The Oranjestad Streetcar ( nl, Tram van Oranjestad) is a single-track

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

line in Oranjestad, the capital city of

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

. It is owned and operated by Arubus, the national public transportation company.Morrison, Alle
"The Streetcars of Oranjestad, Aruba" (tramz.com)
/ref> It was built as a key component of a larger project to upgrade the main retail areas of the town, other aspects of which included

pedestrianization Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

of streets, planting of trees, installation of ornamental street lighting and resurfacing of streets and sidewalks."Aruba tramway drives major street redevelopment" (July 2013). ''

Tramways & Urban Transit ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthusi ...

'', p. 279. UK: LRTA Publishing. .

History

The line is the first and so far the only

passenger rail Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

service on the island and the rest of the

Dutch Caribbean The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-wes ...

. Three

industrial railway An industrial railway is a type of railway (usually private) that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics, or military site. In regions of the world influenced by British ra ...

s had been constructed on the island, but have all closed. It was inaugurated on 22 December 2012, seven days after the arrival of the first single-deck car. Regular service started on 19 February 2013. The second car, an open-top double-decker, was delivered in June 2013. The heritage style streetcars were designed and manufactured by TIG/m Modern Street Railways in California, USA. The line operates daily. , service was operating from 9:00 to 17:00, with two cars in service after 11:00."Worldwide Review" egular monthly news section(May 2016). ''

'', p. 190. UK: LRTA Publishing.

Route

The line starts from a

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

near the Port of Call and serves the downtown area with a route along Schelpstraat, Havenstraat and Caya

Betico Croes Gilberto François "Betico" Croes (; 25 January 1938 – 26 November 1986) was an Aruban political activist who was a proponent for Aruba's separation from the Netherlands Antilles. This eventually occurred in 1986, but following a car accident o ...

, the

main road A "main road" may refer to: * A major road in a town or village, or in a country area. * A highway * A trunk road, especially in British English Main Road may refer to: * Main Road, Hobart, Australia * Main Road, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh * Main R ...

, which is open to

pedestrians A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or Road surface, pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is dis ...

only. Between

Rancho Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...

and Plaza Chipi Chipi, eastbound trams (towards Plaza Nicky) run via Schelpstraat, and westbound ones (towards Port of Call), run via Havenstraat. It ends at Plaza Nicky, with a stop also located on a loop.Oranjestad Tramway map (tramz.com)
/ref>Oranjestad Streetcar
on

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free, open geographic database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveys, trace from aerial imagery and also import from other freely licensed g ...

There are a total of 9

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

situated approximately apart from each other. The

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

is located between the stops at Port of Call and Rancho. :

^N1Eastbound trams "Port–Plaza Nicky" only

^N2Westbound trams "Plaza Nicky–Port" only

Rolling stock

The fleet is composed of 4 streetcars: 2 single-decker (green and orange) and 2 open-top double-decker (blue and red) cars. The vehicles, assembled by TIG/m in Chatsworth, USA, use

hydrail In transportation, hydrail is the generic term describing all forms of rail vehicles, large or small, which use on-board hydrogen fuel as a source of energy to power the traction motors, or the auxiliaries, or both. Hydrail vehicles use the chemic ...

technology: they are powered by

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

augmented by

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

References

External links

Arubus official website
*
TIG/m LLC Modern Street Railways official website
{{Coord, 12, 31, 12.3, N, 70, 02, 13.2, W, display=title 2010s establishments in Aruba

Tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

Railway lines opened in 2012 Oranjestad Oranjestad Tramways with double-decker trams Hydrogen rolling stock

History

Route

Rolling stock

See also

References

External links