Alstom Citadis 305

The Alstom Citadis 305 set is a new class of Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) currently operating in Sydney. It entered service with the L2 CBD and Southeast line on December 14th, 2019.

The Citadis 305 represents Alstom's second rail fleet contract in New South Wales (after the Sydney Metro’s Metropolis set).

History
They were ordered by Transport for NSW in 2015 in preparation for the opening of the L2/3 CBD and Southeast Light Rail. They were all delivered by truck to the stabling facility near Randwick Racecourse.

Incidents

 * On 26 January 2020, an L2 line tram was hit by a car at the Eastern Distributor bridge. The front car derailed.
 * LRV number 053 suffered an uncontained battery failure on 3 April 2020. The battery charging software on this unit (and others) was corrupted during an update, meaning the onboard batteries were overcharged, leading to an explosion.
 * On 27 July 2020, unit 007 was involved in a collision with a truck near Circular Quay while on a L3 service. The side on car 07-2 was damaged in the incident. Units 007 and 008 were temporarily out of service in order to undergo repairs. Due to this incident as well as a bus collision near UNSW Anzac Parade the same day, buses replaced light rail services on a huge chunk of the L3 line. 007 has since been repaired and returned to service.

Description
The Citadis 305 is the newest model of Alstom's Citadis lineup. The "305" variant, employed for the L2/L3 lines, comprises of 5 carriages:


 * 2 driving carriages: Contains fixed, 2x2 seating in a horizontal formation. A single double-door is located near the front of the car.
 * 2 non-control carriages: Located adjacent to driving cars. These house marked accessibility spaces and include a two rows of foldable seating perpendicular to the tram. Dedicated hand railing and two double-doors located at either end of the cars improve support for a large standing room.
 * 1 centre carriage: Also contains fixed, 2x2 seating. It is the shortest car by length and does not have any doors.

Due to many high patronage areas along the line, (ie. Moore Park and UNSW Precinct) some measures were taken to increase passenger capacity. One is the semi-permanent coupling of two units to form a 10-car set. These sets are 67m in length and are rated to carry up to 466 passengers, with a majority (377) standing. Another measure was the reduction in seating for non-control carriages, significantly increasing standing room. Double doors are used to improve passenger flow during dwell times.

Each unit has lowered floors and designated disability spaces to improve accessibility for mobility impaired passengers.

Multiple onboard Passenger Information Displays (PID) are used to depict route information, such as next stops, transport interchanges and service alerts. These share the same software as those used in B-Line buses. The digital voice announcements (DVAs) are provided by Taylor Owynns, who is also responsible for the automated announcements at stations on the Sydney Trains / NSW TrainLink network.

Security and passenger safety is also heightened with 14 CCTV cameras and 12 intercoms onboard each set. A differentiating aspect of the Citadis 305 model is the use of more energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies: These features, according to Alstom, result in 25% less energy consumption compared with previous generation models, as well as 99% recyclability of each tram.
 * brake-by-wire
 * synchronous traction motors with permanent magnets
 * LED lights
 * sensor-based air-conditioning
 * water based-paints used fir livery
 * non-hazardous materials for construction

The trams are powered by pantograph and third rail at 750V DC. In the event of power failure, all trams carry a battery cubicle that allows continued propulsion to a powered area.

Third Rail (APS)
Another feature of the Citadis 305 is its ability to use an APS (Alimentation Par le Sol, literally "Feeding via the ground") system, an alternative method of power collection involving an electrified third rail embedded into the center of the track. This is split into 11 or 22m segments and the power to each segment can only be turned on by a transponder underneath the tram. Collector shoes underneath the tram then run over this third rail and pick up this power, repeatedly as the LRV travels through the APS zone. This ensures consistent power supply without the need for overhead wiring, as well as prevention of electrical accident occurrence amongst pedestrians and other vehicles.

Specifications

 * Modules (for single sets): 5
 * Axle arrangement (for single sets): Bo′2′Bo′
 * Tram Length: 33m (single sets) or 67m (two coupled sets)
 * Max capacity: 466 passengers
 * Max speed: 70-80km/h

Service
The Citadis 305 exclusively services the L2/L3 line on the Sydney Light Rail network. They are not able to operate on the L1 line in service, but can travel empty between George St and Lilyfield Maintenance Centre when required for heavy maintenance.

From February until October 2022, 12 of the the Citadis 305s will serve the L1 line as only one set at a time, temporarily supplementing the cracked CAF Urbos 3s.

International operations
Variations of the Citadis 305 are used in:
 * Caen, France
 * Kaohsiung, Taiwan
 * Athens, Greece