REPORT
ALICANTE TESTS THE TRAMWAY
COSTA MARTINEZ VERDU
Alicante has decided to put in release the tramway constructed by Siemens named Combino, in order that the citizens of Alicante descovered the great differences that modern tramways offer in front of the ones where they travelled various decades ago.
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The tramway has been perfectly adapted to the Maritime Parade in Alicante City. |
The Consellería of Public Works and the Council of Alicante have decided to test this rail system with the intention of substituting the actual trains of narrow rail by this modern system, if this project is accepted. They have decided to arrange the line Alicante-Denia in order that the diesel tramway circulated- electrics that would circulate with electric tendits from the locality of Alicante to El Campello; and from here to Denia they would circulate through the actual stretch of the trenet. In addition, they have thought to construct two urban lines to link the city of Alicante and the suburbs.
The project, that is trying to desvelate the technical and exploitation characteristics that will have the future tramway of Alicante, has been the result of various studies asked by the Consellería of Transport about the Future Plann of Metropolitan Transport of Alicante. In that sense, the last 13th of November, many public and private companies signed an agreement to costruct this circuit of tramway, leaving its managment and coordination of the explitation to the Ferrocarrils of the Generalitat of Valencia (F.G.V.).
The experimental stretch begins in Puerta of El Mar and finishes in La Marina station, circulating through the reserved plataform specially built for this experiment. From here on, the route continues to Albufera Playa, using the rail of the train with narrow line, already existing nowadays.
Ferrocarrils of the Generalitat Valenciana has modernized the interior and the mechanism the eight automotors Man used in the service of Alicante and Denia.
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The tramway makes three stops, placing in plataforms of only 27 centimetres high. In addition to this, the stops have ramps to facilitate the access to desabled people.
In relation to the plataform, the rail of the line are stucked in a plastic material that absorve the vibrations and reduces great part of the noise.
The tramway that makes the first experiment in the circuit is the Combino, a prototype constructed by Siemens has surpassed a lot of proves of security and functioning, after having been tested along more than 50.000 kilometres through some european cities.
The Combino uses the same rail than the trenet between the station of La Marina and Albufera Playa.
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Among its most important characteristics destacate the first floor, that when
placed in the stop station is at the same high than the platform, what makes
easier the coming of desabled people.
In relation to the security, this prototype is provided with windows of security,
not letting that, in case of accident, the passangers or the driver suffered
damages.
More than 70 cities in the world, such as Amsterdam, Hamburf, Friburg, Bonn,
Denver (Colorado), Dusseldorf, Bochum, Ginebra, Basilea, Valencia...among others,
have tramways with the technology of Siemens.
After more than a century with tramways, the first Combino circulate nowadays
in the German city of Postdamm.
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