The Little Dancer is a
low-floor tram
A low-floor tram is a tram that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. The low-floor design improves the accessibility of the tram for the public, and also may provide larger windows and more airspace.
...
brand built by Alna Sharyo, a Japanese manufacturer of trams and
light rail vehicles
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
.
Overview
The name "Little Dancer" was chosen by Alna Sharyo for two reasons, firstly to evoke an image of a lively dancer, and secondly for its similarity to the Japanese word "dansa". "Dansa" in Japanese means "step", pertaining to the step-free access that the trams provide. The result is aimed to evoke an image of a lively, cute, and small tram.
Little Dancer trams feature conventional
bogies
A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more wheelsets (two wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally ...
so that it is easier for railway companies and their maintenance staff to adjust to the trams when they are introduced.
Type
There are several variants of the Little Dancer.
Type S
Type S series are a short body type tram with a single section.
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Iyo Railway
The , commonly known as Iyotetsu, is the main transport provider in Matsuyama, Ehime, Shikoku, Japan. The company operates railway, tram, and bus lines, and also has many subsidiaries, which include a bank, department stores, travel agencies, a ...
- 2100 series. (10 sets)
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Iyo Railway
The , commonly known as Iyotetsu, is the main transport provider in Matsuyama, Ehime, Shikoku, Japan. The company operates railway, tram, and bus lines, and also has many subsidiaries, which include a bank, department stores, travel agencies, a ...
- 5000 series. (12 sets)
*
Sapporo Streetcar
The is a tram loop located in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau. The system is often referred to as simply .
The first section of the network opened in 1909 as the ; it was electrified in ...
- 1100 series (2 set)
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Railway Technical Research Institute
, or , is the technical research company under the Japan Railways group of companies.
Overview
RTRI was established in its current form in 1986 just before Japanese National Railways (JNR) was privatised and split into separate JR group compan ...
- LH02 (Test car.) (1 set)
file:Iyotetsu-Moha2102.jpg, Iyo Railway 2100 series
File:Iyotetsu-Moha5004.jpg, Iyo Railway 5000 series
file:Sapporo Street Car Type 1100 1102 Sirius 2020-3-23.jpg, Sapporo 1100 series
file:RTRI-LH02.jpg, LH02
Type L
Type L series have an articulated three section body.
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Tosaden Kōtsū - 100 series. (1 set)
file:Tosaden 100.jpg, Tosaden 100 series
Type A
Type A series adopt 3 or 5 articulated bodies. (Some of the articulations have no bogies and are floating.)
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Kagoshima City Transportation Bureau - 1000 series (9 sets) and the first Little Dancer type to enter service.
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Kagoshima City Transportation Bureau - 7000 series (4 sets)
Type U, Ua
Type S,L,A series weren't 100% low floor, because the motors attached the bogies. U series devises to position the motor. So, U series are 100% low floor. "U" is an initial of "Ultimate".
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Nagasaki Electric Tramway - 3000 series (3 sets) and 5000 series (3 sets)
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Toyohashi Railroad
The is a private railroad company in Japan, and a subsidiary of the Meitetsu Group. The company or its lines are commonly known as . The company operates the Atsumi Line train service on Atsumi Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture and a tram sy ...
- T1000 series (1 set)
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Toyama Chihō Railway
The is a transportation company in Toyama, Toyama, Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The company is commonly known as . This private company operates railway, tram, and bus services in the eastern part of the prefecture. It also operates as ...
- T100 series (2 sets)
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Sapporo Streetcar
The is a tram loop located in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau. The system is often referred to as simply .
The first section of the network opened in 1909 as the ; it was electrified in ...
- A1200 series (3 sets)
*
Hankai Tramway
is a company which owns two tramway lines in the cities of Osaka and Sakai, Osaka, Japan. It was originally a subsidiary of Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd. although it still uses the Nankai symbol as its logo.
History
Hankai Tramway Co., L ...
- 1001 series (3 sets)
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Chikuhō Electric Railroad - 5000 series (2 sets)
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Tosaden Kōtsū - 3000 series (unknown)
File:Nagasaki Denkikidou3002.jpg, Nagasaki 3000 series (Type U)
File:Nagasaki Electric Tramway 5001 201103051430.png, Nagasaki 5000 series (Type Ua)
File:20090124Toyotetsu T1001.jpg, Toyohashi T1000 series (Type Ua)
File:Hankai 1001 IMG 7431 20130825.JPG, Hankai 1001 series (Type Ua)
File:Chikutetsu5001.jpg, Chikutetsu 5000 series (Type Ua)
Type C
"C" is an initial of "Combination".
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Hakodate Transportation Bureau - 9600 series (2 sets)
File:Hakodate Transportation Bureau type 9600 tramcar.jpg, Hakodate 9600 series (Type C2)
Type X
The traction motor is downsized to the limit, and the same driving system as the conventional vehicle is adopted.
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Kagoshima City Transportation Bureau - 7500 series (unknown)
file:鹿児島市電7500系7501編成.jpg, Kagoshima 7500 series (Type X)
Type N
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Nagasaki Electric Tramway - 6000 series (2 sets)
file:Nagasaki Electric Tramway type 6001 20220529.jpg, Nagasaki 6000 series (Type N)
See also
In Japan, the three brand compete with Little Dancer:
* Bombardier,
ADtranz low floor tram
The ADtranz low floor tram was introduced in the 1990s as the world's first tram with a completely low floor design. This tram was developed by MAN for the Bremen urban transport system. The prototype, tram number 3801, was first publicly int ...
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Niigata Transys
is a Japanese railway vehicle and equipment manufacturer based in Seirō, Niigata. The company is a subsidiary of IHI Corporation and has a factory in Niigata, and representative offices in Osaka, Sapporo, Sendai, and Niigata.
Products
Low ...
has been licensed to make it.
* Siemens,
Combino
The Siemens Combino is a low-floor tram produced by Siemens Mobility (formerly Duewag). The first prototype was produced in 1996 at the Duewag works in Düsseldorf; the trams were later built in Krefeld- Uerdingen.
Due to its modular design u ...
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Hiroshima Electric Railway
is a Japanese transportation company established on June 18, 1910, that operates streetcars and buses in and around Hiroshima Prefecture. It is known as for short.
The company's rolling stock includes an eclectic range of trams manufact ...
, Japanese biggest tram company used to use this tram.
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Green Mover Max - This tram was developed in Japan, too. Hiroshima uses this tram, now.
References
{{Iyotetsu rolling stock
Tram vehicles of Japan