The Bucharest Articulated Tramcar series is a series of tram vehicles produced between 1971 and 1992 by URAC, the main workshops of the
Bucharest Transit Company (Întreprinderea de Transport București (ITB)). Various modernized variants have also been delivered since 1993. For the last 50 years they have been the backbone of the tram network in Bucharest, replacing motor-trailer formations that had run in the city since the introduction of electric trams.
Members
The tramcar "family" features its following members:
*V3A is the flagship of this series, and was the first one to be produced. Overall this was the most produced in the series and the only one in usage today.
*V3B/V3A-2S is a variation of the V3A type, which features doors on both sides and cabs at both ends, unlike the V3A with only door on one side and cab at the front. The type appeared in the mid 1980s when construction works in Bucharest frequently disrupted the traffic, so the URAC converted a few V3As into V3Bs as prototypes for future usage. With refurbishments since the 1990s, several examples were converted back to V3A, the withdrawal of the last original V3Bs taking place in 2007.
*V2A was the second standard tram of the series, appearing in the early 1980s for lines with lower passenger numbers. They were deemed surplus after 25 years of usage and later scrapped, with their parts being recycled on V3A-CH-PPCs.
*V2B/V2A-2S was the 2-section variant of the V3B, at first being exclusively used for the what is now light rail line of tram 41, because at the beginning it terminated at
Crângași
Crângași is one of the smallest neighborhoods in the 6th Sector of Bucharest, Romania. It is situated on the west side of the city near the Dâmbovița River, where it flows into Lacul Morii. Its name means "people living in a young forest". ...
, where a loop could not be built due to the ongoing reconstructions in the area. Eventually they suffered the same fate as the V2As, serving their last years on line 44 in
Giulești
Giulești () is a neighbourhood in northwestern Bucharest, located in Sector 6. The Giulești Stadium, Giulești Theatre, Podul Grant are located in Giulești. Also, the Grivița Railway Yards and Lacul Morii are located nearby.
History
The ...
that was disrupted due to works at the
Basarab Overpass
The Basarab Overpass ( ro, Pasajul Basarab) is a road overpass in Bucharest, Romania, connecting Nicolae Titulescu blvd. and Grozǎveşti Road, part of Bucharest's inner city ring. A design by engineer Javier Manterola, its construction was under ...
.
The official name of these cars is "VxA", where V comes from "vagon" (railcar/tramcar), x(2 or 3) is the number of car segments, and A comes from "articulated". The bi-directional versions of these cars are named V3A-2S and V2A-2S, but they are better known as V3B and V2B due to the German railway/tram magazines, likely due to the fact that RATB employees were naming them "bi-directional V3A/V2A" or "Siamese V3A/V2A" (from
Siamese twins
Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence ...
), as they are in fact more or less two trams in one. 2S, thus, likely comes from "2 cabs/Siamese".
They are also split into three generations: the first one was introduced in 1971, but today it has very few members still surviving, the second one was introduced in 1993 and constitutes most of the examples still in service today, while the third generation, introduced in 2006 is set to replace the second generation in the near future.
History
Soon after
communism in Romania
This article covers the history and bibliography of Romania and links to specialized articles.
Prehistory
34,950-year-old remains of modern humans with a possible Neanderthalian trait were discovered in present-day Romania when the '' Pe ...
came to power, the authorities wanted to modernize the Bucharest
tram network
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
, that at the time used ancient V09 trams from the 1920s. For a while the only solutions they could come up with were the
V54 trams introduced by
Electroputere
Electroputere S.A. (which translates as ''Electropower'' in English) is a Romanian company based in Craiova. Founded in 1949, it is one of the largest industrial companies in Romania. Electroputere has produced more than 2,400 diesel locomotive ...
from
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
, and the trams made by URAC. However they were not enough for Bucharest's quick expansion in the 1960s. It soon became apparent that a new type of tram was needed for the growing network. In 1968 an agreement was reached with
Linke-Hofmann-Busch
Alstom Transport Deutschland, formerly Linke-Hofmann-Busch, is a German manufacturing company originally established in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) to produce locomotives and rolling stock. Its origins lay in the wheelwright business of Gottf ...
(LHB) from
Salzgitter
Salzgitter (; Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitter is one of the seven ''Oberzentren'' of Lower ...
-
Brunswick,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, that the following year a 3 section tram would be delivered (based on the LHB GT6) and a licence would be agreed upon. Indeed, the prototype was delivered in 1969 and tested in revenue service the following years, until it was scrapped in 1991. In 1970 the tram was dismantled for an inspection, where the designers for the project would modify some of its technicalities for the V3A project. The V3A prototype was manufactured in 1971, and was presented that same year on 4 May 1971, at the 100 year anniversary of the tram operation, where it ran on the newly operated tram line 30 in the Titan neighborhood. Series production ultimately started in 1972. By 1992, the following vehicles were produced:
However, the V3A prototypes' fate was not as happy as it was thought. The original agreement included the local assembly of 100
CKD kits
A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...
received from LHB, with the prototype to be possibly returned, should that idea had worked. However the LHB accused the ITB of having illegally dismantled and copied the designs of their tram, and that the V3A was nothing but a pirate-copy of the LHB 3501 tram. Eventually the dispute was settled and both trams could continue working in the ITB's fleet.
The most noticeable modifications made was removal of lightweight
fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
material from the trams, thus increasing their weight from 15 to 25 tonnes, moving the third door's location in the second section of the
articulated tram
Trams have been used since the 19th century, and since then, there have been various uses and designs for trams around the world. This article covers the many design types, most notably the articulated, double-decker, drop-centre, low-floor, si ...
, the less-aerodynamic design which gave the tram a boxy-shape, compared to the round shape of the 3501 prototype, modified destination display and minor interior modifications. The axles were made by
Grivița Auto Repair Works (Întreprinderea de Reparații Auto Grivița), which specialized in producing tram axles, while the traction electric motor was produced by the (UMEB), and the electrical equipment by Bucharest. The first examples were allocated to the Dudești Depot to be used on lines serving the Titan housing estate.
Eventually by the end of 1979 a total of 293 vehicles were made, and the V3A became the flagship of the ITB fleet, slowly replacing the V54s that were now modernized with electric equipment coming from the V3As and the V56s that were slowly withdrawn thanks to the introduction of the
Tatra T4R trams from
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
.
However, with the early 1980s, these trams would soon be introduced in other cities in Romania. The huge debt that had been accumulated by the Romanian government between 1977 and 1981 meant that imports were tightly restricted, meaning that importing Tatra trams was not allowed any more and fuel import restrictions meant that buses were becoming less efficient. The local authorities then turned to electrification of public transport in cities as a solution, which included the addition and expansion of trolleybus and tram networks. At the same time the
Timiș 2
Timiș 2 were a series of tram vehicles built in Timișoara, Romania, initially by the Timișoara Transport Company, and later by ''Electrometal Timișoara'' (also known as ''Eltim'').
Trams
The tramcars appeared in the late 1960s as part of ...
made in
Timișoara
), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor)
, image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg
, map_caption = Location in Timiș County
, pushpin_map = Romania#Europe
, pushpin_ ...
had more success than the V3A, however some city councils desired to have articulated trams instead of a traction car-trailer car formation.
In 1982, a tram car named V2A was introduced, being designed for lines (and later, networks) with smaller number of passengers, such as the tram lines in the
Giulești
Giulești () is a neighbourhood in northwestern Bucharest, located in Sector 6. The Giulești Stadium, Giulești Theatre, Podul Grant are located in Giulești. Also, the Grivița Railway Yards and Lacul Morii are located nearby.
History
The ...
,
Berceni and
Colentina neighborhoods of Bucharest. To counter the success of the Timiș 2 trams, in 1984 the V3A and V2A were finally adapted for export to other cities, the exports starting that very same year to
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
's newly founded tram network. However the same year, Bucharest's network was soon being faced with mass demolitions that threatened the disruption of most tram lines, and the solution of temporary track relocation was not possible like the previous times when the metro works forced tram lines to detour. To answer to this issue, ITB modified a few V3A trams that were made in 1974 and 1978, and added doors on both sides and cabs at both ends. The result was called V3B or V3A-2S. The experiment was successful, however no new trams would be produced from this. In 1986, new V2B trams were produced which were similar to the V2A trams but had the same defying characteristic as the V3B did: double cabs and double doors. In 1987 the 500th V3A tram left the factory. The last tram to leave the factory was number 362 which was made in 1990.
By the 1990s, in Bucharest however, the series was becoming outdated, so a modernization project started, called "V3A-93". The prototype was finished in 1993, in time for the 100 year anniversary of electric trams which featured a parade. By the early 2000s they quickly replaced the EP/V3A trams (modernizations of the V54 trams) and the Rathgeber and
Duewag
Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired.
History
Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen an ...
trams from
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
and
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, brought second hand from 1992 to 1997. The last of the original V3A trams (later designated V3A-71 due to their year of manufacture) were retired in 2007, however they were replaced with a newer tram type that was known as V3A-CH-PPC (CHopper and Partial Low-floor/Podea Parțial Coborâtă). The V3B trams were also quickly replaced with V3B-93 trams, being the last trams from the 1993 model to be made, thus making the oldest PPC trams older than the newest 1993 model trams.
The modernization was not only done by RATB's workshops, however. Because the RATB workshops were too small to modernize a lot of trams in such a short time, this meant that an agreement was reached with FAUR, which helped with the modernization between 1995 and 2004. Not only that, but various types of modernizations were experimented. For example, a special type of modernization, known as M2000 was developed for the reconstruction of the light rail line 41. These featured bumpers, a red front paint and high-speed
pantograph
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
s. Electroputere modernized a few trams between 1997 and 2002, 3 of them featuring
Holec electric equipments, etc.
The end of the V2A trams started officially in 2004 when a few older trams were retired, however starting from 2008 the official withdrawal began due to their age and old technology they used, being replaced with V3A-CH-PPC trams, with the last ones' operation ending in 2010. Also in 2010 the last V2B trams were retired, being replaced with a V3B-10 variant what was not much different from the V3B-93 variant, featuring the same body as the 93 variant however featuring electrics from the 10 variant.
However, by 2013, it became clear that the modernization introduced in the 1990s was starting to show its age too. The main problem was the fact that these trams are all high floor vehicles, and despite being easy to maintain, they would have to be retired from service anyway due to non-compliance to EU transportation rules. So the same year two units were retired and modernized. The modernization is very similar to the CH-PPC variant, however the main modification was in the electric part. Here, the traction motors work on AC instead of DC, giving them the designation CA-PPC (Curent Alternativ-Podea Parțial Coborâtă). They were trialed in 2013 and introduced in 2014. From 2016 to 2017, the official modernizations started, marking the beginning of the end of the V3A-93 era. In 2019, air conditioning systems from
Liebherr
Liebherr is a German-Swiss multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany.
Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divisions: earthmoving, mining, ...
began to be installed on 46 V3A-CH-PPC units.
By 2021 as all of the 46 CH-PPC trams are due for major repairs, they have been re-modernized and have brought new features, like the overhauled interior, CCTV surveillance, better passenger information with two ultrawide displays, USB plugs, holstered seats and new validators that also allow debit cards as payment. These have been painted in STB's new Lime Green livery, introduced first with the Mercedes-Benz Citaro Hybrid buses. There is also plans to modernize 50 more standard V3A-93 trams with environmental funds for the next two years, which will also bring an upgraded AC drive.
STB SA vrea să reducă cu 40% consumul de energie prin modernizarea a 50 de tramvaie V3A în următorii 2 ani
/ref>
Operation in other towns
Starting from 1984, the V2A/V3A family has operated outside Bucharest too, with their operation ending in 2008.
Constanța
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
was the first beneficiary of this tram series. Their operation started in 1984, with deliveries continuing till 1990 and totalling up to 75 vehicles. They would be joined in the late 1990s by Tatra KT4D trams from Berlin. However, due to the slow closure of the network in the 2000s during Radu Mazăre's tenure as mayor, they were slowly withdrawn, with the last one being retired in 2008. Until 2012, they could still be noticed in the depot, however since then they have been scrapped.
Ploiești
Ploiești
Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest.
The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commu ...
got these trams in 1987 and in 1988, along with a fleet of Timiș 2
Timiș 2 were a series of tram vehicles built in Timișoara, Romania, initially by the Timișoara Transport Company, and later by ''Electrometal Timișoara'' (also known as ''Eltim'').
Trams
The tramcars appeared in the late 1960s as part of ...
trams. An interesting aspect of the fleet of Ploiești trams was that their numbers alternated, as noticed above. They were retired in the mid 2000s, replaced by Tatra KT4Ds from Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
.
However another V3A tram exists at Ploiești. This tram was manufactured in 1998 by FAUR
FAUR S.A. is an industrial engineering and manufacturing company based in Bucharest, Romania.
History
FAUR was founded by Nicolae Malaxa in 1921 under the name MALAXA. Main activities were the repairing of rolling stock, manufacturing steam lo ...
, and was given to the public transport company, in consideration to replace the older V3As. Eventually the plan was dropped, and the tram was kept as a unique vehicle, currently being stored due to lack of parts.
Brașov
RAT Brașov
RATBV S.A., formerly Regia Autonomă de Transport Brașov ( en, Autonomous Transportation Board of Brașov), and commonly referred to as RAT Brașov, is the only public transport operator in the city of Brașov, Romania. It is owned by the Brașov ...
received its fleet in 1987, once with the opening of its system. It was made of 20 trams initially. They were all retired with the closure of the system in 2006. Legend has it that Brașov was supposed to get Timiș 2 trams, and Craiova
Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
was supposed to have V3A trams, but the order was messed up and Brașov got V3A instead, with Craiova getting Timiș 2.
Cluj-Napoca
CTP Cluj-Napoca received its V2A and V3A fleet in 1987 as well, when its system was also opened. However the trams would not last long there, and would be sold to Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
and Botoșani
Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Western Moldavia, Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. ...
in the early 1990s,
Oradea
Oradea Transport Local
Oradea Transport Local S.A. ( hu, Nagyváradi Helyi Közszállitási Részvénytársaság) or simply OTL is the municipality-owned public transport company in Oradea. It is one of the successors of the communist-era state-owned transport company ...
received its V2A and V3A trams between 1988 and 1990 to replace the 30-year old V54 trams. Their lifetime was also short as they were sold to Iași in the early 1990s.
Brăila
Brăila
Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila.
According to the 2011 Romanian census there were 180,302 pe ...
received 10 V3A trams in 1989, which were used up until the early 2000s, being replaced with Rotterdam GT8 trams. Some V3A trams had their middle sections removed, being transformed into V2A.
Botoșani
Botoșani
Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Western Moldavia, Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. ...
received 10 V3A trams in 1990, and in 1992 another few V3A trams from Cluj-Napoca, all being retired by 2005, replaced with Tatra T4Ds from Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
.
Iași
CTP Iași
The Compania de Transport Public (CTP) Iași (English: ''Iași Public Transport Company'') is the major transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania. Until September 2016, CTP was known as the ''Autonomous Public Tra ...
had a fleet of 25 V2A trams that were inherited from Oradea and Cluj, plus one metre-gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
prototype from 1992. From 1993 until 1994, RATP Iași took delivery of the second hand examples that came from Cluj and Oradea. To be able to run on the metre-gauge network, Nicolina Works Iași took care for mounting the new axles and among other modifications, they included the doors, destination displays, etc. They were extensively used until 2001, when they were all gradually withdrawn by 2004, being replaced with imported German trams. Currently only one has been put into storage awaiting for preservation.
Gallery
File:Strada Baniei a Piata Sfantul Gheorghe (Piata 1848) mellett. Fortepan 31813.jpg, V3A-71 no 122 (year of manufacture 1976), at Piața Sfântul Gheorghe in 1986, with the original ITB livery
File:Bucureşti 1996 Tram no 259.jpg, V3A-71 no 259 (year of manufacture 1979), seen in 1996 on George Coșbuc boulevard, in the yellow 1990s RATB livery
File:V3A 220 on line 11 in Giulesti-Constructorilor, Bucharest.jpg, V3A-93 no 220, seen in 2017 with the white RATB livery
File:V3B 036 on line 55 on Pache Protopopescu boulevard.jpg, V3B-93, notice the leading and the trailing cab
File:Bucharest V3A tram 4.jpg, V3A-93, Electroputere modernization
File:V3A FAUR number 285 on line 11 in Giulesti.jpg, V3A-93, FAUR modernization
File:V3A-CH-PPC 4017 on line 10 at Bucur Obor.jpg, V3A-CH-PPC, with the new STB logo introduced in 2018
File:4042(2010.07.02)-44- V2A-2S (7635518416).jpg, V2B no 4042, in its last months in service in 2010. Currently stored awaiting restoration
File:ITB V3A 16, tram line 101, Brașov, 1994.jpg, V3A in Brașov
File:V2A 356 Iasi.jpg, A storaged metre-gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
V2A tram (converted at Nicolina Works) in Iași
File:ITB V3A 164, Constanța, 2007.jpg, V3A-C tram in Constanța, 2007
References
External links
V3A modernized tram specifications (car nr 205)
{{Authority control
URAC trams
Transport in Bucharest