
Railways / Germany: Electric Locomotives / Bombardier Traxx (185-186)
At the end of the 1990s, the DB freight devision required replacements for hundreds of old electric locomotives, primarily for the so-called → Einheitslokomotiven (= Standard electric locomotives). Due to the increasing international activities a double-system locomotive class was demanded, which is also able to work under the 25 kV AC system. The first engines were delivered in the year 2000 and became a bestseller: more than 400 locos were built for the DB, and orders by many private operators followed, so that a total of more than 1,000 locomotives were sold.
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Public Transport / Germany / Cottbus
The city of Cottbus has a population of almost 100,000 inhabitants. It posseses a tram network with a system length of some 20 kilometres. Only Tatra KT4D vehicles of the Czech manufacturer CKD, which were rebuilt to KTNF6 type, are used in the regular service.
The Trams and city buses are operated by → Cottbusverkehr GmbH.
7 photos

Public Transport / Germany / Dresden
Dresden is the capital of Saxony in Germany and has approx. 500.000 inhabitants. It has an extensive tramway network with a route lenght of more than 130 kilometres. An unusual feature is the track gauge of 1,450 mm, this is 15 mm wider than the standard gauge. Operator of the tram and the city buses is → DVB (Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG).
A special attraction are the two funicular railways in the district of Loschwitz. Both start near at the bus stop Körnerplatz (or approx. 10 minutes walking distance from the tram stop Schillerplatz). The funiculars are only partly integrated into the fare system of the public transport: only weekly and monthly season tickets are accepted, otherwise seperate tickets must be bought. Therefore, the purchase of a weekly travel pass might be advisable also for a stay of two or more days in Dresden.
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Public Transport / Scandinavia / Odense
Odense, die mit ca. 180.000 Einwohnern drittgrößte Stadt Dänemarks, hat im Mai 2022 ihre 1952 eingestellte Straßenbahn wiedereröffnet. Die erste Linie ist gut 14 Kilometer lang, eine zweite Linie ist bereits in Planung. Die neue Bahn wird wie in vielen Städten üblich jedoch nicht als Straßenbahn (Sporvej) bezeichnet, sondern als Stadtbahn (Letbane, wörtlich Leichtbahn). Tatsächlich verläuft die Trasse zwar durch die Fußgängerzone, hat aber außer an Kreuzungen keine Berührungspunkte mit dem Autoverkehr.
Der Betrieb wird koordiniert von der → Odense Letbane P/S, die operative Betriebsführung wurde ausgeschrieben und wird von Keolis erbracht.
7 photos