Conditions for using of trams on railway tracks sections in agglomeration communication in Poland

Abstract

At the beginning the justification for searching for an effective, energy-efficient mass communication system in agglomerations in Poland are described. One way of relieving the density of the means of communication on the streets of Polish cities is to extend the offer of tram transport by the partial use of railway networks. The literature is reviewed for already implemented two-system tram-train systems and presented solutions for a such tram system in Europe. It is described the technical and organizational problems related to implement the tram-train vehicle in Poland. How-ever, it is important to overcome the formal barriers related to the authorization of vehicle for placing in tram and railway service (new technical standards for this type vehicle). In order to indicate the scope of technical problems, in the further part of this paper it is made the comparisons by analysing the current regulations and standards of basic requirements for tram and passenger railway vehicle. At the end of paper, alternative measures are proposed to introduce tramtrain vehicles. That will influence the attractiveness of public transport in urban agglomerations.