This link for a 630kb file named 'APS1.mp3'. Also heard is the announcement for Bergonié tramstop.
Opening in December 2003 the Bordeaux, France tramway became the first 'second generation' tramway to use the 'APS' or 'Alimentation par Sol' (ground power) road surface power supply system. As with many other cities Bordeaux had previously used trams - its former first generation system closed in 1958. However having seen how other French cities had benefited from modern tramway systems it realised that closure had not been the wisest decision and wanted them back.
Bordeaux was also one of a number of cities which had previously used an under-road conduit power supply system ('caniveau' in French) and having liked it local people wanted to follow the same principle again on the new tramway. However the caniveau was declared to be unsafe and overhead wires were proposed instead. After complaints from both the public and the French Ministry of Culture a modern-day version was developed whereby the conductors (powered rails) are on the surface with electrical power being collected by skates located under the tramcar.
Back in 2003 when the tram system first opened there was 12km of APS powered tramway on a network of 3 tramlines of approximately 21km in total length; extensions opened since then and scheduled to open in 2007 will raise the total length to approximately 43km, with even more extensions under consideration. Some sections of APS are located in neighbouring communities towards the outer edges of the tram system - and not just in Bordeaux city centre as some sources suggest.
The power rails are typically 11 metres in length, and comprise of an 8 metre segment that is actually powered flanked on either side by 1.5 metre neutral sections. Effectively this means that when installed in to the ground the combined length of the neutral sections are 3 metres. Each tram is equipped with two power collection skates, next to which are antennae that send radio signals to energise the powered rail segments as the tram passes over them. For reasons of safety at any one time no more than two consecutive powered rail segments under the trams should actually be 'alive', with variations to this seeing automated safety cut-outs being activated. These then switch off the offending power rail segment(s) - so that it/they will not switch on again - until being reset by a maintenance person. This can, and at times has, seen trams becoming stranded on unpowered sections of track.
The power rail units are formed from fibre reinforced polymer composite pultrusions which contain integral duct banks that carry all power, ground and control cabling, as well as the vehicle detection loop for that section. They also have a spare cable duct that could potentially be leased to local fibre optic or coax cable service providers. Pultrusion is a high pressure, high temperature matched metal die continuous moulding process in which thermosetting resins and reinforcing fibre are brought together in a controlled manner and drawn through a die; the resin reacts and a constant cross-sectioned profile having great dimensional accuracy and consistent composition results.
Before use in Bordeaux the APS system was tested (and proven viable) on a short section of reserved track tramway in the French city of Marseilles. Nevertheless teething problems saw the system being so temperamental that at one stage the local Mayor issued an ultimatum that if reliability could not be guaranteed then the APS would have to be replaced with overhead wires. Although things have improved in October 2005 it was announced that 1km of APS equipped tramway is to be converted to overhead wires. Media reports suggest that if (and once) the system proves its reliability then there will be a string of other cities looking to use this power supply system. To this end, and despite the teething problems, the city of Bordeaux has agreed to help market the system - in return for a financial kickback from any future sales.
Problems have been variously described as including issues with water logging when the water does not disperse / flow away quickly enough after heavy rains and that possibly the safety cut-outs have been too quick to operate with issues about restoring power afterwards. Issues with waterlogging is not a new phenomena - for instance the British-style conduit system which was initially used in Madras, India, failed because it could not cope with monsoon flooding of the conduit.
Despite initial hopes that the APS system would be cost competitive with overhead wires - and far cheaper than the older type of conduit - it seems that the fixed infrastructure is roughly 3 - 3½ times more expensive to install and 50 times more expensive to operate. Apparently the first few years of operation saw 500,000 euros being spent annually on bus replacements for when the APS system suffered temporary failures. In addition to the cost of the street infrastructure the APS power collection skates and associated wiring, etc are reported to add about 100,000 euro to the cost of the tramcars. Because of the cost some English-speaking commentators have suggested that 'APS' stands for 'Amazingly Pricey System'.
Additional images (to those shown below) of the Bordeaux tramway and APS can be found on the Light Rail Transit Organisation (LRTA) website, http://lrta.org - - from the main index select 'photogalleries', and from the country list (further down the page) select France. Images displayed include a section of APS test track (on ballasted formation where the power rail and running rails stand proud of the surface) and the pick-up shoes under the tram.
The LRTA website is always worth visiting for news and information about light rail and trams. In addition to the website they produce a monthly magazine which can be obtained at some newsagents / other retailers or (perhaps the best way) by becoming a member of this fine organisation! Membership details can be found on the website, and it is even possible to join on-line - http://lrta.org (link to an external site which will open in a new window).
In summer 2006 it was announced that two new French tram systems would be using APS over part of their networks. These will be Angers and Reims. A couple of months later another French city was added to the list, this being Orléans, which will use APS on a section of their second tram line.
In Reims APS will be used in the historical city centre over a 2km portion of the 11.2km line. There will be 22 stations, the trams will be delivered between October 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 with passenger services being scheduled to commence at the end of 2010.
Angers had been planning to use battery-electric operation, however in a decision which will be confirmed in 2007 (when all legal formalities have been performed) it has decided to use APS instead. The changed plans are now for approximately 1.5km of APS trackage which will be installed in the city centre and the suburban community of Avrillé. The new line is expected to open in 2009.
In Orléans APS will be used on tracks approximately 980m in length preserving the visual integrity of the cathedral and the perspective of the Jeanne d'Arc street. The tram line will be around 12 km long, feature 26 stations and is expected to enter revenue service in 2011.
If ever it were to happen the proposed use of APS here in Britain would pose serious legal issues - this is because the power rails would need to be set higher in the roadway than is permitted.
Section 25 of the 1870 Tramways Act, as originally enacted, requires that the tramrails be laid and maintained in such manner that the uppermost surface of the rail shall be on a level with the surface of the road and although there have been some amendments to this legislation this requirement essentially remains today. So in the event of a tramway promoter suggesting using APS here in Britain then their enabling legislation would either have to also amend other, existing, tramway legislation or it would have to include special enabling powers, with exemptions, as required. Of course some people would say that the 1870 legislation applies to the rails used by the wheels, and not power rails.... a debate which is for lawyers to discuss.
Another issue would be one of cost - getting past the British Government's very stringent financial criteria would probably prove be an even bigger hurdle than amending legislation.
As an aside, the 1870 Tramways Act made this requirement after a street tramway in London using a type of rail with a three quarter inch step proud of the road surface was found to constitute a public nuisance - although apparently a similar installation did not create a nuisance in Birkenhead. By enacting this legislation Parliament decided that proud rails constitute a greater nuisance to users of the public highway than depressed rails. It is a matter for conjecture whether present-day cyclists, who sometimes complain of their front wheels falling into the groove in the tramrail which is used by the flange on the tramwheel, would consider that the depression in the road surface which results from the groove constitutes a greater nuisance than a small raised flange.
In December 2006 it was revealed that in the past year the number of daily journeys on the Bordeaux tramway system had soared by as much as 26% - reaching 180,000 - this being a very commendable 90% of the projected 200,000 daily journeys for phase 1. In addition, it was revealed that the three tramlines are now carrying more than the entire Bordeaux bus system.
Also revealed is that reliability has reached 99%, which is especially significant in light of the teething problems with the APS ground power system.
Three mono soundclips recorded using a mobile telephone. All come from trams on Line B.
Passengers travelling in the correct part of the tramcar can hear the APS power collection shoes, this is especially noticeable at the transition points between the sections of powered rail and the neutral sections, and where they pass over the insulating joint boxes The first two soundclips demonstrate this.
This link for a 630kb file named 'APS1.mp3'. Also heard is the announcement
for Bergonié tramstop.
This link for a 344kb file named 'APS2.mp3'. Also heard is the announcement
for Berrière St-Genès tramstop.
This link is for a 745kb file named 'Arrival-Quinconces.mp3'.
The third soundclip comes from the front of the tram, so the APS shoes are not heard. Instead sounds heard here include: gongs to encourage pedestrians to stay clear of the tram / not to be too near the tramstop platform edge, the 'rumble' of wheels passing over
a crossing (for the future extension of Line C), 'squeaking' of the tramcar as it turns right and the 'next tramstop' announcement.
These photographs include views from various locations along the Bordeaux tram system. However they are more of a collection of images than an attempt at a detailed tour of the system. For instance, there are no images of the trams on Line A crossing the River Garonne on the pont de pierre.
Important Note RE: Place Names... the same capitalisation of first letters is being adopted as per the streetmap supplied by my hotel. So, whilst tram stops have the initial letters capitalised, place names are generally all in lower case.
In Bordeaux the transition between APS and overhead wires (and vice versa) is manually initiated by the tram driver whilst making station stops. The process takes just a few seconds, so is usually completed within normal station dwell times. According to the manufacturer
it is also possible for this process to be automated, allowing the transition to be accomplished with the vehicle moving.
Not shown is the actual changeover process whereby the pantograph rises or lowers (mainly because I am so used to seeing similar in London that I did not make photographing it in Bordeaux a priority!) Although this may seem novel to some viewers, for those who live
in cities where there are already rail services which include 3rd rail and overhead wire operation along different stretches of the route so seeing the power supply changeover, with the pantograph rising and falling as appropriate, is 'nothing special'.
The list of locations where trains use a combination of electric rails and overhead wires for different sections of the same route includes London - several suburban routes plus Chunnel Tunnel 'Eurostar', New York City, Boston, Oslo and Amsterdam. Some of these are 'heavy' rail
mainline services, others are urban / metro / subway services whilst yet others involve 'light' rail / trams. On some systems the changeover is carried out whilst stationary; on others it is 'on the fly'.
In the centre of Bordeaux the trams travel along a lawn track reservation parallel to a roadway and the left bank of the Garonne river. To the south of Quinconces this is part of Line C, whilst to the north of Quinconces this will be part of Line B.
Presumeably the local grass is of a different nature, this is because it is less dense / features more bald patches than lawn trackage seen in other cities elsewhere in Europe.
In common with many other French (and beyond) cities in Bordeaux the trams use dedicated traffic signals which to avoid confusion feature different aspects than those used by the general traffic.
Also seen here are the lower level repeater traffic signals placed at a height where they may be more easily seen by car drivers and cyclists which are a feature of French traffic signalling systems.
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