Cheers everyone…

 

I may have mentioned before that LVB have committed themselves to renewing their tram and bus inventory, which process has begun taking shape by the end of 2016. Concerning our new trams, with the procurement contract having been signed on 26 March, 2015, Polish bus and (more recently) tram builder Solaris had been declared the winning bidder, having proposed a 20-wheel, four-segment articulated vehicle from their Tramino series. Per common practice in Germany, this tram is referred to as NGT10, which quite simply means "low floor articulated unit with ten wheelsets." At present, a total of 41 of these units is intended for procurement until 2020, the goal being withdrawing our Tatras from timetabled service entirely and also displacing the smaller NGT8 trams from the mid-1990s from those lines where they are no longer sufficient due to lack of passenger space.

 

Let me now first take a bit of a step back to December as on the morning of the 21st, NGT10 1001 was delivered at our Heiterblick Technical Centre. All interested staff had been invited to attend, which especially those of us drivers known to be nerds did in force!

 

 

 

The oversIze transport carrying 1001 had departed Poznań on 19 December, and since it was permitted to travel at night only, needed to pause near Frankfurt-upon-Oder during the daylight hours of the 20th. Dutch haulier van der Vlist has been contracted for conducting these transfers, there not being too many hauliers equipped for shipping tram vehicles to begin with!

 

Having reached Leipzig by 2.10 am and entered Heiterblick shortly after 6 am, unloading procedures began by 6.40 am in sharply frosty weather.

 

 

1001 was first towed inside the workshop for warming up and activation, and eventually rolled back out a few minutes past 8.30 am on what turned out to be a gloriously sunny day.

 

 

As it was expected that 1001 would commence route and certification tests well ahead of 1002's delivery, the unit was camouflaged as a "test mule". However, 1001 did not leave Heiterblick as of yet due to plan changes, carrying out initial trials within the premises only. It is expected to sortie for actual route trials within the next two weeks at the latest. It is likely that 1002, which was delivered during the night of 8/9 February, will be able to support the mandatory trial and certification period also.

 

As curiosity and expectations continue to run high among our staff, it was decided to arrange for a walk-on presentation of 1001 this Friday, as 1002 had been dropped off at the Exhibition Centre for the NGT10's first public appearance as part of the House and Garden Fair which began yesterday.

 

 

For visitors wishing to travel from Angerbrücke, transport was provided in the shape of Solaris Urbino IV 18 14167/L-DE 1019, which belongs to a batch of 25 bendies ordered in July 2016 for replacement of mainly older generation Solaris Urbino standard buses no longer meeting current emission standards. Also, current procurement plans call for increased use of articulated buses rather than standard buses in order to provide additional passenger capacity.

 

 

 

 

While 1002 was being prepared for its public roll-out at the House and Garden Fair which opened yesterday, 1001 will retain its test mule camouflage for the time being, which I suppose may also offer a bit of additional protection against minor blemishes. With the NGT10s still being intended to replace the non-trailer capable NGT8s and the Tatras on Lines 4 and 10 in the first stage, we changed the destination signage between these two lines during this presentation.

 

 

 

 

With the stretch of Teslastraße outside the workshops proper being part of the Heiterblick premises operationally, 1001 was taken around the block several times…

 

 

 

 

…with a Solaris driver in control of the vehicle. From this first ride-along impression, short as it may have been, running characteristics appeared decent enough to me, and I'm looking forward to eventually receiving type rating for the NGT10 myself!

 

 

 

 

 

Turning another round signed as Line 10!

 

 

 

 

Coloured LED stripes are provided to inform passengers of doors being unlocked when lit green, or red when being closed. This is a feature also found on several other contemporary light rail stock, such as the TW3000 LRVs for Hanover or the C2 Series underground sets for Munich.

 

Also note the white LED destination signs, which are presently becoming increasingly popular over the previously common amber displays due to being better legible in bright sunlight.

 

 

 

 

A feature novel for Leipzig trams is the provision of rear view cameras in lieu of traditional mirrors. Also note the downward facing camera, which we were told is intended to ease judging lateral distance in confined space situations such as those caused by stupidly parked cars.

 

 

 

 

Inside the cab, a triple split screen will display the external camera images. The third camera is located above Door 6 at the rear end.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, these holding brackets on the forward face of the instrument panel will simplify carrying auxiliary sign plates, as used during scheduled diversions or other events affecting regular services.

 

 

 

 

What I found especially interesting is that a dashcam will actually be provided in order to augment trip recorder data in the event of traffic accidents with tram involvement. For the time being, these cameras will remain inactive, pending a possible modification of privacy laws which, as I understood, is judged likely to occur in the not-too-distant future.

 

 

 

 

The auxiliary rear control panel.

 

 

 

 

The exterior door openers felt agreeably robust to my touch!

 

 

 

 

 

The Jacobs bogie in the middle of the tram required that hinged skirting panels be provided in order to provide sufficient rotational clearance in tight curves, with the minimum curve radius on our network being 17 m at present.

 

 

 

 

While the configuration of two parallel windscreen wipers seemed unusual initially and did cause concern regarding sufficient and gap-free coverage, I could ascertain that by moving alternately across the centreline, the wipers will indeed cover the principal viewing angle completely.

 

 

 

 

Flat LED stripes serve as lateral turn signals.

 

 

 

 

I also was positively impressed by the large LED lighting panels mounted to the ceiling, almost creating the impression of skylights extending along the entire unit. The interior lighting can be electronically tinted to create a "cool" ambience in summer, and a "warm" one in the cold months.

 

 

 

 

 

Except for a number of traditional buttons for key functions such as door release and locking, turn signals, point control and troubleshooting (and, of course, power and brake control), all man-machine interaction will be through touch screens. Do note that in addition to the usual central door release and locking circuit, it is possible to open and close every single door individually through the bottom row of soft keys on the central view screen.

 

My impression was that the touch screens responded quickly and reliably to inputs, and I noticed that audio feedback is being provided by way of suitable "click" sounds.

 

 

 

 

The controller handle is identical to that on the NGT12, with the handle having to be rotated 90 degrees to the right to serve as the principal deadman switch.

 

You may notice the smallish microphone to the left of the instrument panel. I was able to ascertain that this microphone provides such good amplification that in order to make announcements or to communicate via radio, it is completely feasible to just speak normally from your regular seating position without having to lean over.

 

 

 

 

The troubleshooting panel is, broadly, designed to be similar to that of the NGT12, as are the icons used on all mechanical buttons. The key switch for enabling holding brake backup release has yet to be installed, it seems.

 

 

 

 

As you may be able to judge, the seating position is agreeably high, too!

 

 

 

 

Seat adjustment is completely electric, with the plan being to provide a chip tag with the ideal seating position for every single driver in order to have the seat set itself automatically. However, manual alterations will still be possible. Furthermore, the seat is both heated and ventilated for additional workplace comfort.

 

We were also informed of the NGT10 being equipped with "intelligent air conditioning" capable of being programmed with local weather profiles to match cooling and heating output, as well as humidity and ozone content, to long-term meteorological monitoring data in order to provide optimal interior ambience adjustment. The system was also designed with human physiology in mind, meaning both heating and cooling will be provided only to achieve an appropriate temperature differential in order to avoid medical problems. This means that, for example, heating will be provided only up to external temperatures of 16°C, while in hot weather, the difference between outside and interior temperature will be deliberately kept small enough to prevent passengers experiencing circulatory problems.

 

 

 

I will see to obtaining a few images from 1002 either today or next week for a more complete impression of our new trams, so do keep your eyes open for a follow-up posting in this space!