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On-site tests of the new tramway in Bordeaux are proceeding
successfully in advance of a scheduled opening in late December
2003.
On June 12, hundreds of people in the district of Lormont
watched a CITADIS make several passes on a 500-meter stretch of
track at the end of Line A. The occasion was a world premier
— the first time a CITADIS tram operated without overhead
power lines within a city.
A quarter of Bordeaux's tramway network takes advantage of
INNORAIL, ALSTOM's innovative system for ground-level power
supply that allows tramways to forgo overhead power lines and
catenary. Much of this part of the network is in the historical
districts of the city.
The tests on June 12 saw the tram switch from
pantograph-supplied power to the INNORAIL system. The project's
technical team was delighted with the results of the tests, which
serve to respond to the last questions involved in the process
for certification by the French infrastructure authorities.
“We were very pleased to see that all the systems worked
together as they should,” said Hubert Peugeot, project
director for the ALSTOM-led consortium that is building the
Bordeaux tramway. “The tests demonstrated that the
ground-level power supply and the other subsystems worked
together in a fully integrated fashion.”
The day before, on June 11 in the Quatre Pavillons
neighborhood, a fully loaded CITADIS tram was successfully tested
on track with a 5 percent incline.
Currently, tests on the traction and braking systems are being
carried out on Avenue Thiers.
More testing of the trams and the ground-level power supply
through track switches and tight curves will be carried out in
early July on track in the Cenon area.
With more than 35 product lines and a presence in more than
60 countries, ALSTOM's Transport sector offers cutting-edge
products and services for new rolling stock, signaling and
electrical and mecanical infrastructure as well as maintenance
and rehabilitation services to four distinct types of
customers: urban transit authorities and operators; intercity
passenger rail operators and rolling stock owners; rail freight
operators; and intercity railway infrastructure owners.
ALSTOM's Transport sector, with sales of €5.1 billion in
financial year 2002-2003, is among the world's leading
suppliers to the railway industry.
Press information:
Helen Connolly
Tel. +33 (0)1 41 66 91 43
helen.connolly@transport.alstom.com