Bombardier Flexity Swift

The Bombardier Flexity Swift is a series of urban and inter-urban tram, light rail and light metro vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is part of the Bombardier Flexity family of rail vehicles, and like the others, Flexity Swift vehicles can be customized to suit the needs and requirements of customers including legacy designs from its acquisition of Adtranz.

Bombardier Flexity Swift
A Porto Metro low-floor 2010 Bombardier Flexity Swift
ManufacturerBombardier Transportation
Number built"more than 1000"[1]
Specifications
Train lengthSee tables
WidthSee tables
Height(?)
Articulated sections2
Maximum speed80 km/h (50 mph)
WeightSee tables
Steep gradient(?)
Minimum turning radius25 m (82 ft)[2]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Railly News reported that, by the end of 2015, more than 1,000 Flexity Swift vehicles had been sold.[1]

Overview

Vehicles in the Flexity Swift family vary in length, but are all articulated, usually with three sections. In most cases, the centre section is very short, but can be replaced with a longer section in order to increase capacity, as London is considering doing for future lines. The trams can also be coupled together into trains. Nevertheless, they are all bi-directional with cabs at both ends and doors on both sides. An emphasis is placed on speed with units capable of safely reaching speeds of 80 km/h (50 mph) when running on dedicated lines.

Most vehicles typically weigh between 35 and 40 tonnes (34 and 39 long tons; 39 and 44 short tons), though the ones made for the Minneapolis line are heavier due to stricter crashworthiness requirements in the United States (particularly buff strength) and the vehicles in Rotterdam and Karlsruhe are also heavier due to their use on a full, high-capacity rapid transit network and on mainline railway tracks, respectively.

The Flexity Swift family comes in two distinct versions with a 70% low-floor version to allow access to those in wheelchairs without requiring the construction of high platforms in city streets and a high-floor version with level boarding at raised platforms, generally to retain compatibility with stations built for older trams or trains. While they typically use DC overhead lines for power collection, the Rotterdam vehicles are also equipped with third rail power capability for use on the central sections of the network, while the Karlsruhe tram-trains are compatible with AC electrification which is used on the mainline railways.

Both the low and high-floor models were originally developed for use on the Cologne Stadtbahn in Germany. Other uses of Flexity Swift vehicles include London Tramlink, Manchester Metrolink,[3] the tram networks in Istanbul and Melbourne, Rotterdam Metro, Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, Bonn Stadtbahn, Stockholm light rail lines 12 and 22, and the Metro Light Rail in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. The scrapped Merseytram plan for Liverpool in Merseyside planned to use the same model as London.

The Flexity Swift's closest competitors are the Alstom Citadis family (particularly the RegioCitadis, Citadis Dualis, and Citadis Spirit variants), Siemens's S70/Avanto, SD100/SD160, SD400/SD460 and S200, and Sirio from AnsaldoBreda. Compared to Bombardier's other Flexity vehicles, these vehicles are not designed for streetcar operation with extensive mixed-traffic operations, although they do operate as such on a number of systems such as in London, Manchester, and Melbourne.

Technical specifications

Low-floor versions
City Operator Image Type designation Manufactured Number of
vehicles		 Length
m (ft)		 Width
m (ft in)		 Weight (empty)
t (LT; ST)		 Maximum power
kW (hp)
Cologne, GermanyKVBK40001995–1999, 200212428.40 m (93.2 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 3⁄8 in)35.50 t (34.94 long tons; 39.13 short tons)4 x 120 kW (160 hp)
K45002004–20076928.50 m (93.5 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)37.40 t (36.81 long tons; 41.23 short tons)4 x 120 kW (160 hp)
London, EnglandTfL
(Tramlink)		CR40001998–20002430.10 m (98.8 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)36.30 t (35.73 long tons; 40.01 short tons)4 x 120 kW (160 hp)
Istanbul, TurkeyMetro İstanbulA3220035529.70 m (97.4 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)39.20 t (38.58 long tons; 43.21 short tons)4 x 120 kW (160 hp)
Karlsruhe, GermanyAVG and VBKET 2010 (Tram-train)2011-20133037 m (121 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)62.5 t (61.5 long tons; 68.9 short tons)4 x 150 kW (200 hp)
Melbourne, AustraliaYarra TramsE2010-20155033 m (108 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)6 x 85 kW (114 hp)
E22016-2023150
Minneapolis, Minnesota
(Metro Light Rail), United States		Metro TransitType 1 LRV2003–20072728.65 m (94.0 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)48.50 t (47.73 long tons; 53.46 short tons)
Porto, PortugalPorto MetroTraintram20103037.07 m (121.6 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)
RijnGouweLijn,
Netherlands		NSA321999–20036 (sold to
Stockholm
June 2010)		29.70 m (97.4 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)37.50 t (36.91 long tons; 41.34 short tons)4 x 120 kW (160 hp)
Stockholm, SwedenSLA321999–200831, additionally
6 second hand		29.70 m (97.4 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)37.50 t (36.91 long tons; 41.34 short tons)4 x 120 kW (160 hp)

High-floor versions
City Operator Image Type designation Built in Number of vehicles Length Width Weight (empty) Maximum power
Bonn, GermanySWBK500020031528.4 m (93 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 3⁄8 in)37.80 t4 x 120 kW
Bursa, TurkeyBursarayU5-2010 Bursa2010 – 20113028 m (92 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)38.00 t4 x 120 kW
Cologne, GermanyKVBK50002002–20035928.4 m (93 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)37.80 t4 x 120 kW
K52002010-20111528.4 m (93 ft)2.65 m (8 ft 8 3⁄8 in)37.80 t4 x 120  kW
2020-20212028.4 m (93 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)37.80 t4 x 120  kW
Düsseldorf, GermanyRheinbahnHF62017-20204228 m (92 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)
Frankfurt am Main, GermanyVgFU5-25 (Bi-directional)2008–20179425.02 m (82.1 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)37.20 t4 x 130 kW
U5-50 (Uni-directional)2008–201713024.764 m (81.25 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)36.15 t4 x 130 kW
U5-KR (non-driving) 2018- ? 22 ? 2.65 m (8.7 ft) ? ?
İzmir, Turkeyİzmir MetroMDOrdered 20013023.5 m (77 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)32.00 t4 x 75 kW
MOrdered 20011523.5 m (77 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)4 x 75 kW
Greater Manchester, EnglandMetrolinkM50002009 - 2017120 +2728.4 m (93 ft)2.65 m (8.7 ft)39.70 t4 x 120 kW
Rotterdam, NetherlandsRETMG2/1, SG2/11998 - 20028130.5 m (100 ft)2.664 m (8.74 ft)44.20 t6 x 85 kW
RSG3, SG3, HSG32007 - 20168642 m (138 ft)2.664 m (8.74 ft)64.30 t8 x 130 kW

See also

References
  1. "Bombardier to Supply Six Additional FLEXITY Swift Vehicles for Rotterdam". Railly News. 23 December 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. To date more than 1,000 FLEXITY Swift light rail vehicles have been sold worldwide. About 5,000 Bombardier trams and LRVs are in revenue service or on order in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America.
  2. Williams, Tony (25 October 2016). "Bombardier M5000, New Vehicles for Metrolink". Light Rail Transit Association. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  3. Light Rail Transport Association Archived 17 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine since the first on 25 June 2008.
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