1. General definitions and benefits
A tram-train is a tramway which, with certain technical adaptations, is capable of running on both the tramway tracks of an urban network and the tracks of a rail network where traditional passenger and freight trains still operate.
It's not an entirely new idea: as far back as the early 20th century, a number of inter-city tramway and railroad companies in the USA agreed to share their tracks over limited distances, in the interests of economy.
The advantages of the tram-train formula are manifold. In conurbations that are not necessarily very large, it creates direct links from the region to city centers without changing modes of transport, and avoids the long walk from the train to the nearest streetcar station.
For intercity services with relatively short distances between...
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General definitions and benefits
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Standards
Main competent bodies
AFNOR: Association Française de Normalisation
IEC: International Electrotechnical Commission
UIC: International Union of Railways
DIN: Deutsches Institut für Normung
ISO: International Organization for Standardization
- Railway applications – Pantographs. - NF EN 50-206-2 - 5-2000 ...
Directory
European tram-train manufacturers
Alstom (F) ex-Alsthom, resulting from the merger in 1925 of Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques and Société Thomson-Houston from General Electric (USA) Trams built at La Rochelle (F), Reichshoffen (F), Barcelona (E), Savigliano (I), Salzgitter (D), Chorzow (PL)
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