunnyside Avenue to French Street. On September 3, it was reported the Gold Line extension had been passed over for a federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant, intended to cover the remaining $ 63 million it would cost to build the line. On November 13, the city announced it would apply to the Federal Transit Administration for permission to begin planning
12446-447: The second phase. On October 30, further discussion failed to reach any consensus on how best to pay for its construction. Options considered included: charging fares for the streetcar (the city had planned for the streetcar to be free), increasing the special property tax rate charged to property owners inside Interstate 277, soliciting donations from businesses and institutions along the line, such as Johnson & Wales University, or using
12573-555: The segment. In an effort to end the continuing deadlock, on December 10 Foxx proposed two alternative budgets, the smaller of which would eliminate the streetcar extension; however, on December 17 the city council voted to postpone all budget decisions until early 2013. At a meeting in Raleigh on January 31, 2013, Pat McCrory , the newly elected Governor of North Carolina and former mayor of Charlotte, told Charlotte's city attorney and its deputy city manager Ron Carlee that state funding for
12700-864: The streetcar function more like a light rail line in that stretch of rail. The remaining 2 miles (3.2 km) of track extending west from French Street near Johnson C. Smith, and running along Beatties Ford Road to the Rosa Parks Place Community Transit Center, will include new bridges over Brookshire Boulevard and I-85. The route is estimated to be completed in 2033. The Gold Line was intended to have been fare-free until January 2022, when standard CATS fares would have been introduced. Due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic-related workforce shortages , however, CATS officials decided to indefinitely postpone revenue service until enough rail operators were available to ensure sufficiently reliable service. The CityLynx Gold Line operates seven days
12827-542: The suburban tramway lines around Milan and Padua ; the last Gamba de Legn ("Peg-Leg") tramway ran on the Milan- Magenta -Castano Primo route in late 1957. The other style of steam tram had the steam engine in the body of the tram, referred to as a tram engine (UK) or steam dummy (US). The most notable system to adopt such trams was in Paris. French-designed steam trams also operated in Rockhampton , in
12954-558: The tracks. Siemens later designed his own version of overhead current collection, called the bow collector . One of the first systems to use it was in Thorold, Ontario , opened in 1887, and it was considered quite successful. While this line proved quite versatile as one of the earliest fully functional electric streetcar installations, it required horse-drawn support while climbing the Niagara Escarpment and for two months of
13081-416: The tram and completing the earth return circuit with their body could receive a serious electric shock. If "grounded", the driver was required to jump off the tram (avoiding simultaneous contact with the tram and the ground) and pull down the trolley pole, before allowing passengers off the tram. Unless derailed, the tram could usually be recovered by running water down the running rails from a point higher than
13208-466: The tram loses electrical contact with the rails. In this event, the underframe of the tram, by virtue of a circuit path through ancillary loads (such as interior lighting), is live at the full supply voltage, typically 600 volts DC. In British terminology, such a tram was said to be 'grounded'—not to be confused with the US English use of the term, which means the exact opposite. Any person stepping off
13335-427: The tram, the water providing a conducting bridge between the tram and the rails. With improved technology, this ceased to be an problem. In the 2000s, several companies introduced catenary-free designs: Alstom's Citadis line uses a third rail, Bombardier's PRIMOVE LRV is charged by contactless induction plates embedded in the trackway and CAF URBOS tram uses ultracaps technology As early as 1834, Thomas Davenport ,
13462-466: The two companies, with their common directors, worked closely together. Balfour Beatty was heavily involved in the development of Scotland's hydro electric power , building dams, transmission lines and power stations. Other work during the interwar period included the standardisation of the electricity supply in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire , and the construction of tunnels and escalators for
13589-804: The wider term light rail , which also includes systems separated from other traffic. Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than main line and rapid transit trains. Most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph sliding on an overhead line ; older systems may use a trolley pole or a bow collector . In some cases, a contact shoe on a third rail is used. If necessary, they may have dual power systems—electricity in city streets and diesel in more rural environments. Occasionally, trams also carry freight . Some trams, known as tram-trains , may have segments that run on mainline railway tracks, similar to interurban systems. The differences between these modes of rail transport are often indistinct, and systems may combine multiple features. One of
13716-409: The winter when hydroelectricity was not available. It continued in service in its original form into the 1950s. Sidney Howe Short designed and produced the first electric motor that operated a streetcar without gears. The motor had its armature direct-connected to the streetcar 's axle for the driving force. Short pioneered "use of a conduit system of concealed feed" thereby eliminating
13843-937: The works of the British Aluminium Company ; this was the company's first endeavour into heavy civil engineering. This contracting work would develop into a lucrative activity for the business. During its first two decades of operations, the company acquired a portfolio of electric power and tramway companies including in Carlisle , Cheltenham , Leamington & Warwick , Llanelly , Luton , Mansfield , Nottinghamshire & Derby , Falkirk and Wemyss . Some later operated trolley and motor buses. Several bus companies were purchased or formed including Midland General , Percivals ( Carlisle ), Stratford Blue and Scottish General Omnibus. The Scottish bus subsidiaries were sold in June 1930 to W Alexander & Sons , and
13970-532: The world's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle tramcar at an assembly facility in Qingdao . The chief engineer of the CSR subsidiary CSR Sifang Co Ltd. , Liang Jianying, said that the company is studying how to reduce the running costs of the tram. Trams have been used for two main purposes: for carrying passengers and for carrying cargo. There are several types of passenger tram: There are two main types of tramways,
14097-401: The world. Earlier electric trains proved difficult or unreliable and experienced limited success until the second half of the 1880s, when new types of current collectors were developed. Siemens' line, for example, provided power through a live rail and a return rail, like a model train , limiting the voltage that could be used, and delivering electric shocks to people and animals crossing
14224-516: Was 45 percent complete. While the starter line had originally been scheduled to open in March 2015, in January 2015 the opening date was moved to June due to construction errors on the part of the contractor, with a subsequent postponement to July 2015. On July 14, 2015, the Phase ;1 section of the Gold Line began service. U.S. Secretary of Transportation and former Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx,
14351-682: Was a case study of the decline of trams in the United States. In the 21st century, trams have been re-introduced in cities where they had been closed down for decades (such as Tramlink in London), or kept in heritage use (such as Spårväg City in Stockholm). Most trams made since the 1990s (such as the Bombardier Flexity series and Alstom Citadis ) are articulated low-floor trams with features such as regenerative braking . In March 2015, China South Rail Corporation (CSR) demonstrated
14478-491: Was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. This was the world's first commercially successful electric tram. It drew current from the rails at first, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. In Britain, Volk's Electric Railway was opened in 1883 in Brighton. This two kilometer line along the seafront, re-gauged to 2 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 825 mm ) in 1884, remains in service as
14605-466: Was for a time dominated by two domestic sectors: power stations and the railways. The business was impacted by the Attlee government 's nationalisation of the electric industry with relatively little compensation received; similar moves took place in Canada and East Africa that also affected the company. During 1953, a construction company in Canada was acquired by Balfour Beatty; other activities included
14732-659: Was formed on 12 January 1909, with a capital of £50,000. The two founding principals were George Balfour , a qualified mechanical and electrical engineer, and Andrew Beatty, an accountant. The two had met while working for the London branch of the New York engineers JG White & Company. Initially, the company concentrated on tramways , the first contract being to construct the Dunfermline and District Tramways that opened in November 1909 for Balfour Beatty's own subsidiary,
14859-608: Was initially slated to resume in 2020, but was pushed back to 2021 to accommodate the 2020 Republican National Convention . Supply shortages, a contractor ordering the wrong girders for the Hawthorne Lane bridge, the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests further delayed the opening of the section. Test trains began running along the route in February 2021, with pre-revenue testing beginning from May 10. Phase 2 began service at 5:00 a.m. on August 30, 2021, with
14986-487: Was installed as a commercial venture operating between the outer Melbourne suburb of Box Hill and the then tourist-oriented country town Doncaster from 1889 to 1896. Electric systems were also built in Adelaide , Ballarat , Bendigo , Brisbane , Fremantle , Geelong , Hobart , Kalgoorlie , Launceston , Leonora , Newcastle , Perth , and Sydney . By the 1970s, the only full tramway system remaining in Australia
15113-586: Was reinstated around 10 months later. In December 2021, Balfour Beatty Communities LLC, one of the largest providers of privatized military housing to the U.S. Armed Forces, pleaded guilty to one count of major fraud against the United States. The company was sentenced to pay over $ 33.6 million in criminal fines and over $ 31.8 million in restitution to the U.S. military, serve three years probation, and engage an independent compliance monitor for three years. The company lied about repairs made to housing for U.S. servicemembers and collected performance bonuses to which it
15240-629: Was reported that Metronet was "teetering on the brink of administration". On 18 July 2007, the company was placed into administration . In May 2008, the company's responsibilities were transferred back into public ownership under the authority of Transport for London (TfL). To enable its business activities to be kept going while the winding-up of the company was in progress, the British Government provided Metronet with £2 billion in 2008. During 2011, Balfour Beatty sold its trackwork manufacturing business to Progress Rail . In
15367-419: Was responsible for the maintenance, renewal, and upgrade of the infrastructure (track, trains, tunnels, signals, and stations) on a total of nine Underground lines. The consortium preferred to award contracts to its own shareholders, for example rolling stock contracts to Bombardier Transportation , although this closed shop supply chain approach was later criticised for causing high costs. In July 2007, it
15494-566: Was restarted in 1860, again using horses. It was worked by steam from 1877, and then, from 1929, by very large (106-seat) electric tramcars, until closure in 1960. The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was something of a one-off however, and no street tramway appeared in Britain until 1860 when one was built in Birkenhead by the American George Francis Train . Street railways developed in America before Europe, due to
15621-643: Was ruled in favour of the company. On 10 October 2013, Balfour Beatty was one of eight construction firms involved in blacklisting that apologised for their actions, and agreed to pay compensation to affected workers. The eight businesses established the Construction Workers Compensation Scheme in July 2014, though the scheme was condemned as a "PR stunt" by the GMB union, and as "an act of bad faith" by Parliament's Scottish Affairs Select Committee . A High Court case regarding
15748-628: Was tested in San Francisco , in 1873. Part of its success is attributed to the development of an effective and reliable cable grip mechanism, to grab and release the moving cable without damage. The second city to operate cable trams was Dunedin , from 1881 to 1957. The most extensive cable system in the US was built in Chicago in stages between 1859 and 1892. New York City developed multiple cable car lines, that operated from 1883 to 1909. Los Angeles also had several cable car lines, including
15875-635: Was the Melbourne tram system. However, there were also a few single lines remaining elsewhere: the Glenelg tram line , connecting Adelaide to the beachside suburb of Glenelg , and tourist trams in the Victorian Goldfields cities of Bendigo and Ballarat. In recent years the Melbourne system, generally recognised as the largest urban tram network in the world, has been considerably modernised and expanded. The Adelaide line has been extended to
16002-411: Was the cable car, which was pulled along a fixed track by a moving steel cable, the cable usually running in a slot below the street level. The power to move the cable was normally provided at a "powerhouse" site a distance away from the actual vehicle. The London and Blackwall Railway , which opened for passengers in east London, England, in 1840 used such a system. The first practical cable car line
16129-830: Was widely used in London, Washington, D.C., and New York City, and the surface contact collection method, used in Wolverhampton (the Lorain system), Torquay and Hastings in the UK (the Dolter stud system), and in Bordeaux , France (the ground-level power supply system). The convenience and economy of electricity resulted in its rapid adoption once the technical problems of production and transmission of electricity were solved. Electric trams largely replaced animal power and other forms of motive power including cable and steam, in
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