Adtranz Variotram

The Variotrams were a class of tram ordered for the opening of the Sydney Light Rail (Now L1 Dulwich Hill Line). They were based on an ABB German prototype low floor design (Chemnitz TW601) and were extensively modified from the German prototype for Sydney conditions, then manufactured in Dandenong, Victoria by Adtranz (later Bombardier Transportation).

Design
The trams were capable of holding up to 217 passengers. There were 74 seats(including 6 which folded up to create 2 wheelchair spaces). In testing, up to three trams had been coupled together, increasing maximum capacity up to 600 passengers.

Each set was made up of five modules and 28.02m long: The design weight was reduced by switching to a stainless steel structure and aluminum body panels to compensate for the additional weight of Sydney specification air-conditioning equipment. All doors were double leaf, outward opening, plug doors and fitted with traction interlocking. The sets were also fitted with automated next stop announcements.

Each wheel was attached directly to 45kW gear-less hub motors, with no axles between wheels. The trams were powered by 750V DC, collected from overhead wires by a single pantograph on the middle module.

History
A total of 7 Variotrams were built and delivered in 1997 for the opening of the Sydney Light Rail (now L1 Dulwich Hill) Line, numbered 2101–2107. Since the last Sydney tram was numbered 2087, the numbering restarted at the next hundred.

In 2014, a decision was made to replace the Variotram fleet with new Urbos 3 trams rather than give them their mid-life overhauls.

2106 was scrapped in April 2014 after suffering derailment damage some months earlier. The decision to retire the fleet instead of overhaul made repair of 2106 uneconomic.

The remaining cars were put up for sale in 2015, but no purchaser was found. They were all later removed for off-site storage by mid-2015.

2107 was transferred to Transport Heritage NSW for preservation in late 2017 and is now being restored by the Sydney Tramway Museum at Loftus, being delivered to Loftus in October 2018. The other cars were scrapped in early 2018.