Spain: In the centre of the city, ATM, the metropolitan transport authority, has put into service the first two-kilometre tramway section with three stops.
In the future, the short-distance 3.9 km catenary-free extension of Barcelona’s tram network will connect two independent city tram systems. Currently, the tram lines are operated by a fleet of 41 five-car Citadis 302 LRVs produced by Alstom between 2003 and 2011.
Under a 2022 contract, the French manufacturer has equipped the track and 18 trams with the APS dynamic ground-based power supply system. The current is supplied to the vehicles by a third conductor rail divided into segments and installed into the track bed. These segments automatically activate and deactivate depending on whether a tram is passing over them, thus eliminating any risk of electrical injuries for pedestrians.
For the first time, Alstom’s APS solution was implemented in 2003 in the city of Bordeaux, France. Today, the technology is already set in 11 cities of France, Australia, Brazil, Türkiye, Qatar, Ecuador, and the UAE.
