Today, most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph sliding on an overhead line; older systems may use a trolley pole or a bow collector. In some cases, a contact shoe on a third rail is used.
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A pantograph (or pan or panto) is an apparatus mounted on the roof of an electric train, tram or electric bus to collect power through contact with an overhead line. The term stems from the resemblance of some styles to the mechanical pantographs used for copying handwriting and drawings.
The first commercially successful electric tramway was built by Werner von Siemens in Lichterfelde near Berlin, in 1881. In Britain, development of electric tramways was slow.
The Metrolink system can achieve low pollution levels because the trams are powered by electricity produced from modern, cleaner, greener sources – around 70% of a tram's power comes from wind or solar / photovoltaic sources as does the power on stop.
Trams are significantly heavier than buses and require more energy to get moving from a standstill. A tram consumes 0.047 kWh/km per passenger (8). Figure 9. The electric bus, like some trams, has an electric motor, but it also needs to carry its own energy supply in the form of a battery (Figure 10).
Twelve of the tram systems studied fall under this category, with Lyon emerging as the leader. The tram system in Lyon, which was set up in 2001 and stretches across more than 60 kms in the city, received a score of 71 out of 100 averaged across all performance indicators.
Trams cannot go around obstacles, they don't mix well with bikes, they take up too much space and “they cost a fortune,” as Washington DC can tell you.
Substations may receive as much as 27,000 volts from the power plants and then convert it for use in the subway. The subway's contact (third) rail requires 625 volts for operating trains. Power is distributed throughout the system via 2,500 miles of cable.
They found that trams emit approximately 0.74 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger kilometre. Buses showed the least impact, generating just 0.04 kg of CO2 per passenger kilometre, with cars and trains fairly equal at 0.25 kg of CO2 per passenger kilometre and 0.23 kg CO2 per passenger kilometre respectively.
Manchester Metrolink is a tram/light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along 64 miles (103 km) of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Kingdom.