CarGoTram
Encyclopedia
CarGoTram
built from 2000
numbers built two trains (5 EMU
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...

 + 7 middle carriages)
producer Schalker Eisenhütte
Maschinenfabrik GmbH
overall length 59.400 mm
width 2.200 mm
max. power 20×45 kW = 900 kW
max. speed 50 km/h
empty weight 90,0 t

The CarGoTram is a freight tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

. It supplies Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...

's "Transparent Factory
Transparent Factory
Transparent Factory is the English name of an automobile production plant owned by German carmaker Volkswagen, designed by architect Gunter Henn, and opened in 2002. The original German name is Gläserne Manufaktur...

" with parts for their automobile production.

History

The idea of building a "transparent factory" for Volkswagen automobile production in Dresden arose in 1997. On 3 March 2000 the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG (DVB AG, Dresden Public Transport Co.) and the Volkswagen Automobil-Manufaktur Dresden GmbH (VW Car-Manufacture Dresden Ltd.) signed a contract for the CarGoTram. Movement of parts from the logistics center in Dresden Friedrichstadt
Friedrichstadt (Dresden)
Friedrichstadt is a neighborhood in central Dresden, Germany. A factory district in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is known as the home of the founders of the artistic association known as Die Brücke.- History :...

 (Dresden Frederickstown) to the new factory would be managed using a tram running over infrastructure normally used to move passengers. The route from the logistics center to the factory runs straight through the inner city of Dresden so use of trucks would cause an increase in truck traffic.

Two CarGoTrams were built by the Schalker Eisenhütte Maschinenfabrik GmbH Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....

 (Schalke Steel Machines Ltd.), each at a cost of 6.5 million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...

 Deutsche Mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...

. The DVB AG is responsible for the transportation and security of the freight.

The freight tram was introduced officially in Dresden on 16 November 2000 and had its first test run on 3 January 2001.

Route and Cycle


CarGoTram runs every hour. If necessary, it can run on 40 minute cycles. There are several routes possible. The main route goes from the GVZ (Güterverkehrszentrum, goods logistics center) in Friedrichstadt via Postplatz (Post Office Square) and Grunaer Straße (Gruna Street) to the Straßburger Platz (Strasbourg Square) and finally into the factory. Alternatively, the tram can run via the main station (or other routes) in the case of congestion.

Technology

The CarGoTram is a bidirectional vehicle consisting of 5 segments. The standard formation is three freight units and two combination freight/control units. The control cars have less capacity (7500 kg) than the middle cars (15000 kg), because of space devoted to the driver’s cab.
Total capacity is the equivalent of three motor trucks (214 m³).

Running gear for the tram was recycled overhauled parts from out-of-service Tatra trams. The bodies were newly built.

All axles of the control car as well as the middle cars are driven.

External links


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