Since December 2000, cargo trams have been used to move goods in the center of Dresden between the Transparent Factory belonging to the Volkswagen group and the Volkswagen Logistics Center.
The route length is 4 km. This has allowed for relieving road transport and, at least in part, reducing environmental burdens. The cargo tram, painted blue (as opposed to the yellow passenger ones), consists of two end power cars with control cabs and 3 middle wagons with a very lightweight aluminum construction with sliding doors to facilitate loading goods. The tram train is 59.4 m long, the wagon length is 11.7 – 12.0 m, the cargo capacity of the freight wagons is 214 m3 and their load capacity is 60 tons. Since April of this year, the cargo tram traffic has been operating according to a schedule synchronized with passenger tram traffic. Many attempts have been made to introduce freight tram transport in the past, but they all ended in failure. Trucks offered better transport capabilities within city centers. Perhaps the project implemented in Dresden will change this trend in favor of rail traffic.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2001/3.