"Modelling" Karlsruhe 2.

This is the latest type of the dual system vehicles, type GT8-100D/2S-M built in 2002 by the two rivals together: Siemens/Bombardier. These have a middle-height entrance which means the vehicle, standing next to a railway platform, works as a low floor car. Smart!

Oh yes, these pictures were made on the Kaiserstrasse, in the real inner city of Karlsruhe, possibly the biggest shopping street in town. The town leadership has decided: the tramway will be gone by 2010-2015, they build an underground Stadtbahn tunnel under the Kaiserstrasse, which would be a sole pedestrian zone. Even if, increasing the distance between stations, they lose the definate advantage of the Karlsruhe modell, namely the direct connection between the conurbation and the inner city. Even if they won't be able to maintain today's traffic capacity by a tunnel built for a large amount of money: while today the trams follow each other in seeing distance with a difference of less than a minute in peak period, there would have to be signals in the tunnel unabling the trams to be close to each other!

A rarity about which I don't know too much. There are only four pieces of them, they are as small and low as the old, round DÜWAG's, although the look is more modern. It was built in 1975 at Waggon-Union, type ET8, but they are being modified with a chopper control becoming type GT8-70C.

We're standing at Europaplatz, and we're looking at the low-floor cars going up and down Karlstrasse. Don't you forget that a few years later there won't be any trams on the surface around here!

A single system car, built in 1989, is about to hit a pedestrian. No, just joking. Note there are panoramic windows in the middle section roof.

This is the first of the longer version of the low-floor trams, no. 301 type GT8-70D/N, heading East.

A local speciality: the Karlsruhe trams lean outwards in the tight curves. :-)

This is the traffic of Kaiserstrasse what I was talking about, this is what they want to enforce under ground in the next years.

An interesting couple: a white eight-axle and a yellow six-axle together.

We're on the Marktplatz again, and we're making more pictures of the site where there won't be seen any tramway tracks on the scene. In the foreground there is the first Stadtbahn car in town, built by Waggon-Union in 1983.

Oh, have I mentioned that the Karlsruhe trams lean outwards in tight curves? :-)

There is another driver in the second car's driver's cabin. I guess the two cars divide along the way in two directions. But take a closer look, there is an on-board buffet, a Bistro on the second car! (And, of course, there is a toilet on board, too. Yes, it's a closed toilet system, they don't urinate the things on the streets of Karlsruhe! :-) )

This have been the youngest member of the fleet, no. 899, at the time we were there. This means the photo was taken only a few weeks after handover. Oh yes, have I already mentioned that in the curves... :-)

This is Ettlinger Tor-Platz, with the inner city motorway of Kriegsstrasse just underneath. Due to the capacity-decrease of the Kaiserstrasse tunnel they have planned a new, parallel tramway route here on the surface, covering the motorway.

Back to Marktplatz. All lines are represented by a unique color, just like in Amsterdam, Freiburg or Zürich; in this town cyan color stands for the line 5...

...while no. 1 is the red one. In this case, a coupled GT6-70D/N train runs on it (no. 224. and 241.).

Dark blue line 2, along the about-to-disappearing tracks. Let's take one!

Namely an eight-axle, five section car on line 1.

Regarding this is a low-floor tramcar: a ramp for the wheelchair users.

Suddenly we meet one of the four dual system cars which are in DB (Deutsche Bahn - German Railways) property. These have DB class numbers (class 450) and DB logos in addition to the AVG fleet numbers (816-820). The car no. 818 (DB no. 450 002-1) was an arson victim in 2001, DB has received no. 816 (DB no. 450 005-4) as a substitute. These are also operated by AVG.

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