 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2017) |
| Ayacucho Tram | |
|---|---|
 | |
.jpg) Medellín rubber-tyred tram | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| Owner | Medellín |
| Locale | Medellín, Colombia |
| Termini |
|
| Stations | 9 |
| Website | www |
| Service | |
| Type | Translohr |
| System | SITVA |
| Services | 1 (.svg){kind=small} ) |
| Operator(s) | Medellín Metro |
| Ridership | 10 million (2019)[1] |
| History | |
| Opened | 15 October 2015 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 4.3 km (2.7 mi) |
| Number of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | None (there are no rails). There is a central guide rail instead |
| Electrification | 750 V DC Overhead line |
| Operating speed | 25 km/h (16 mph) |
The Ayacucho Tram (or Medellín Tram) is a Translohr tram system that serves the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley in Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia. It started trial operations on 20 October 2015.[2] The tramline consists of 9 stations with three of those allowing interchanges with the Medellín Metro and the Metrocable systems.[3] The Ayacucho Tram is operated by Medellín Metro and is the only (rubber-tyred or otherwise) tram in Colombia.
Medellín once had a standard steel-wheeled tramway network. It first was opened as a horse tramway and was later converted to electric trams. Routes were built in stages, and the network reached its maximum size in 1945, served by a fleet of 61 tramcars. However, like most cities around the world during the 1950s and 1960s, the tram service was completely abandoned in 1951.
In the late 2000, plans to return trams to Medellín began to come together. The first contracts for the project, to be known as the Tranvía de Ayacucho (Ayacucho Tram), were signed in 2011. It was decided that the new Medellín tramway would uses Translohr vehicles, imported from France, as rubber-tyred trams would be able to handle the line's steep hills better than a conventional steel-wheeled tramway. Construction of the line began in 2012, and delivery of the Translohr vehicles began in 2014.[4]
On 13 July 2015, the first test runs took place.[4][5] Free, limited passenger service began on 15 October 2015,[4][6] and on 31 March 2016 regular passenger operations officially started.[7]
- ^ "Boletín Técnico Encuesta de Transporte Urbano de Pasajeros (ETUP) Cuarto trimestre de 2019". p. 13.
- ^ "Colombia's president opens Ayacucho tramway". Global RailNews. Rail Media. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "Un proyecto regional: Conoce las características, detalles y beneficios del proyecto" [A regional project: Learn about the features, details and benefits of the project]. tranviadeayacuchoysusdoscables.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ a b c Morrison, Allen. "The Trams and Trolleybuses of Medellín, Colombia". Electric Transport in Latin America. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
- ^ "Tranvía de Ayacucho ya dio sus primeros pasos en Medellín" [Ayacucho tram has taken its first steps in Medellín]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 14 July 2015. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
- ^ "Medellín inaugura primera línea del tranvía de Ayacucho" [Medellín inaugurates first line of the Ayacucho tram] (in Spanish). RCN Televisión. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
- ^ "Tranvía: Un sueño de ciudad que se realizó en tre administraciones" [Tram: A city dream that was carried out over three administrations]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 31 March 2016. Retrieved 2018-03-11.