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SL95 is a series of 32
low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
,
articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were sometim ...
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 ...
s operated on the
Oslo Tramway The Oslo tram network ( no, Trikken i Oslo, short from ', 'electric') is the tram system in Oslo, Norway. It consists of six lines with 99 stops and has a daily ridership of 132,000. It is operated by , a subsidiary of the municipally-owned who ...
. The series was built by Italian rail manufacturer
Ansaldo Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa, Italy. The absorbed parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., started in 1853. It was taken over by Leonardo S.p.A. In 2011, Leonardo S.p.A. sold 45% stake in A ...
/ Firema, later known as AnsaldoBreda (now
Hitachi Rail Italy Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi#Hitachi Rail, Hitachi Rail o ...
), and delivered between 1999 and 2004. Capacity for the eight-axle, three-section vehicles is 212 passengers, of which 88 can be seated. The name derives from being ordered in 1995. Original plans called for the delivery to be between 1997 and 1998. Delivery took many years due to a magnitude of technical flaws, including high noise levels, freezing during the winter and corrosion. The trams are long, wide and tall. The aluminum vehicles weigh and have a power output of . The trams operate all services on lines 13, 17 and 18. Due to their heavy weight and large turning radius they are unsuitable for the other lines. However, they are the only bi-directional trams in the fleet, and are needed on lines 17 and 18 along the Ullevål Hageby Line. The trams cost about each, but discounts were awarded after the delays and technical faults. The SL95 trams, along with older SL79 trams will be replaced by new SL18 trams between 2020 and 2024.


Background

In the early 1990s, Oslo Sporveier was in need of new trams to operate on their network. Except for 40 articulated SL79-trams that had been delivered between 1982 and 1990, the company had several series of non-articulated trams with trailers that were built before 1960. The largest series were 13 SM53s, 11 rebuilt SM83s and 28 trailers, in addition to 34 SM91s that had been bought used from the
Gothenburg Tramway The Gothenburg tramway network ( sv, Göteborgs spårvägar) is part of the public transport system organised by Göteborgs Spårvägar, controlled by Västtrafik in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The system's approximately of single track &md ...
in 1991. Oslo Sporveier considered several possibilities for new trams, including ordering additional SL79s, purchasing motorized trailers for SL79, purchasing new low-floor trams, purchasing trams from
ČKD Tatra ČKD (Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk) () was one of the largest engineering companies in the former Czechoslovakia and today's Czech Republic. It is famous for the Tatra T3, a tramcar that sold 13,991 units worldwide. History ČKD was formed ...
, purchasing the 11 used
TT Class 8 TT Class 8 are the only remaining trams used on the Trondheim Tramway. Built by Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) in 1984–85, they replaced the aging Class 7 trams used by Trondheim Trafikkselskap (TT). Of the eleven built, nine remain in service on ...
trams from
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...
, rebuild the SL79s with an additional section or purchasing used articulated trams from abroad. Purchasing used material and rebuilding the SL79s was quickly rejected. A non-articulated Tatra tram was tested in Oslo during January 1991. Oslo Sporveier had previously bought all their new trams custom-made. For the 1995 order, the company instead wanted to purchase a pre-designed tram. The company for a long time considered purchasing trams along with
Storstockholms Lokaltrafik Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, or more formally Aktiebolaget Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (Greater Stockholm Local Transit Company), is the organisation running all of the land based public transport systems in Stockholm County. It was previously k ...
, who were needing new rolling stock for two light rail systems in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
, Sweden. Three existing trams were tested in Oslo during 1995, and several trams were also tested in Stockholm. The first was a six-axle articulated tram from
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
, Germany, with 80% low floor. The company disliked the lack of air suspension and a door construction where the doors went outwards. A Variotram built by ABB from the Chemnitz Stadtbahn was also tested. It has 100% low-floor, is wide and also has outward-opening doors. The width made it unsuitable for stopping at some of the new stops. Oslo Sporveier stated that although the tram had many nice features, it was too experimental for their liking. The final tested vehicle was a Class T tram from the Wien Tramway. The six-axle vehicle was not well-adapted for the Oslo system, since it was built after German light rail standards with high platforms and curve radius, and could not be operated on the Briskeby Line and the loop at Jar on the
Lilleaker Line The Lilleaker Line ( no, Lilleakerbanen) is a suburban tramway from Skøyen in Oslo westwards to Jar, Bærum in Norway. It is operated by Line 13 from Ljabru to Bekkestua of the Oslo Tramway, operated by Oslo Sporvognsdrift. The line conti ...
. Following the tests in Oslo, a delegation was sent to look at compatible systems outside Oslo. After it had returned, the company went into negotiations with three manufacturers:
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 a ...
,
Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budi ...
and Ansaldo/Firema. Oslo Sporveier signed a contract with Ansaldo/Firema for delivery of 17 units in 1997–98, with options for additional 15 units. The first 17 units cost , or NOK 20 million per vehicle. The option rights were later exercised, and the total order was increased to 32. This allowed Oslo Sporveier to replace all trams that were not articulated, and would give a maximum age in the tram fleet to 18 years. While Oslo Sporveier at first had planned to debt-finance the purchase, by 1999 it was decided that the trams would be leased from
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (, abbreviated SEB, is a northern European financial services group headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB has a full financial service offering. In Denmark, Finland, Norway, ...
. Due to a labor dispute about privatizing the operation of the tramway and the
Oslo Metro The Oslo Metro ( no, Oslo T-bane or or simply ) is the rapid transit system of Oslo, Norway, operated by Sporveien T-banen on contract from the transit authority Ruter. The network consists of five lines that all run through the city centre, w ...
, the ownership of all trams and metro trains, including the SL95, were transferred to the municipally owned limited company Oslo Vognselskap in 2007.


Construction and delivery

In January 1997, two bogies were installed and tested on a ST55-tram trailer. On 10 February 1997, a mock-up of the driver's cab was made in Italy and sent to Oslo to try to optimize the layout. On 8 April 1997, Oslo Sporveier decided to order an additional 13 trams. The full options were not realized due to lack of funding. At the same time it was decided that all SM91-trams would be retired, while some SM83-trams would remain in service after the full delivery of the SL95s. By 1998, delivery date for the first vehicle, no. 141, was set to 23 May, with plans to put it into scheduled service on 23 June. The mock-up was scrapped on 12 February. However, the tram was not completed until October, when representatives for the tram company could operate it for the first time at Firema's plant. This delay was caused by the roof having blown off the plant. A NOK 1 million discount per tram was granted due to the incident. Tram no. 141 arrived at Oslo on 5 January 1999 in three parts. They were connected together and tried within the end of the month on the entire network, prior to the delivery of tram 142. Delivery frequency was set to every two weeks. During periods from April through June, the voltage along sections of the
Lilleaker Line The Lilleaker Line ( no, Lilleakerbanen) is a suburban tramway from Skøyen in Oslo westwards to Jar, Bærum in Norway. It is operated by Line 13 from Ljabru to Bekkestua of the Oslo Tramway, operated by Oslo Sporvognsdrift. The line conti ...
was raised from 600 to 750 V; this included trials with the SL95 to ensure that it could operate under this current as well. Tram 141 was first used in scheduled traffic on 30 May, when it was put into service on the newly extended Ullevål Hageby Line. This line had been extended to
Rikshospitalet Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. It was an independent hospital, ''Rigshospitalet'', later spelled ''Rikshospitalet'' ("The National Hospital"), from 1826 to 200 ...
, where it would serve the new national hospital. Unlike all the other lines of the tramway, this terminus does not have a turning loop, so only bidirectional trams can operate. SL95 was the only bidirectional tram in Oslo Sporveier's fleet. Delays in the delivery caused the line to terminate at John Colletts plass, where there is a turning loop. Tram 142 was first used in schedule service on 1 June 1999, and 143 was delivered to Oslo on 3 June. To be able to use the trams on the desired lines, Oslo Sporveier had to upgrade its infrastructure several places. The SL95 need a vertical curve radius of , requiring upgrades at Wessels plass and Gamlebyen. The curves would also need to be fixed at Geita Bridge, but this was not done since the trams exceed the bridge's permitted load. The minimum permitted horizontal curve radius is , making it impossible for the trams to operate through the intersection between Riddervolds gate and Inkognitogata, where the radius is . This means the trams cannot operate on the Briskeby Line, and all trams to Majorstuen are therefore operated with SL79. Restrictions on two trams passing was issued on several shorter sections, including the S-curve from Kirkeristen to
Stortorvet Stortorvet ('The Grand Plaza') is a square in Oslo, Norway, located west of Oslo Cathedral. Background It was officially inaugurated during the autarchic times, in 1736. A town market was held here until 1889. Marketing still exists, but has lar ...
, but these sections were quickly rebuilt. By 2000, deliveries were delayed, and in June all trams were taken out of service for three weeks to modify the gearboxes. In October, ten of thirteen trams were taken out of service due to radial run-out. The problem was large enough that some trams got a new radial run-out the day after they were fixed. From 6 January 2001, SL95 could be used on the
Grünerløkka–Torshov Line The Grünerløkka–Torshov ( no, Grünerløkka–Torshov-linjen) is a tramway line running between Jernbanetorget to Storo in Oslo, Norway. It is served by lines 11, 12 and 18 of the Oslo Tramway. The line serves the city-centre of Oslo, Gru ...
, and from 6 February, on the
Ekeberg Line The Ekeberg Line ( no, Ekebergbanen) is a long light rail line of the Oslo Tramway which runs from Oslo Hospital to Ljabru in Oslo, Norway. Operated by lines 13 and 19, it serves the area of Nordstrand and the neighborhoods of Ekeberg, Jo ...
. However, the latter still had too short platforms. Operation proved to give several major difficulties, and by March 2001, Oslo Sporveier was threatening to terminate the purchase agreement unless the manufacturer—who by then had merged to become
AnsaldoBreda Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the ...
—fixed the problems. These included the noise being 15 dB too loud, and trams being out of service during the January–February cold spell, when batteries and
rectifier A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an inve ...
s would not operate. It was agreed that AnsaldoBreda would have to replace all 256 motors to satisfy the criteria in the contract. By 1 June, AnsaldoBreda had delivered one tram that met all the contract's criteria. Tram 155 was by then still undelivered, and was being used for testing by the manufacturer. At the same time, 149 was being used for tests in Oslo. The trams were taken out of service, and gradually put back as they were upgraded. In February 2002, tram 155 was equipped with new motors, and a new agreement was made where all motors would be replaced by December 2003, if Oslo Sporveier was satisfied with six months of trials with 155. The last day with SM91 in service was on 1 November 2002. By then, 27 of the SL95-trams had been delivered, and Oslo Sporveier was able to operate its entire network with only articulated trams. Until 2003, trams 142 and 149 were not in service for long-term repairs. On 8 July 2004, a computer error caused tram 161 neither to be able to run nor open the doors, even with the emergency system. This was caused by the computer indicating that the tram was running at while it stood still. All trams were later altered so the motorman could override such incidents. The final trams were delivered in 2004, and no. 142 was put into service in January 2005. At the same time,
corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engi ...
was discovered inside the articulation of tram 141. In 2006, Oslo Sporveier introduced a program to upgrade all the SL95-trams, including removing corrosion from the bodywork and the inside, as well as simplifying the lubrication of the joints, which prior to the upgrades required the entire trams to be de-hooked. These upgrades are planned to be completed by 2009. The trams have also had problems with the air supply freezing during cold spells, making it impossible to retract the side mirrors when changing direction, and terminating the secondary suspension. This requires the trams to be operated at walking speed without passengers.


Specifications

SL95 is a bidirectional, eight-axle articulated tram built exclusively for the Oslo Tramway by Ansaldo of Italy. The tram has three sections, with one bogie on the first and last section and two bogies on the center section. The body is in aluminum, with sections that are welded along the floor and roof, and bolted on the side, to ease replacement of dented sections. The trams are long, wide and tall. The axle distance in the bogies is , and the distance between the bogie centers is from the center to the end, and between the two in the center. The tram weighs empty, and with payload. Each of the four bogies have two
three-phase Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3φ) is a common type of alternating current used in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. It is a type of polyphase system employing three wires (or four including an optional neutral ...
asynchronous Asynchrony is the state of not being in synchronization. Asynchrony or asynchronous may refer to: Electronics and computing * Asynchrony (computer programming), the occurrence of events independent of the main program flow, and ways to deal wit ...
motors on a steel bogie with two axles. The wheels have a diameter when new and when fully worn. The axles are rubber-suspended against the bogies, while the bogies are air-suspended against the chassis. The motors are type MTA-F6-105V built by Ansaldo, and the eight motors have a total power output of at 750 V. This allows a maximum speed of and an acceleration of . The vehicle can be reversed, but the speed is then automatically limited to . While the tram operated with 600 V, it had power output of . The vehicles have three braking systems: a primary regenerative
dynamic brake Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid ...
, a secondary
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to h ...
and an emergency rail brake. When braking with the regenerative brake, the energy can be fed back to the overhead wires. The trams are dimensioned to operate an entire day with the dynamic brakes disconnected from one bogie, and for one hour if disconnected from two bogies, in which case only disc brakes will be used. The trams are bidirectional, with a driver's cab at each end. These cabs are built so the motorman can also sell tickets. The cab's have a door to close them off, so the riders cannot access rear cab. There are four doors on both sides; the front door is single while the three back doors are double. In addition to the front door, there is one door in each section. To operate the doors on the left side, the motorman must engage a security switch. It is also possible to open each individual door on the right side from the driver's cab. Half the length is low-floor, with an entry height at , including three of the four doors. There are 88 seats, of which 64 are on the high-floor section, giving a total capacity of 212 riders. All of the rollsigns was replaced with LED signs, similar to SL79 in 2019.


Operation

The SL95s make up 32 of the 72 trams in the system, supplementing the older SL79. The SL95s are the only bidirectional trams, and therefore the only ones that can operate on the Ullevål Hageby Line, that is served by lines 17 and 18. Since line 13 is a continuation of line 17 at Sinsen, the SL95s also operate on that line. Due to a too-small curve radius on the Briskeby Line, rarely SL95 trains run to Majorstuen, and when do they run, they just run at the
Frogner Line The Frogner Line ( no, Frognerlinjen) is a section of the Oslo Tramway which runs between Solli and Majorstuen, serving the neighborhood of Frogner. The line is served by tram number 12, and the Frogner section makes up the westernmost part of thi ...
and/or the
Homansbyen Line Homansbyen is a tram stop located at Homansbyen in Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is on the Homansbyen Line, a short line that connects the Briskeby Line and Ullevål Hageby Line of Oslo Tramway, and is served by line 19 using SL79 trams ...
; At the turn close to the Inkognitogata stop at the Briskeby Line, there is a sign saying to be careful with SL95 trams. They run on the Ullevål Hageby-, Ekeberg-, Sinsen-, Grünerløkka–Torshov-, Lilleaker-
Skøyen Skøyen is a neighborhood of Oslo, Norway. It is located in the western part of the city, in the borough of Ullern Ullern is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Norse ''Ullarin''. The ...
, and rarely in the
Homansbyen Homansbyen is a neighborhood in Frogner borough in Oslo, Norway. The area is named for the lawyer brothers Jacob (1816-1868) and Henrik Homan (1824-1900). Area The area is located between the streets of Pilestredet in the east, and Uranienbor ...
-
Frogner Frogner is a residential and retail borough in the West End of Oslo, Norway, with a population of 59,269 as of 2020. In addition to the original Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg and Majorstuen. The borough is named af ...
lines. Each service has a ten-minute headway, giving a five-minute interval on section that are served by two lines. In 2007, two trams were involved in an accident and sent to Firema for repair. However, the company filed for bankruptcy, and as of October 2010 the trams were still not repaired or returned to Oslo. In 2010, Commissioner for Environmental Affairs and Transport Jøran Kallmyr ( Progress Party) stated that the SL95 trams were being considered for replacement, at the same time as the much older SL79. Problems with the units included excessive noise, excessive amount of time out of order, rust, cracks in the axles, and increased wear to the infrastructure because they weighed too much. All except two of the SL95 trams were temporarily grounded on 29 April 2013 when it was discovered that rust had damaged the joints between the articulated sections on several trams. From 2012, the trams were equipped with an
automatic train protection Automatic train protection (ATP) is a type of train protection system which continually checks that the speed of a train is compatible with the permitted speed allowed by signalling, including automatic stop at certain signal aspects. If it i ...
system, which will allow them to run concurrently with the metro trains on the Kolsås Line. Oslo Vognselskap announced in September 2012 that they were preparing a tender to receive bids for new trams, which would replace all SL79 and SL95 units. In addition to procuring about seventy new units, Ruter initiated plans to upgrade the tramways for a combined NOK 4 billion. Oslo Vognselskap stated that the replacement trams would be about the same size as SL95, but weigh only , giving less wear on the tracks, and have a floor height of . Replacements will start in 2020 when the new SL18 trams are first delivered and will be completed by 2024 when all 87 new trams are delivered. Older SL79 trams will also be replaced by these new trams.


Notes


References

{{good article Oslo Tramway stock AnsaldoBreda multiple units 1999 establishments in Norway AnsaldoBreda trams 750 V DC multiple units