Ghent Trams Rolling Stock

Ghent Trams Rolling Stock

Ghent Trams Historical

Archaic two- and three-axle trams, built in the early 20th century, continued in use until the early 1970s. The last of these were withdrawn in 1974.

Duewag Trams from Bochum

By the early 1990s there was a lack of trams due to expansion of the tram network. In order to solve this problem, it was decided to acquire used trams. In 1993 a PCC tram from Saint-Etienne (France) arrived in Ghent, board number STAS 507. Its stay in Ghent was not successful and saw little use. The tram car was eventually scrapped.

In 1994 it was decided to buy used Duewag trams from Bochum (Germany). The first of them entered Ghent on May 11, 1994. Here it got its board number 55. By September 1 of that year, the usage of this tram started, and on September 19, 1994 it was renumbered no. 60.

Nine ex-Bochum trams arrived in Ghent. There numbers were 6260 — 6265 and 6267 — 6269 (Bochum numbers 29, 20, 19, 22, 23, 27, 11, 14, 16). Yet their usage in Ghent was only four years, the Bochum trams left service by April 25, 1998, and by October 21, 1998 De Lijn decided to scrap the trams and sell them for scrap metal.

PCC

From 1971–1974, 54 PCC trams were delivered to Gent, built at La Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN) in Bruges. Their numbers are 6201 — 6254, but non-modernized PCC trams wear just the last two digits, e.g. 01 rather than 6201.

• Tram no. 6201. This tram was recently repaired, yet not modernized. It was brought back to the condition of 1971, and repainted into the original MIVG blue livery, as it was from 1971–1991. This tram would be transferred to a museum in 2010, but is still occasionally used in case of shortage.
• Tram nos. 6202 — 6223 were modernized in 1998–2003. The interior was completely changed, doors were replaced, and driver's cab were completely separated from passenger's space. It is supposed that those trams will work for 11–14 years more.
• Tram nos. 6224 — 6254. A decision was taken not to modernize those trams. Decommissioning began in 2006, as of late 2007 seventeen of the trams were decommissioned. Up to 2010 the usage of non-modernized PCCs is supposed to finish but, as of 31/12/2008, a total of 43 PCC trams remain in service across the whole of East Flanders.

It is likely that these PCCs will continue service for a long time, since there are not enough new trams on order to replace them, especially regarding the planned network expansions.

HermeLijn

These low floor trams (joint enterprise of Siemens and Bombardier) were supplied in Ghent since 1999 till 2007/8. There are three series of HermeLijn in the operating pool: nos. 6301 — 6314, 6315 — 6331 and 6332–6341. HermeLijn trams are in fact a modification of NGT6DD and NGT8DD, which were built for Dresden's tram network from 1995—2000 by Deutsche Waggonbau (DWA) in Bautzen.

• Trams 6301 — 6314 were the first low floor trams. They were delivered in 1999–2000.
• Trams 6315 — 6331 were the second series of HermeLijn trams. They were delivered from February 10 to 1 December 2005. They have minor construction differences from the first series, and an automated stop announcement system.
• Trams 6332 - 6341 entered service during 2007. They are used in winter and spring on the Ghent tram network, in summer and autumn they are used on De Kusttram, the Belgian Coast Tram service from Knokke to De Panne.

Ghent Trams Flexity 2

In August 2012, De Lijn ordered a fleet of Bombardier Flexity 2 trams, which would be allocated to Ghent, Antwerp, and the Coast Tram, ten of these would be used in Ghent. Since 2015, the new trams started service, mostly on route 1 due to it being the busiest tramline. They are 13m longer than the Hermelijns, which means they can carry up to 1/3rd more passagers. In 2021, the rolling stock contained 26 trams (6351-6376) of this type.

Ghent Trams Depot

Currently, the main depot is on Brusselsesteenweg in Gentbrugge, next to the crossing with Steenvoordelaan:

51.03659°N 3.75343°E

This depot is used by trams as well as buses. A new tram depot was planned on a brownfield site at Wissenhage, a new tram and cycle bridge over a canal would connect it to the rest of the network. The bridge has been completed, but the depot has been delayed, partly due to pollution. The new tram yard would have enough space for 80 low floor HermeLijn trams, as well as 175 buses. There would also be repair facilities for trams and buses. The new depot would be located at:

51.06785°N 3.715621°E

The necessity to build a new tram depot arose because the Gentbrugge depot will be too small for the expanding transport system. In the interim, tracks under the E17 highway are being used as a temporary store. This is near the current depot, and also known as "Ghent Brugge-2 depot".

Ghent Trams Overview

Ghent Trams Locale: Ghent, Belgium
Ghent Trams Horsecar Era: 1874–ca. 1904
Ghent Trams Status: Converted to electricity
Ghent Trams Operator(s):
Les Tramways de la Ville de Gand (1874–1897)
Société Anonyme des Railways Éonomiques de Liège-Seraing et Extensions (RELSE)
Compagnie Générale des Railways à voie étroite (CGR)(1897)
SA des Tramways Electriques de Gand (1898–ca. 1904)
Ghent Trams Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Ghent Trams Propulsion System(s): Horses
Ghent Trams Accumulator Tram Era: 1899–ca. 1904
Ghent Trams Status: Experiments abandoned
Ghent Trams Operator(s): SA des Tramways Electriques de Gand
Ghent Trams Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Ghent Trams Propulsion System(s): Rechargeable batteries
Ghent Trams Electric Tram Era: since 1904
Ghent Trams Status: Operational
Ghent Trams Operator(s):
SA des Tramways Electriques de Gand (1904–1961)
Maatschappij voor Intercommunaal vervoer te Gent (MIVG) (1961–1991)
De Lijn (since 1991)
Ghent Trams Track Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Ghent Trams Propulsion System(s): Electricity
Ghent Trams Electrification: 600 V DC Overhead
Ghent Trams Depot(s): Gentbrugge