Flexity Freedom

Flexity Freedom
Demonstration mockup of first two train segments
Manufacturer Bombardier Transportation
Built at Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Family name Flexity
Entered service expected 2017[1]
Number under construction 196 ordered (182+14)[2]
Capacity 56 (seats) 130 (standees) 4 (accessible spaces) 251 (total capacity) [3]
Operator(s) ETS, GRT, HSR, TTC
Line(s) served B-Line (Hamilton), Eglinton Crosstown line, Finch West LRT, Ion LRT, Valley Line (Edmonton)
Specifications
Car length 30.8 m (101 ft 1 in)[3]
Width 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)[3]
Height 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)[3]
Doors 8-12 (4-6 on each side)[3]
Articulated sections 5[3]
Maximum speed 80 km/h (50 mph)[3]
Electric system(s) 750 V DC Overhead trolley wire[3]
Current collection method Pantograph
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The Flexity Freedom is a low-floor, articulated light rail vehicle developed by Bombardier Transportation for the North American market. It is marketed as part of its Flexity family which includes other models of trams (streetcars) and light metro vehicles.

Flexity Freedom vehicles will be operated by the Toronto Transit Commission on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, Hamilton Street Railway on the Hamilton B-Line, by Grand River Transit on the Ion LRT in Waterloo Region,[4] and by the Edmonton Transit System on the Valley Line.[5] Bombardier will produce these vehicles in their Thunder Bay, Ontario facility, which once produced rolling stock under the names of CC&F and UTDC.

Being entirely low-floor, these vehicles directly compete with the Flexity Swift, Siemens S70, CAF Urbos, and Kinki Sharyo LRVs. However, as they are designed for light rail rather than streetcar applications, they also compete against, to a lesser extent, low-floor streetcars from Skoda/Inekon and Brookville Equipment Corporation, among others.

Design

The vehicles are have a 100% low-floor design[6] and can be built to operate unidirectionally or bidirectionally. The vehicles' design includes energy-saving features, like regenerative braking and the use of LED lighting, but they are also air-conditioned. The vehicles may be coated in special paint designed to resist graffiti. They are equipped with passenger counters at the doors.[3]

The vehicles are articulated, but unlike competing rolling stock, they are built out of similar-length modules.[3] Operators can alter the number of intermediate modules, thus altering the capacity of the individual vehicles. The Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo vehicles will contain five modules, while those in Edmonton will have seven modules. Vehicles can be coupled and operated as trains of up to four connected vehicles.

The maximum passenger capacities, in the standard seating layouts, are 135 and 251, for the three and five-module configurations respectively. When run in the five-module configuration, with train-sets of four vehicles, the maximum capacity of a light rail line is 30,000 passengers per peak hour. The vehicles' standard passenger configuration can safely accommodate up to four passengers in wheelchairs. For example, the trains for Edmonton will carry up to 275 passengers per trains.[5]

According to Bombardier, the trainsets can be built for "catenary-free" power, where, instead of being powered by direct contact with overhead wires they are powered indirectly through induction, through buried loops, a form of ground-level power supply competing directly with Alstom's "APS" third rail system.[3]

Freedom and Outlook in Toronto

Flexity Freedom vehicles differ from the Flexity Outlook vehicles used on the Toronto streetcar system in that they are wider and faster, and use standard gauge rather than the streetcar system's unique broad gauge.[3] They are also bi-directional, with cabs on both ends and doors on both sides. While Flexity Outlook vehicles can negotiate the tight curves of the streetcar network, Flexity Freedom vehicles require a minimum curve radius of 25 metres (82 ft).

The reason the light rail lines in Toronto will be constructed to standard gauge instead of Toronto's streetcar gauge is because Metrolinx, the Ontario provincial transit authority funding the projects, wants to ensure a better price for purchasing vehicles by having a degree of commonality with other similar projects within Ontario.[7]

History

The Flexity Freedom cars were designed for the Transit City plan which would have created six suburban LRT lines for an order ranging about 300 cars. Only the Eglinton Crosstown line is being built, which resulted in Metrolinx ordering only 182 vehicles.[2][8] The Finch West LRT from that proposal has since been also approved, though vehicle orders are yet to be finalized.

In July 2013, the Region of Waterloo finalized a deal with Metrolinx to join their contract and purchase 14 additional vehicles for their forthcoming Ion light rail system.[9] All 14 vehicles in the Waterloo Region order are expected to be delivered by the end of 2016. [10]

As part of a consortium that won the contract to build and operate the Edmonton LRT Valley Line in February 2016, Bombardier is providing Flexity Freedom vehicles for use on the new line,[5] as opposed to Siemens LRVs on the existing Capital and Metro Lines.

The car is also being marketed by Bombardier for future orders within North America.

References

  1. ↑ Melissa Murray (11 July 2013). "Region finalizes LRT vehicle deal". Kitchener Post. Retrieved 16 November 2013. By 2017, the LRT will serve a 19-kilometre corridor from the Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to the Fairview Mall in Kitchener.
  2. 1 2 "Metrolinx spends $770-million to order 182 LRT vehicles from Bombardier". The Globe and Mail. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "FLEXITY Freedom" (PDF). Bombardier Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved May 2013.
  4. ↑ "Bombardier façonne l'avenir de la mobilité avec ses solutions d'avant-garde pour le secteur ferroviaire à l'EXPO APTA 2011" [Bombardier is shaping the future of mobility with its avant-garde solutions for the railway sector in the APTA EXPO 2011] (in French). Le Lezard. 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2013-06-26. A l'EXPO APTA 2011, Bombardier Transport fait le lancement de sa nouvelle plate-forme de véhicule léger sur rail très éconergétique FLEXITY Freedom, destinée au marché nord-américain. FLEXITY Freedom combine des innovations et des éléments éprouvés tirés de la réputée plate-forme de tramway modulaire FLEXITY pour en faire le véhicule de choix de tout développement futur dans le domaine du transport urbain.
  5. 1 2 3 "Bombardier Wins Order to Supply Light Rail Transit System for City of Edmonton’s Valley Line in Canada". Bombardier Transportation. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Freedom takes Flexity to the North American tram market". Railway Gazette. 2011-10-22. Archived from the original on 2014-07-08. Reflecting Canadian conditions, the trams are designed to cope with heavy snow, featuring heated door thresholds and couplers, heat exchanges on the HVAC, and the ability to cope with snow settling to 355 mm deep on the roof. The underframe will be fabricated from stainless steel to resist corrosion from road gritting salts.
  7. ↑ "Transit City measures up to international standard". Toronto Star. January 6, 2010. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  8. ↑ "Metrolinx exercises option for 182 light rail vehicles". Railway Gazette. 2011-10-22. Archived from the original on 2013-05-20. Reflecting Canadian conditions, the trams are designed to cope with heavy snow, featuring heated door thresholds and couplers, heat exchanges on the HVAC, and the ability to cope with snow settling to 355 mm deep on the roof. The underframe will be fabricated from stainless steel to resist corrosion from road gritting salts.
  9. ↑ Paige Desmond (2013-07-11). "Region approves purchase of Bombardier LRT trains". Kitchener, Ontario: Kitchener-Waterloo Record. Archived from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2013-07-13. The region's train order will be added to a contract Metrolinx has to buy light rail vehicles for the City of Toronto. Officials said it would lower costs, keep the project on schedule, improve vehicle reliability over a longer period and offer an opportunity to share parts and knowledge.
  10. ↑ Murray, Melissa (26 February 2016). "Bombardier cuts won’t affect delivery of region’s LRVs". Kitchener Post. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
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