From Mulhouse To Strasbourg
After exploring Mulhouse, I took an early evening train onto Strasbourg. Theation journey was done without any trouble, but as there was no information system on the train and station names were not too visible, I was worried about being taken to Nancy.
But a fellow passenger put me right.
Surely, in these days, it should be a European law that all trains have good information systems and that station names are clearly illuminated.
At Strasbourg the station wasn’t a problem, although in common with most European stations, the lighting levels, weren’t at the levels you get in the UK.
After a little bit of searching, I found that the tram to my hotel was in a tunnel under the station and with assistance from a helpful local, I was able to purchase a ticket and go the two stops needed.
Often the pasengers’ experience of a train, tram or metro journey can be improved significantly with clear signs and good lighting.
A Quick Exploration In Mulhouse
On the way from Basel to Strasbourg, I stopped off at Mulhouse to have a look at the city and ride its tram-trains.
The line is a good bit short of its planned length and rather infrequent at the moment, but compared to the two German systems in Karlsruhe and Kassel, it is a step up in design quality.
I should also say, I was impressed with both Mulhouse and its trams and tram-trains.
There was a lot of information maps everywhere and this was an order of magnitude better than anything I’d seen in Germany.
The Germans could do a lot worse than hop over the border with a camera and pinch the designs used in Mulhouse.
I particularly liked the red finger on the finger post, which always pointed to the historic city centre. So simple, I wonder why I’ve not seen it before!
If you look at the proposal for the extension of the Sheffield Supertram to Rotherham using a tram-train, it has similarities to the system in Mulhouse.
The Siemens S70/Avanto tram-trains used in Mulhouse are dual voltage capable of running on 750 V DC or 25kV AC. The Class 399 Sheffield tram-trains which are being made by Vossloh are said to have a similar capability. You could argue that being able to run on both these voltages is akin to the dual-voltage Class 378 which run on both voltages. The Class 378 halts for the changeover at places like Acton, but surely modern electric systems can be designed that handle the changeover between voltages automatically.
Uncertainty In Basel
The train arrived in Basel on time, but due to a misunderstanding with the public address, I got out at the German station rather than the Swiss one.
So I lost about half-an-hour on my way to Mulhouse. I then had to go to virtually a separate station to get my French train.
Surely for reasons of efficiency, the three stations should be more integrated.
From Karlsruhe To Basel
I left Karlsruhe for Basel and one of the tram-trains had even turned up in the station.
Again it was another of those journeys which would have been better in the sun.
There is though the chance of having a stop in Baden-Baden to break up the journey.
Exploring Karlsruhe And Its Trams And Tram/Trains
As the main reason I went to Karlsruhe was to see their tram/trains, properly called the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, in action, I’m combining all the posts in the city in one.
It’s also probably a good idea to combine the pictures, as the main street of the city is being dug up to create a new tunnel for the tram/trains across the city. So you can’t really see any of the city’s attractions.
Notice that Karlsruhe’s tram/trains can be quite large and I think I saw some of four or possibly five coaches. Their network is also over two hundred and fifty kilometres, so small it is not! By comparison the Sheffield Supertram is just thirty kilometres, but Sheffield has a population twice that of Karlsruhe. These figures show how undeveloped our tram systems are compared to those in Germany.
It will certainly be worth returning to Karlsruhe, when the tunnel is complete and the network is expanded.
The operation of Karlsruhe’s tram-trains are often described as the Karlsruhe model. Kassel is described as working to this and so is the Tyne and Wear Metro, although that is not a tram-train, but it does share tracks with heavy rail.
Karldruhe also uses Vossloh Citylink tram-trains, which are similar to the Class 399 ordered for Sheffield for operation as tram-trains to Rotherham.
The Anonymous Widower 