The Bombardier Flexity Classic is a model of light-rail

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

manufactured by

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

(now merged into

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

). Although it is marketed as the most traditionally designed member of the Flexity family, it is still a modern bi-directional articulated tram with a low-floor section allowing good accessibility, especially to passengers in

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

s. Flexity Classic trams run on in Australia, in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, and in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Flexity models operate in a number of German cities, as well as in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(2010–2020),

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

and

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

(Sweden),

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

(Poland), and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Along with Bombardier's other Flexity trams, the Flexity Classic's closest competitors are

's Citadis and

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

' Combino, Avenio and Avanto.

Adelaide

In 2006 TransAdelaide began to replace the Type H cars operating on the Glenelg tram line with 11 Flexity Classic trams built in

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

, Germany by

. The first of the new cars was delivered to the Glengowrie depot in November 2005 and entered revenue service on 9 January 2006. A further order of four in 2008 brought the total to 15, numbered 101–115.Adelaide tram news '' Trolley Wire'' issue 330 August 2012 page 18 The Flexity cars are painted in a standard

Adelaide Metro Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of the Adelaide area, around the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal passenger transport, intermodal system offering an integrated network of Buses in Adelaide, bus, Glenelg tram, ...

colour scheme of white with yellow, blue and red ends. The trams have low floors throughout 70 per cent of their length, and are accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs through each of the three sets of doors. Their features include air conditioning, heating, recorded video surveillance and automated audio and visual announcements of the next stop. Roving conductors are employed. The internal layout accommodates 64 seated passengers and another 115 standing. Initial overcrowding owing to the popularity of the rejuvenated Glenelg line and the short route extension through the business area of Adelaide, and the inadequacy of air conditioning in Adelaide's hot summers, led to adverse reactions from commuters and local media, but the faults were soon rectified and supplementation by Alstom Citadis trams (200 Series) has minimised overcrowding.

Specifications

Dresden and Leipzig

The Flexity Classic XXL model was developed for the Dresden Transport Authority by the German factory

. It is long, runs on twelve axles and has a capacity of 260 passengers with 153 seats. The Flexity Classic XXL (classification NGT D12DD) has, because of Dresden's altitude differences of , a

power-to-weight ratio Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement ...

of . The tram has been in service since 2003 and serves tram lines with a high peak load of passengers. The exterior is specially designed for the Dresden Transport Authority, which owns 43 trams. The Flexity Classic XXL is also in service in

, Germany (classification NGT12-LEI) with the Leipzig Transport Authority (LVB). Although the exterior design is customized, the tram offers the same capacity. It has been in service since 2005. The LVB first ordered 12 trams of this type, then exercised an option for another 12 trams in September 2005 and a third (slightly changed) batch of 9 was delivered in late 2011/early 2012.

Around the world

Image:HB 2016-0607 photo28 tram at Domsheide.jpg, ''Flexity Classic'' in service on line 6 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Germany Image:EVAG Linie 109 nach Steele (S).jpg, ''Flexity Classic'' in service on line 109 in

, Germany Image:KasselKoenigsplatzStrassenbahn2477.jpg, One out of ten bi-directional ''Flexity Classic'' trams in Kassel, Germany Image:NGT8 Dortmund Hafen.jpg, NGT8 type ''Flexity Classic'' at the Harbor station of the “DSW21” network in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, Germany Image:Schwerin Strassenbahn 2008-06-10 002c.jpg, ''Flexity Classic'' of the “Nahverkehr Schwerin” (NVS) network in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

, Germany Image:Tramwaj_na_Abrahama.JPG, ''Flexity Classic'' (NGT6) in service at Strzyża PKM in

, Poland Image:Hw ngt6.jpg, ''Flexity Classic'' (NGT6) in service in

on the “ Krakowski Szybki Tramwaj” ''(Krakowian Fast Tram)'' network, Poland Image:Stockholm Tram Car 3 - left side.JPG, ''Flexity Classic'' on the Spårväg City Line (an extension of the Djurgården Line) in Trams in Stockholm, Sweden Image:M06Vidablick.JPG, ''Flexity Classic'' on the tramway in

, Sweden

References

External links

Flexity official site
{{Flexity Bombardier Transportation tram vehicles Tram vehicles of Australia Tram vehicles of Germany Tram vehicles of Poland Tram vehicles of Sweden Articulated passenger trains