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28-511: Both of the systems in these cities are referred to as " tramways on tyres ", and in common with tram systems they use a surface guidance system and in normal operation are powered by electricity drawn from an overhead wire . However, while the vehicles are guided by a central guidance rail , they ride on rubber tyres, not on rails . There has been disagreement about whether they should be called "trams", for that reason and also because they are capable of being steered and operating independently of

56-540: A steering wheel (though it is not used when following a guidance rail), and are capable of operating independent of the guideway. Rubber-tyred trams A rubber-tyred tram (also known as tramway on tyres , French : tramway sur pneumatiques ) is a development of the guided bus in which a vehicle is guided by a fixed rail in the road surface and draws current from overhead electric wires (either via pantograph or trolley poles ). Two incompatible systems using physical guide rails exist:

84-549: A 13% grade. Compared to buses, the use of a guidance rail allows GLT vehicles running in parallel lanes to pass closer together than drivers could safely steer. They can also draw up to level, tram-like platforms that allow for easier boarding, and give access to passengers dependent on wheelchairs without requiring the time-consuming deployment of ramps or 'kneeling' systems. The GLT systems in place have experienced some mechanical problems which, though they have largely been resolved, have discouraged some other cities from adopting

112-481: A guided vehicle at all times, while with the Bombardier system the vehicles can be driven independently as requirements dictate, such as journeys to the depot. Consequently, the Bombardier vehicles are legally considered buses, and must bear rear-view mirrors , lights and number plates , and are controlled with steering wheels and pedals like ordinary buses, though the steering wheel is not used when following

140-450: A speed limit of 10 km/h (6.2 mph) is now enforced on corners. One of the main aims of the system, to achieve a lower cost per kilometre than trams, has failed. Other French tramways achieve a cost per kilometre at least 10% lower than that for the guided bus. Similarly, the cost per person of the vehicles is also noticeably higher with the guided bus than a tram. Where snowfall is an issue, this system may not be practical: since

168-499: Is 10 minutes between 7am and 7pm. The Line T2 connects the north of Caen and its Presqu'Île. It is 6.6 km (4.1 mi) long and has 17 stations. From Monday to Friday, the frequency is 10 minutes between 7am and 7pm. The Line T3 connects Caen and Fleury-sur-Orne . It is 5.3 km (3.3 mi) long and has 15 stations. From Monday to Friday, the frequency is 10 minutes between 7am and 7pm. An extension to Fleury - Hauts-de-l'Orne opened on 29 August 2022. On 9 March 2021, it

196-543: Is no evidence to prove the superiority of either guidance system. Both Bombardier and Translohr have had derailments during operation. Caen tramway The Caen tramway ( French : Tramway de Caen ) is a tram in the city of Caen , France . The tram opened on 27 July 2019 and replaced the Caen Guided Light Transit (TVR) that closed in December 2017. The tramway uses the same route as

224-449: Is not strictly accurate; while the GLT follows a central rail , the rail does not support the vehicle, and the actual wheels which are as independent as those of a regular bus . The wheels of rubber-tyred metros, on the other hand, are bound and guided by their rails in the same way as are steel-wheeled trains. Unlike trams and Translohr vehicles, GLT vehicles have a steering wheel , though it

252-829: Is not used when following a guidance rail. On the GLT line in Nancy, more than one-third of the 10 km (6.2 mi) route has no guide rail , and steering is controlled entirely by the driver on those sections. The Nancy GLT system is operated by the Société de Transports de l'Agglomération Nancienne , or STAN . With two articulation points and a total length of 24.5 metres (80 ft 5 in), GLT vehicles are shorter than most modern trams, but long compared with conventional buses. They are designed to look like trams, but they are unidirectional and have bus-like rear-view mirrors . They have 100% low floors , have 40 seats, and have standing room for as many as 105 passengers. In Caen, where

280-718: The Alstom Citadis tram to supplement its existing Eurotram fleet. Because of the problems encountered by cities which have purchased the Bombardier Guided Bus (one of which has demanded compensation for the costs it has had to pay for the GLT) Bombardier will not sell any more GLT systems, at least until all the issues have been resolved. GLT vehicles are legally considered buses, and they must bear number plates , rear-view mirrors and lights . Unlike trams and Translohr vehicles, GLT vehicles have

308-533: The Guided Light Transit (GLT) designed by Bombardier Transportation , and the Translohr from Lohr Industrie (currently made by Alstom and FSI). There are no guide bars at the sides but there is a central guidance rail that differs in design between the systems. In the case of Translohr, this rail is grasped by a pair of metal guide wheels set at 45° to the road and at 90° to each other. In

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336-497: The overhead wire , so that its pantograph does not slip out from underneath the wire. The Caen vehicles thus could not move laterally away from the overhead wire except when running in diesel mode (as conventional buses), and for this reason the Caen routes are not commonly considered to have been a trolleybus system. Nancy's fleet of 25 GLT vehicles used dual trolley poles to collect and return their electric power, in order to allow

364-510: The French government pledged €23.3 million towards Caen's light rail conversion project, estimated to cost approximately €230 million. In December 2017, the TVR closed and construction work began. The new tramway opened on 27 July 2019. The Line T1 connects Hérouville-Saint-Clair and Ifs . It is 10.7 km (6.6 mi) long and has 25 stations. From Monday to Friday, the frequency of trams

392-485: The GLT system, a single double- flanged wheel between the rubber tires follows the guidance rail . In both cases, the weight of the vehicle is borne by rubber tires to which the guide wheels are attached, which make contact with the road on concrete roll ways designed to minimise impact on the ground. Power is usually supplied by overhead lines , rechargeable batteries , or internal combustion engines where there are no overhead wires. The Translohr system operates as

420-441: The GLT's central guidance rail is not significantly less expensive than the rails needed by regular trams, the overall system can be installed at a lower cost since existing trolleybus wires can be used without the installation of tracks, and not all new sections need rails or electric wires installed; even if the entire passenger route is equipped with guidance rails and wires, as in Caen, the depot need not be located immediately by

448-563: The TVR, with a short new branch to Presqu'île and a with a new tram depot in Fleury-sur-Orne . The Caen Guided Light Transit (Caen TVR) opened in 2002 after 3 years of construction. Viacités confirmed on 14 December 2011 its plans to abandon the TVR in favour of a conventional tramway by 2019, due to its unreliability. The conversion to light rail also included the termination of two concession contracts that Keolis and Bombardier-Spie Batignolles consortium STVR hold. In late 2014,

476-432: The central guidance rail had been installed on all sections of the passenger-service route, the vehicles collected their power from a pantograph , returning it through the central guidance rail, and used their diesel engines and steering wheels only while travelling to and from the depot. Use of a pantograph effectively requires that a surface guidance system be used, to ensure the vehicle remains approximately centred below

504-504: The conventional sense, but neither are they buses when pantograph-equipped and operating in service as designed ( i.e. in electric mode). GLT was one of the few models (together with the Innovia APM ) of rubber-tyred vehicles produced by Bombardier's transport division, which is otherwise focused on rail transport . GLT and the similar Translohr are often described as the tram equivalent of rubber-tyred metro technology, but this

532-429: The guidance rail, using auxiliary diesel engines. GLT is effectively a model of guided dual-mode bus , but when GLT vehicles use a pantograph to collect current, as do those in Caen, they are not commonly considered to be trolleybuses . English transport publications generally refer to the GLT and the competing Translohr system as " rubber-tyred tramways ", but rarely simply as "tramways", as they are not tramways in

560-459: The guidance rail. On the other hand, Translohr vehicles operate like standard trams and cannot move without guidance, so they are not classified as buses and are not equipped with number plates. The ART system can be diverted by virtual track by the driver using a conventional steering wheel. These systems have been likened to the tram equivalent of rubber-tyred metros , and they are also less efficient than steel-wheeled light rail vehicles. There

588-401: The guide rail forms the return leg of the electrical circuit, accumulation of ice and snow on the rail could cause intermittent power interruptions to the vehicle. Also, as the vehicle does not place a significant portion of its weight on the guide wheel (most of it being supported by the rubber tyres), snow packed into the flangeways or atop the rail by road traffic could lift the guide wheel off

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616-418: The operator. This could be considered to add to the already high running costs. Ride quality is also said to be poor, not much of an improvement on a bus, due to the four-wheeled design, whereas trams have bogies . Guidewheel mechanical failures have occurred, causing the trolleybus to swerve off the roadway. This is due to the high centrifugal forces exerted on the wheel when rounding corners. Due to this,

644-440: The rail, leading the vehicle to go off course. Critics of the system also point out that, unlike a conventional tramway, GLT is a proprietary system, meaning that once having installed it, a city would face difficulties in purchasing vehicles from any manufacturer other than Bombardier. A standard tramway, by contrast, can easily accommodate vehicles from multiple suppliers; Nancy's neighbour Strasbourg , for example, has chosen

672-465: The technology. The vehicles have shown a tendency to move erratically when running free, and do not respond well should the driver mistakenly attempt to steer while following the guidance rail (for example, to avoid a pedestrian or animal running into the street). In addition, due to the tyres running over the same spot in the road, in both Nancy and Caen there has been significant rutting of the roadway, resulting in extensive repairs at significant cost to

700-409: The track, saving planners from having to find space for a new yard in what may be a central and high-valued area of the city. Another advantage over trams, which was particularly of interest to planners in Nancy, is that rubber tyres give significantly more traction than steel wheels, and so can be used to climb steeper hills, up to a grade or slope of 13%. The Nancy route T1 includes a section with

728-519: The use of existing wires constructed for use by the town's previous generation of trolleybuses and to permit operation, where desired by the transport authority, away from the guide rail. The Nancy vehicles followed a guidance rail on about 60% of the route, and thus the Nancy route uniquely is considered to have been both a rubber-tyred tramway and a trolleybus line. The system was first brought into use for passenger service in February 2001, but operation

756-1064: Was announced that a new line will serve the west of Caen by 2028. This new line, named Line T4, will connect the Presqu'Île of Caen and Saint-Contest whereas the Line T3 will be modify and will serve the Théâtre de Caen , the Hôtel de Ville , the Lycée Malherbe , the Zénith de Caen , the new Palais des Sports , the Stade de Venoix , the Stade Michel d'Ornano until the terminus at Bretteville-sur-Odon - Pompidou and 17 new stations will be built. In addition, 10 new trams were delivered in early 2024. This article about transport in France

784-546: Was suspended from March 2001 through March 2002 while Bombardier performed upgrades to the vehicles. In Caen, the GLT fleet began operation in November 2002, incorporating the changes made to Nancy's vehicles during the upgrade. They were operated by the Compagnie des Transports de l'Agglomération Caennaise under the name Twisto until 2017, when the system was shut down and replaced by a conventional tram system . While

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