A series of more or less pleasant events on the Romanian tram networks have made us wonder about the usefulness of technical and administrative modernisation programmes. Are these projects thought to increase the attractiveness of public transport in general and of tram transport in particular or are they just record projects?
In the last month Bucharest has witnessed major infrastructure modernisation works for the reconstruction of most of the tram network. A first „fast tram” system with dedicated space has also been developed. In time, the project has been announced with all sorts of bombastic presentations which have turned to be efficient as the line has the highest volume of passengers of the entire network. And still, the effect of fatalist approach and the ignorance of the technological solutions which permit achieving minimum traffic safety parameters have led to a stupid accident: the tram driver didn’t adapt the speed (errare humanum est) and combined with the contrast between a sunny morning and a dark tunnel, it all resulted in the collision of the tram with the two trams which were standing in the tunnel because of a technical breakdown. Fortunately, the accident resulted only in several injured, but also in the attempt to try to find the errants within the specifications of road traffic legislation without also trying to find the right dispatching and vehicle automated protection solutions.
This incident coincides with the flood period at the end of May when the tram lines have temporarily been covered by “lakes” which were even one metre deep. The lack of the same dispatching system has led to queues of up to 20 trams / direction which could not pass through these “lakes” and which “sequestered” people inside the vehicle or made them descend in unsafe and maximum discomfort conditions (mud and heavy rain).
Taking a look to the west of the country, Cluj-Napoca has initiated a tender for the acquisition of modern trams. We will ignore the fact that the tender documents have led to the acquisition of vehicles which consume a lot of energy and which have no other references except for those of the city where the manufacturing plant is located. The question is what would be the logic of buying a reduced number of vehicles with no correlation to an integrated project (lines and vehicle) since the city acquisition strategy is not clear about the integration place, maintenance facilities and even less on the future structure of the fleet? The possibility and the reality of an inconsistent fleet, with varied effects on the network, are high leading to additional hidden pressures on public finances and, why not, on the attractiveness of this transport mode.
As I was talking about three cities, I turned to Timişoara. In the previous years, this city has invested in electronic ticketing solutions promoting the modernisation of the transport activity. And then we have found out that the city introduces a new paper ticketing system in parallel with the electronic system. Tickets will have different colours depending on the three types of vehicles (bus, trolley and tram) which will enable, the operator thinks, an improved management of the passengers’ volume. So we cannot help but wondering: what was the point of investing in data bases and analytical systems, in electronic contactless systems, how will the passenger know how many tickets of the same colour to buy?
An European objective is doubling the public transport market share by 2015. Using what methods? And what role does the tram still play in this objective?
by Ştefan Roşeanu
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