The Flexity 2 is a family of

tram 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 ...

or light-rail vehicle manufactured by Bombardier Transportation (later Alstom). It is 100% low-floor, in order to easily accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs. The trams are bi-directional, with cabs at both ends and doors on both sides, and are articulated with five or seven sections. This family of trams debuted on the Blackpool Tramway, England.

Introduction

The Flexity 2 is an evolution of Bombardier's successful Flexity family of LRVs and is designed to be highly customisable. It incorporates a number of significant advances over its predecessor including improved corrosion resistance, enhanced safety through a redesigned cab with improved impact protection, improved energy efficiency through the inclusion of cells to store energy temporarily after braking which achieves double the energy saving of feeding it back through the wires, reduced mass, optional support for its Primove under track power transmission system and the new Flexx Urban 3000 bogie which allows the LRV to run on conventional wheelsets. The vehicle also features improved air-conditioning and a wider more spacious interior via the reduction in the width of its sidewalls allowing more seating or other uses. These changes have resulted in a very slight increase in axle load, although Bombardier says this does not limit the operational capabilities of the vehicle. The launch customer was Blackpool Transport which ordered 16 units in July 2009 to replace its tourist-focused and high-maintenance heritage fleet with a new vehicle suitable for daily commuters. The worldwide launch of the tram, including showing the first new tram occurred on 8 September 2011, at the new Starr Gate depot in Blackpool.Blackpool supertram is here!
''

Blackpool Gazette The ''Blackpool Gazette'' (locally marketed as simply ''The Gazette'') is an English daily newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast. It was founded as '' ...

'' 8 September 2011 Additional orders came from G:link ordering 23 for operation on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, Australia,

Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (BVB) is a public transport operator in the Switzerland, Swiss city of Basel, and is wholly owned by canton of Basel-Stadt, which consists of city of Basel and the municipalities of Bettingen and Riehen. The BVB was f ...

ordering 60 for

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, Switzerland,

De Lijn Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (English: Flemish transport company ''De Lijn''), usually known as De Lijn (, "The Line"), is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation with about 2240 buses and 399 tr ...

ordering in total 88 for Antwerp and

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

, Belgium and SND ordering 18 for

Suzhou New District The Suzhou New District () is one of the specially designated regions for technological and industrial development in China. The district covers an area of and is located west of Suzhou, in the Jiangsu province. The district is managed by the Ne ...

, Suzhou, China built by

CRRC Nanjing Puzhen CRRC Nanjing Puzhen () is a Chinese railway rolling stock manufacturer, based in Puzhen, Nanjing city. It is a subsidiary of CRRC. Nanjing Puzhen has supplied trains to Shanghai Metro Line 3 and Nanjing Metro in partnership with Alstom. Ind ...

under a Bombardier technology licence agreement.

Technical specifications

Low-floor versions

Gallery

Evergem tram 2017 02.jpg, One of the 88 Flexity 2 trams ordered by

. Blackpool Transport 003 (9126084712).jpg, Blackpool Transport Flexity 2 in June 2013. Gare de Saint-Louis (Haut-Rhin) - Tram ligne 3 Bâle (fév 2019).jpg, Flexity 2 tram from Basel in Saint-Louis, France.

References

External links

Bombardier Transportation Flexity 2
{{UK light rail vehicles Alstom trams Articulated passenger trains Flexity 2 Tram vehicles of the United Kingdom Train-related introductions in 2010 600 V DC multiple units 750 V DC multiple units