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68-841: Inside Alstom, the Flexity supplements the Citadis range. Third-party competitors include Siemens Mobility 's Combino , Avanto and Avenio , Stadler Rail's Tango and Variobahn , CAF's Urbos , and AnsaldoBreda's Sirio globally, and Siemens USA's S70/S700 , U2 , SD-100, SD-160 , SD-400, SD-460 , and S200 , along with LRVs and streetcars from Kinki Sharyo , Brookville Equipment Corporation and Škoda / Inekon / United Streetcar in North America. Flexity trams and LRVs usually belong to one of six standard models. Manufactured from corrosion-resistant carbon steel and featuring driver's cabs made with glass-reinforced plastic , they have

136-540: A car friendly city which meant that old tramways (like the north–south one) were replaced by bus service; and also due to the planned widening of vehicles which wouldn't have fit through some of the narrow streets previously served by trams. Another question was the connection between the two banks of the Rhine which had been provided by the Hohenzollern- , Mülheim- and Deutzer Brücke , that were all destroyed during

204-463: A dual-voltage or electro-diesel vehicle with various configurations. The main article provides vehicle and order descriptions. Used as a light rail. 40 m (131 ft 2 + 3 ⁄ 4  in) (NGd99) (116Nd) Cologne Stadtbahn [REDACTED] The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne , including several surrounding cities of

272-554: A modular design that is customizable to meet specific operators' demands, including a variety of track gauges and voltages . The modules can also be replaced easily in case of damage. Flexity trams can be built for both bi-directional and uni-directional systems. A low-floor design with multi-purpose areas is standard on most models, allowing easy access to the vehicles for wheelchair users. There are also high-floor configurations for Flexity LRVs, and can be designed for tram-train operations. As Bombardier's premium tram model,

340-515: A trolley pole . The most popular solution is Alstom's proprietary ground-level power supply ( APS , first used in Bordeaux and subsequently in Angers , Reims , Orleans , Tours , Dubai , Rio , and Sydney ), consisting of a type of third rail which is only powered while it is completely covered by a tram so that there is no risk of a person or animal coming into contact with a live rail. On

408-696: A 100% low floor, the Flexity Outlook range encompasses two different designs: the Eurotram and Cityrunner. Eurotram was originally conceived by Socimi of Italy as a distinctive, train-like tramcar with large windows and modules with both powered and unpowered bogies . Cityrunner has a more conventional appearance, but highly customizable and is future proof with its easily repairable modules. These vehicles are currently used in Strasbourg , Porto , Brussels , and Marseille , among others. Toronto

476-562: A big white U on blue background which refers to U-Bahn . Most people in Cologne speak about the U-Bahn or Straßenbahn , or just about the train or the KVB. When construction of the first tunnel started in 1963, there was no promise of the state NRW or the federal government to finance the project, and in the worst case the city would have had to pay completely on their own. With this background,

544-401: A few years, several companies had built an extensive network. Because none of these companies showed interest in electrifying their lines, the city of Cologne bought them on 1 January 1900, and by 1907 all horsecar lines had been electrified or replaced by other services. Additional lines were built until 1912, including Vorortbahnen to surrounding villages outside the city limits. Outside

612-406: A large number of additional high platforms was not financially feasible, other options were investigated. It was deemed most economical to create a second low-floor network and equip the remaining lines with high platforms. Between the stations "Ebertplatz" and "Barbarossaplatz", there are two possible routes. It was decided that the future low-floor lines would be concentrated in the tunnel underneath

680-456: A low-floor light rail network was concentrating four lines on similar routes into a common east–west-corridor in 1994. These lines were quickly equipped with low platforms 35 cm (14 in) above street level on every single station. While there are some stretches that can be described as classic tramway lines, the majority of the east–west-network has been upgraded to a high standard with long sections having segregated right-of-way, justifying

748-484: A traditional appearance but with the same design features and technology as other vehicles, the 70% low floor Flexity Classic requires comparatively less maintenance compared to other Flexity tram models. They are primarily focused on providing high-capacity public transport in densely spaced urban areas . These vehicles are currently used in Adelaide , Dresden , Essen , Frankfurt and Kassel , among others. With

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816-651: Is a customized variant of the Flexity Outlook. Designed as a bi-directional low or high-floor light rail vehicle, the Flexity Swift was conceived for use on high-speed interurban railways and light metros , with different body lengths and the ability to form multiple unit sets and be constructed to meet high crashworthiness standards. These vehicles are currently used in Cologne , Frankfurt , Minneapolis , London , and Manchester , among others. The Flexity Link tram-train has dual voltage capabilities and

884-555: Is being marketed by Bombardier for future orders within North America. Variants of Bombardier's Flexity trams and streetcars have been specially designed for use in certain cities, such as Berlin, Vienna, and Toronto. The Flexity Berlin was developed for the Berlin tram network , and is based on the older Incentro model developed by Adtranz . With a full 100% low floor interior, both uni-directional and bi-directional versions are used with either five or seven sections. The Flexity Wien

952-514: Is compatible with mainline railway regulations (e.g. BOStrab ) that permit operation on both urban tram networks and mainline railways , reducing transport infrastructure costs. Although this particular model is only used in Saarbrücken , a recent order has been made for dual-voltage Flexity Swift vehicles in Karlsruhe , where the tram-train concept was pioneered . The Flexity Freedom

1020-519: Is five-section, air-conditioned, built to the TTC's unique track gauge of 4 ft  10 + 7 ⁄ 8  in ( 1,495 mm ) TTC gauge , and fully compatible with the existing network. They are unique in that they are equipped with both a trolley pole and a pantograph, in order to facilitate the gradual adoption of the pantograph for the TTC's overhead wire system Bombardier has also manufactured other models of tram which they do not place in

1088-433: Is often obstructed by archeologists ' legal rights to dig in all future building sites within the medieval city limits before all heavy construction machinery. Because the light rail network evolved from the tram network instead of replacing it, there were numerous stations served by both light rail and tram vehicles for almost three decades. While high platforms for step less entry into light rail vehicles could be built on

1156-620: Is shared with the S-Bahn line S11. Since 2003, line 15 operates this part of the network. Another major extension came in 1974 with the opening of the Ebertplatz and Nippes tunnels. The north-south portion of the tunnel was an extension of the Innenstadttunnel under Neusser Straße, adding underground stations at Ebertplatz (shared with the west-east tunnel), Lohsestraße , Florastraße , and Neusser Straße/Gürtel . This tunnel

1224-505: Is still in use to this day (2023). Because the Innenstadttunnel was built as an underground tram , it has small curve radii and level junctions at Appellhofplatz and Poststraße. Currently (2022) the tunnel is served by three lines with 10 min headway and one with 5 min headway. In the 1970s, tracks were extended to the commuter town Chorweiler . This extension was the first in Cologne to be built metro-like from

1292-681: Is targeted at the North American market . Like the rest of Bombardier's Flexity models, it is locally made out of 100% low-floor modules, and features the same multiple unit capability as the Flexity Swift, with air conditioning and an easily configurable interior layout. Designed for the Transit City network in Toronto , Kitchener-Waterloo and other LRT projects in Ontario , the model has been selected for Edmonton's Valley Line and

1360-416: Is the length of the platforms. While the first platforms were designed for two coupled 30 m (98 ft) wagons, later the state NRW required space for three or sometimes four Stadtbahnwagen B, which lead to platforms of up to 110 m (360 ft) in length. The usually much shorter overground platforms currently only allow two wagons of collective 58 m (190 ft) length. Another changing factor

1428-603: The Vorgebirgsbahn of the Köln-Bonner Eisenbahnen started serving Barbarossaplatz over Luxemburger Straße in 1898, the Rheinuferbahn used rail tracks of the trams from its start in 1906, beginning the mix of trams and interregional rail. The Köln-Frechen-Benzelrather Eisenbahn , which opened in 1893, was modified from metre-gauge to standard-gauge in 1914, and has been operated by

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1496-510: The Cologne Bonn Region ( Bergisch Gladbach , Bonn , Bornheim , Brühl , Frechen , Hürth , Leverkusen -Schlebusch, Wesseling ). The term Stadtbahn denotes a system that encompasses elements of trams as well as an underground railway network ( U-Bahn ) and interurban rail, even including three lines that are licensed as heavy rail and used by freight trains as well as Stadtbahn vehicles. Two of these lines connect

1564-707: The Cologne Ring road, while high-floor lines would use the tunnel under the Central station. This change was implemented in December 2003, after the high platforms at the Hansaring station were removed. In 2006, the tracks of the Chorweiler station were raised with additional gravel. Since then, all "Ringe" lines are operated with low-floor vehicles. In 2007, Line 6, which had only operated during peak hours,

1632-539: The Deutz Bridge was widened by building another bridge with the same profile to its south, and then moved next to the existing one. With this new construction, the Stadtbahn got a dedicated track through the middle of the bridge. Since 1978 line 16 operates as an overland-line. At the station Marienburg (since renamed to Heinrich-Lübke-Ufer) it diverges from its previous routing to the center of Rodenkirchen to

1700-522: The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS – Rhein-Sieg Transit Authority), formed in 1987 to consolidate the transit authorities in the metropolitan Cologne area and operate a joint fare structure. There are 236 stations along 199 km (124 mi) of tracks, of which 42 are underground in 28 km (17 mi) of tunnels. The Cologne Stadtbahn traces its history to the first horsecar lines that started operating in 1877. Within

1768-418: The train protection system and retrofitting the switches for the smaller wheels of the Stadtbahn vehicles. The line is still operated as a railway under EBO, with mixed freight and passenger services running on parts of it. Line 16 was the first time, that vehicles from Bonn entered Cologne's network. The Innenstadttunnel was continued from the station Friesenplatz in 1985. It diverges grade separated from

1836-537: The 1990s, the city council had decided to only convert part of the network for use with high-floor trains, that has since been upgraded almost completely. The first few lines were converted to low-floor operations in 1994, another few in 2003. This led to the curiosity that at some platforms the earlier-built escalators don't end at platform level, but a few steps above it, as it had been intended to raise those platforms to 90 cm (35 in). Underground construction in downtown Cologne, one of Germany 's oldest cities,

1904-788: The Cologne Stadtbahn to the Bonn Stadtbahn . These lines (16 and 18) are jointly operated by both cities' transport authorities, resulting in both systems and the lines connecting them sometimes collectively referred to as Stadtbahn Rhein-Sieg . The Cologne Stadtbahn is operated by the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) and the Bonn Stadtbahn is operated by the Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB – City of Bonn Utilities Division). The KVB and SWB are members of

1972-459: The Flexity 2 tram is a 100% low-floor vehicle with improved corrosion resistance , impact protection, energy efficiency , and a more spacious interior resulting from the reduction of its sidewall widths. It is also compatible with Bombardier's PRIMOVE conductive battery charging system. These vehicles are currently used in Blackpool , Gold Coast , Basel , and Antwerp , among others. Being of

2040-530: The Flexity family, including the Cobra for Zürich and the Incentro for Nantes and Nottingham . These models are no longer in production and have been succeeded by Flexity vehicles. Alstom Citadis The Alstom Citadis is a family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles built by Alstom . As of 2017 , over 2,300 Citadis trams have been sold and 1,800 tramways are in revenue service throughout

2108-464: The KVB since 1955 using EBO certified vehicles. The integration of the Rheinuferbahn and Vorgebirgsbahn was already planned in the mid-1960s, but had to be put off due to a lack of vehicles that could run on interregional rail and partially tunneled Stadtbahn. As seen in other cities, the changing ideas on efficient traffic systems lead to differing needs for the system. An example of this

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2176-542: The Rheinuferbahn 8 years before, the Vorgebirgsbahn was completely converted to Stadtbahn operations in 1986. Already since the electrification in the 1930s, the trams and Vorgebirgsbahn shared tracks between Barbarossaplatz and Klettenberg. With the conversion to Stadtbahn, the tram lines 10 and 11 were replaced by the Stadtbahn, which meant that the turning loop was replaced by a turning rail. In 1990 to 1992

2244-504: The Rheinuferbahn of the Köln-Bonner Eisenbahnen (Cologne-Bonn railways) which it follows to Bonn. Different to the solution later used in Karlsruhe , the railway was changed to accommodate Stadtbahn vehicles, instead of equipping Stadtbahn vehicles with the technology needed to be used on mainline railways. The Rheinuferbahn was converted to Stadtbahn service by changing its electrification from 1200 V to 750 V, upgrading

2312-515: The bridge. This and the tunnels in Nippes meant that Cologne now had the longest underground/elevated railway networks of German cities that started those systems after World-War 2. The first tunnel to the east of the Rhine was opened in the years 1976 to 1983. After the station Frankfurter Straße had already been lowered in 1964, the ramp to the first part of the tunnel with the station Fuldaer Straße

2380-530: The building of the Innenstadttunnel (city center tunnel) was begun. The tunnel opened in parts between 1968 and 1970 and was designed to be continued later, when more money and higher demand could make it necessary. This was the reason why no traditional U-Bahn (metro) was built in Cologne, which is as of 2023 the largest city in Europe not to have one. Nearly all tunnels completed afterwards aren't new routes, but rather overground sections of existing lines moved to

2448-480: The city center, these lines had segregated right-of-way and were more similar to "real" railroads than to trams. The dense tram network in the city center that had been present before World War II was only partially rebuilt afterwards, and the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) was not linked to important places like Neumarkt and Heumarkt for the time being. This was partly due to the plans to make Cologne

2516-559: The construction of temporary platforms at the Severinstraße station while the actual station gets modernized and connected to the North-Southern tunnel, lines 3 and 4 are Cologne's first HF lines completely equipped with level entrance. The western branch of Line 5 still has two stops (Subbelrather Straße/Gürtel and Nußbaumerstraße, both shared with Line 13) with low platforms, the rest of its stations were made high-floor when

2584-421: The expansion of the network, there's no single point when the tram became the Stadtbahn, and the expansion projects since the building of the Innenstadttunnel will be listed chronologically. The Innenstadt tunnel (English: inner city tunnel ) was opened in several parts from 1968 to 1970. The first part served from Dom/Hbf to Appellhofplatz, reaching the surface through a temporary ramp at Friesenplatz, and in

2652-465: The following standard variants: Citadis X00: Citadis X01 (First generation): Citadis X02 (Second generation): Citadis X03 (Third generation): Citadis X04 (Fourth generation): Citadis X05 (Fifth generation): Like most trams, Citadis vehicles are usually powered by overhead electric wires collected by a pantograph , but the trams in several places do not use pantograph current collection entirely. Other places, such as Toronto , use

2720-442: The following year, the section Appellhofplatz – Barbarossaplatz was added. At the station Appellhofplatz, a triangular junction was built, with the tunnel from Friesenplatz to Dom/Hbf passing under the rest of the railways. In October 1970, the sections Poststraße – Severinsbridge and Dom/Hbf – Breslauer Platz followed, with a temporary ramp built at Breslauer Platz. The ramp at Barbarossaplatz was also intended to only be temporary, but

2788-405: The late night and early morning, as well as on Sundays. On weekends, there is an hourly service throughout the night. Because several lines overlap on the routes through the city center, some stations are served by up to 30 trains per hour in each direction. Severinstr. – Chlodwigplatz – Rodenkirchen (– Sürth) Monday to Friday, 7:00 to 8:00 and 16:30 to 18:00 to Sürth The first step towards

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2856-403: The line from Hans-Böckler-Platz to Venloer Straße/Gürtel, where a connection to S-Bahnhof Ehrenfeld was created, in 1989, and the tunnel to Wolffsohnstraße and surface tracks to Bocklemünd in 1992, where an on-platform transfer to buses can be made. The Ehrenfeld tunnel has multiple differentiating factors from previously built tunnels: It is the first tunnel built with high-floor platforms, and

2924-412: The line runs further to Sürth. Lines 16 and 18 are the longest lines in the network, connecting Cologne to Bonn via railway lines. A list of old routes of lines and lines that stopped service. If a line's route only changed because it was expanded on one end, that change is not listed here. The highest line number ever used on the system was 27 in the 1930s. Due to the lack of an overarching plan on

2992-689: The line was extended into the Butzweilerhof industrial area. Line 13 is also called the "beltway" ( Gürtel ) line because it is the only line that does not touch the city center. Line 13 is also called the Outer Ring line, while Lines 12 and 15 together can be called the inner ring line. Most of the line runs along a series of roads of the same name. The northern part of Line 13 is built as an elevated railway. High-floor platforms are still very rare on this line, because it shares three platforms (Dürener Straße, Wüllnerstraße, Aachener Straße/Gürtel) with

3060-462: The low-floor line 7 and many parts of the platforms are lined with old trees, making the upgrade more difficult. Since the timetable change on 13 December 2015, a section of the north–south rail has been operated by line 17. From Severinstraße it runs through the newly built tunnel to Bonner Wall, after which it joins line 16 at Schönhauser Str. and runs alongside it to Rodenkirchen Bf. In the morning and evening peak (07:00 to 08:00 and 16:30 to 18:00),

3128-558: The middle of the Gürtel, and connects it with the Mülheim Bridge. The Cologne-Neuss railway however is crossed underneath, at which a station (Geldernstraße/Parkgürtel) creates a connection to S-Bahn services. At the approach to the Mülheim Bridge the line joins the also junction-free line from the zoo. To create enough space for climbing the elevation change, the two lines cross at the station Slabystraße before joining farther along

3196-428: The mixed use of trams and Stadtbahnen only allowed for low-floor platforms with a height of 35 cm (14 in), which meant that the high-floor Stadtbahnen had to be (and still are) equipped with stairs. In 1985 the first part of the network was built that was only accessible for high-floor trains with a platform height of 90 cm (35 in). Since the summer of 2006, no more trams are in use in Cologne. But in

3264-565: The need to install special infrastructure. The Citadis trams in Nice operate off a set of nickel metallic hydride batteries in two large open spaces where overhead wires would be an eyesore. This has since been superseded by a supercapacitor -based energy storage system (SRS) which is in use in Rio de Janeiro (alongside APS), Kaohsiung, and along a new line in Nice. The Regio-Citadis can also be built as

3332-564: The networks in France and in Sydney, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires in outer areas, but the Dubai vehicles are the first to employ APS for its entire passenger length (although they are still equipped with pantographs for use in the maintenance depot). Another option is to use on-board batteries to store electrical power, allowing brief periods of catenary-free operation without

3400-414: The order which made most sense to relieve traffic at the time. Because of this and the financial insecurity if the state or federal government would finance more projects, many ramps going from the tunnels to the overground were built only provisorily to enable a later continuation of the tunnels, but no underground stations were designed to become multi-level stations serving different directions. Initially

3468-663: The outer branches, stations in the city center had to have low platforms to support trams as well. The introduction of low-floor technology in the early 1990s promised wheelchair-accessible entry throughout the network without having to build several hundred high platforms. To allow the introduction of low-floor trains without having to demolish existing high platforms, the network was divided into two sub-networks of different floor heights. On weekdays, all lines are served in 5 to 10 minute intervals from 6 am to 8 pm, with little or no service between around 1 am and about 4.30 am, and usually 15 minute intervals in

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3536-407: The platforms were converted to high-floor platforms (except for Barbarossaplatz). Since October 1987 a tunnel exists under the Cologne Ring . It continues the tunnel at from Hansaring and crosses under the lines 1 and 7 at Rudolfplatz. At Friesenplatz it crosses under the Innenstadttunnel which forms the currently (2022) only completely underground station junction which is a bit messy because of

3604-412: The stacked side-platforms. At Zülpicher Platz the tunnel ends in a ramp to the surface. The station Rudolfplatz was also designed as a bunker. The station Christophstraße/Mediapark was the location of the worst accident in the recent history of the Stadtbahn in 1999, when a CitySprinter prototype hit a standing train at 50 km/h (31 mph). The tunnel through Ehrenfeld was opened in two parts:

3672-567: The start. In 1971, the first 2.3-kilometre-long (1.4 mi) section was constructed on an exclusive right-of-way. It starts from existing tram lines to the north, crosses under the Militärringsstraße and over the A1 to the underground Heimersdorf station. The line ended in a temporary loop about 200 m (660 ft) farther to the south. In 1973, the extension was completed at an underground terminus at Köln-Chorweiler station , which

3740-478: The term Stadtbahn was later created. Similar concepts to separate rail and car traffic were later used in many cities in North Rhine-Westphalia and adjacent foreign cities ( Brussels , Antwerp ). The term Stadtbahn is not regularly used, as the system is mostly referred to as U-Bahn and sometimes Straßenbahn (tram) by officials and the KVB, and most underground stations are also marked by

3808-486: The term "low-floor light rail" ( Niederflurstadtbahn ). In 2006, during the 2006 FIFA World Cup , route 1 was extended to Weiden-West, via Schulstraße, which connects to the RheinEnergieStadion . In 2007, Line 8, which previously operated during peak hours, stopped service. All its runs were integrated into the schedules of Lines 7 and 9. When it became clear to city authorities that the construction of

3876-421: The tunnel to Ehrenfeld at Hans-Böckler-Platz/Bahnhof West where elevators go directly from the underground station's platforms to the ones of Köln West station . The tunnel then turns north beneath the green belt and reaches the surface at the station Gutenbergstraße. During the construction of the tunnel under Venloer Straße the tunnel was used by lines 3 and 4, while usually it is only served by line 5. Like

3944-492: The tunnel. The west-east portion of the tunnel put trains under the Cologne Ring for the first time. From west to east, trains went underground at a temporary ramp just past Christophstraße station , served new underground stations at Hansaring , Ebertplatz (shared with the north-south tunnel) and Reichenspergerplatz , before returning to the surface at a ramp west of Zoo/Flora station . Turning loops were built at both ends. The two lines meet at Ebertplatz station, which

4012-527: The underground. Beneficial to the expansion of the Stadtbahn were the Vorortbahnen that mostly ran on the right side of the Rhine and usually had their own right-of-ways . Another advantage was the previous use of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide trains instead of the usual 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) other cities used for their trams, which made the adjustment for the new 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in) wide Stadtbahnwagen B easier. After

4080-595: The war. A decision was taken to dedicate the Hohenzollern Bridge solely to interregional services, while the new Severins Bridge was only finished in 1959, allowing a restructuring of tram lines. Already in 1956, the transportation plan of the city council intended a newly built tunnel through the city center in the north–south direction. An overground routing along the Nord-Süd-Fahrt (North-South-Road) would not have served many central areas and

4148-621: The world, with operations in all six inhabited continents. An evolution of Alstom's earlier TFS vehicle, most Citadis vehicles are made in Alstom's factories in La Rochelle , Reichshoffen and Valenciennes , France , and in Barcelona , Spain , and Annaba , Algeria . The Citadis family includes both partial and fully low-floor trams and LRVs, in versions with three (20x), five (30x), seven (40x), and nine (50x) sections. It comprises

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4216-471: Was built there. The subsequent tunnels in Kalk , Vingst and Deutz followed in 1980, 1981 and 1983. The branch to Königsforst joins at station Kalk Kapelle without a junction by crossing under. Between the stations Deutz Technische Hochschule and Bf Deutz/Messe a small underground parking facility was created, and in the station Kalk Post a bunker was built. At the same time as the tunnels were built,

4284-410: Was considered a priority because Neusser Straße is a relatively narrow main street and was the most used part of the network outside the city center at the time. Because of financing problems, the tunnel ended just before Mollwitzstraße station instead of continuing to the split of the line at Wilhelm-Sollman-Straße station, and the ramp was built as a temporary solution, enabling the later continuation of

4352-524: Was designed to minimize the number of times trains would need to crossover tracks to maximize the efficiency of the station and tunnels. At the same time as the tunnels in Nippes, an elevated railway was finished for line 13 following the Gürtel , which at the time was planned to be extended from Bilderstöckchen to the Mülheim Bridge . The line starts at Nußbaumerstraße up to where line 13 runs in

4420-600: Was developed for the Vienna tram network . Derived from the Flexity Berlin with elements of the Flexity 2 line, it is a five-section, 100% low-floor, uni-directional tram with a floor height of 215 millimeters, permitting sidewalk-level boarding in line with the Siemens ULF . A derivative of the Flexity Outlook was created for the Toronto streetcar system to replace the aging CLRVs and ALRVs built by UTDC . It

4488-516: Was rejected. The tunnel was not planned as a U-Bahn as in many other cities, but rather as an underground tram . This meant a design similar to overground trams with small turning radii, short distances between stops and low-floor platforms. At the end of the tunnels the trains were supposed to run as trams on the streets again, but in many places the trams were already separated from car traffic anyways. For this type of system – tunnels in highly congested areas, elsewhere mostly on or next to streets –

4556-501: Was replaced by additional trains of Line 15. The high-floor network consists of all lines operated by "classic" light rail vehicles with a floor height of roughly one meter above street level. Since separation from the low-floor network, high platforms are being built in stations in the city center at one or two per year. As of 2022, the most frequented stations have been upgraded except for the Barbarossaplatz station . Since

4624-498: Was the routing itself: the curve radii were enlarged and at-grade crossings avoided. The outer parts of the tunnel network are designed for up to 70 km/h (43 mph), but the distance between stations is more similar to the previous tram network, which is why the top speed is rarely reached. There is no plan for the final state of the network as in the U-Bahn of Berlin , Munich or Nuremberg . The lines and tunnels were built in

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