Combino
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The Combino is a low floor tram produced by Siemens Transportation Systems (formerly DUEWAG). The first prototype was produced in 1996 at the Duewag works in Düsseldorf, however the trams are currently made in Krefeld-Uerdingen. Because of its modular design, the Combino was one of the most successful tram types for a while.
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[edit] Use of the Combino world-wide
Around 500 trams went into service in the following cities:
- Germany
- Augsburg
- Düsseldorf (NF8/NF10)
- Erfurt
- Freiburg
- Nordhausen
- Potsdam (16, 38 cancelled)
- Ulm
- Rest of Europe
- Rest of the World
[edit] Technical specifications
The tram is largely made out of aluminium, with a welded underframe to which the body framework is bolted in sections, which means that the Combino can easily be adopted to different lengths, widths and gauges. The length of the trams varies from 19 m (Nordhausen "Duo" and Melbourne D1) to a world record 54 m (Budapest), accommodating between 100 and 250 passengers. All versions are designed to have a 300 mm floor height and a 10 tonne axle load. It can be built as a one-way or a two-way vehicle, and it is also produced as DuoCombino with an additional diesel propulsion system.
[edit] 2004 - Callback due to flaws in construction
On March 12, 2004, Siemens admitted to problems concerning the stability of the car bodies and, as a measure of precaution, instructed all public transportation services to take all Combinos with a mileage of more than 120,000 km out of service. Torsion forces generated in S-curves were much higher than anticipated, leading to cracks around the articulations between the car modules. Subsequently, hairline cracks were found in the joints of the aluminium bodies, which could cause the roof to collapse in the case of an accident.
On April 12, Siemens admitted that the Combinos had been built according to the specification of a wrong technical standard. Siemens put provisions of more than €300 million into its balance sheet, but some analysts still expect a higher fallout.
Siemens launched three stage process of rebuilding the 454 modules affected. This relieves forces on the body modules and reinforces the modules to give an expected 30-year life.[1]. The cost of the rebuild programme was put at €400m.
[edit] Potsdam
In 1997, the public transportation authorities of the city of Potsdam were the first to purchase Combino cars. The advantages of its low-floor technology were stressed during the introduction. Until 2009, a total of 48 cars were to be bought.
The order from Potsdam was of great importance for advertising the Combino in other cities. Cars from Potsdam were frequently used for presentation.
After a short period of service, many inhabitants of Potsdam noticed noises during the operation of the cars louder than those of the previously used Tatra cars. In March 2004, the sixteen Potsdam cars were taken out of service. As a replacement, several Tatra cars which had been given to museums were taken back into service. The shortage was aggravated by the fact that several old cars had been sold to Hungary just a month before.
In June 2004, Potsdam and Siemens "amicably" declared that the 32 outstanding cars were not going to be delivered. This decision is likely to have consequences for other cities.
[edit] Amsterdam
In June 2004, the first Amsterdam Combinos passed the mileage threshold of 120,000 km. Those trams were taken out of service. Earlier, Siemens technicians had identified stress fractures in the door segments of two of Amsterdam's oldest cars. But, according to Siemens, those turned out not to be dangerous, which is why the cars continued to be used. In the end of April, it was decided not to call upon the twelve cars which were still outstanding at that time.
Siemens is currently experimenting with a new model in Amsterdam, the Combino Supra (Combino 2091). In September, it turned out that 32 of the 48 oldest Combinos had cracks in the floor segments. Siemens is expected to patch up these trams temporarily. A structural solution for the construction flaw has been announced for September 2004. Beginning in 2005, a two-year program will be started to fix the cars. All Amsterdam cars are to be brought to the plant in Germany where their hulls are to be strengthened.
[edit] Poznań
Poznań announced in 2002 a tender for low floor trams. Siemens won the contract with Combino. Poznań ordered 14 trams, each consisting of five modules, three double doors and three bogies, identical to the Amsterdam version. The first Combino entered service at the end of 2003. Due to flaws in construction, not all trams were in active service. An agreement between Poznań and Siemens AG provided that the city would pay the fraction (31%) of trams' cost only after the refit of all 14 Combinos. Combinos are usually used on the Poznański Szybki Tramwaj (Poznań Fast Tram) (light rail), that is on lines 14, 15 and 16.
[edit] Combino Supra
The current Combino model (Combino MkI) will be no longer produced. For the cities which have already ordered Combinos, such as Budapest (Hungary) and Almada (Portugal), Siemens will provide trams based on an older ADtranz design, under the new name Combino Supra. The new Combinos will have thin stainless steel rather than aluminium carbodies. Siemens now also wants to sell the Viennese Ultra Low Floor (ULF), another 100%-low-floor model, to other cities. The first two Combino Supras were delivered March 14, 2006 to Budapest.
After serious initial teething problems, which involved door mechanism malfunctions that led to a recall of all Budapest Combino trams by Siemens, those trams were in a whole regular service during 2006. After they had beed repaired Budapest's government decided that they would send them back to Siemes. But this due to contracts didn't happen. The local public transport company began using them in 2007 and now they are working successfully again.
[edit] Gallery
 Freiburg Combino on grassed track. |
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 Combino tram in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany. |
[edit] See also
