Could UK Tram-Train Trial open new Line in rail branch solutions?

A pilot project just authorised by the British government might make a significant contribution to re-defining rail technologies for shorter and more lightly used lines. Daniel Wright considers the opportunities

Daniel Wright

13 July 2012

CAF Urbos 3 light rail vehicle runs in Seville – it can store energy from overhead wires and then run on the charge for 1.5km. Below: France is beginning to explore tram train operation with the project in Mulhouse.

DCTA has just purchased 11 diesel-electric GTW 2/6 articulated rail vehicles from Stadler to run its A Train service in Denton, Texas on traditional rail tracks.

The Karlsruhe tram trains have long been admired as a better way of operating branch lines. Middle and right: Arriva Trains Wales operates its Cardiff Bay branch line using a 50-year old diesel unit, as does Chiltern Railways for its Princes Risborough branch.

The announcement by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) that it is to press ahead with a long-mooted pilot scheme to test the Tram-Train concept in South Yorkshire finds it hard to explain why the government really thinks a trial of an already proven technology is necessary. After all, systems where the line between a tramway and a suburban railway has been blurred to achieve a new form of connectivity are now well established in Europe, and even in the UK. Perhaps the British project has...