Editor's Note: Fratik Mueller-Eberstein,
technical director and spokesman for the management board of the Dresden municipal transit
authority, provided the facts and figures on the CarGo Tram.
By George G. Wynne
APTA Director-International Programs
The renaissance of urban rail has entered a new dimension in Dresden, Germany, with the
introduction of the distinctive blue "CarGo Tram," which transports parts from
the Friedrichstadt logistics center, built atop an abandoned railway yard, through the
inner city to the new Volkswagen plant about five kilometers to the east.
Each five-car train set costs about $1.8 million and carries 60 tons of "just in
time" parts, equivalent to three trailer truckloads, to the "transparent"
plant where the luxury D1 Phaeton model is being built in front of a visitors' gallery.
When the plant reaches maximum capacity, the freight tram will operate on 40-minute
headways, 21 hours a day, to supply close to 2,000 tons of parts in a 24-hour period.
The relatively low costs of the five-car set--two are currently operating--is due to
the reuse of recycled bogies from scrapped Tatra high floor streetcars and other
reconditioned components.
This environmentally friendly way to move freight is expected to reduce inner-city
traffic, with its attendant congestion and pollution, by avoiding the passage of about 100
trailer trucks a day through Dresden's historic old city. During the current trial phase
as the Volkswagen plant is gearing up to full production, the CarGo Tram travels through
the central business district nine times a day.
This is not the first time trolleys have been used to move freight through Dresden and
other cities in the eastern part of Germany. The tradition dates back nearly a century,
but earlier experiments were minor and short-lived. They were never effective in the long
run because direct track connections were missing between the goods suppliers and the
users.
In the case of the CarGo Tram, both the newly built logistics center and the VW plant
are located adjacent to the tracks of one of Dresden's major streetcar lines, with a short
spur built by VW leading directly into the plant.
The innovative freight movement system that uses the city's public transit
infrastructure is not only environmentally friendly, but also cost efficient. The
personnel component of the operating costs is lower; one operator per train set replaces
the three truck drivers who would be required to move the same volume of car parts through
the city.
The CarGo Tram operates as an integral component of the Dresden urban rail system. The
train sets are managed by central control and receive inter-section priority, and their
scheduled passage is shown on the real-time displays at the stops along the streetcar
lines they are using. Should its route be obstructed for any reason, another urban rail
route will be made available.
Frank Mueller-Eberstein, technical director with the Dresden municipal transit
authority, said the Dresden CarGo project shows how major cities with light rail systems
can provide environmentally friendly freight movement if infrastructure and logistics
conditions are met. In the case of Dresden, he explained, "ideas are now under
discussion to supply a future center city shopping mall now under construction, with goods
delivered by streetcar shuttle from a logistics center, with internal distribution to
individual shops by electric delivery carts." The shopping mall will have about 100
individual stores.
Volkswagen has announced that its new luxury model being built in Dresden will be
unveiled at the Geneva International Auto Show in March. When series production is in full
swing, visitors will be able to witness the high-tech production process on the factory
floor from behind glass screens. Restaurant facilities and a 360-degree Volkswagen movie
experience will also be available.
Return To International Focus
Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. Please download the Adobe PDF reader if you have not already done so.
