Editing Tram (section)

==Operation==
[[File:New Flexity LR vehicles approach Spadina and King, 2016 07 21 (15).JPG - panoramio.jpg|thumb|A dedicated right of way lane in [[Toronto]]. The tram on the left is about to enter a track operating in mixed traffic.]] 
There are two main types of tramways, the classic tramway built in the early 20th century with the tram system operating in mixed traffic, and the later type which is most often associated with the tram system having its own right of way. Tram systems that have their own right of way are often called [[light rail]] but this does not always hold true. Though these two systems differ in their operation, their equipment is much the same.

===Controls===
Trams were traditionally operated with separate levers for applying power and brakes. More modern vehicles use a [[locomotive]]-style controller which incorporate a [[dead man's switch]]. The success of the [[PCC streetcar]] had also seen trams use automobile-style [[Automobile pedal|foot controls]] allowing hands-free operation, particularly when the driver was responsible for fare collection.

===Power supply===
{{main|Railway electrification|Current collector|List of tram systems by gauge and electrification}}
[[File:Tramway graz03.jpg|thumb|[[Overhead line]]s are used for most tram and light rail systems.]]

Electric trams use various devices to collect power from [[overhead line]]s. The most common device is the [[Pantograph (transport)|pantograph]], while some older systems use [[trolley pole]]s or [[bow collector]]s. [[Ground-level power supply]] has become a more recent innovation. Another technology uses [[supercapacitor]]s; when an [[insulator (electricity)|insulator]] at a track switch cuts off power from the tram for a short distance along the line, the tram can use energy stored in a large [[capacitor]] to drive the tram past the gap in the power feed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mastascu/elessonshtml/lc/capac1.htm |title=An Introduction To Capacitors |publisher=Facstaff.bucknell.edu |access-date=8 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309023326/http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mastascu/elessonshtml/LC/Capac1.htm |archive-date=9 March 2015}}</ref>
The old tram systems in London, [[Manhattan]] (New York City), and Washington, D.C., used live rails, like those on third-rail electrified railways, but in a conduit underneath the road, from which they drew power through a [[plough]]. It was called [[conduit current collection]]. Washington's was the last of these to close, in 1962. No commercial tramway uses this system anymore. More recently, an equivalent to these systems has been developed which allows for the safe installation of a [[third rail]] on city streets, known as surface current collection or [[ground-level power supply]]; the main example of this is the new tramway in [[Bordeaux]].

====Ground-level power supply====
{{Main|Ground-level power supply}}
[[File:Bordeaux-aps+isolation&joint.jpg|thumb|A section of [[Ground-level power supply|APS]] track in [[Bordeaux]] with powered and neutral sections.]]

A ground-level power supply system, also called surface current collection or {{Lang|fr|alimentation par le sol}} (APS), is an updated version of the original stud type system. APS uses a third rail placed between the running rails, divided electrically into eight-metre powered segments with three-metre neutral sections between. Each tram has two power collection skates, next to which are antennas that send radio signals to energize the power rail segments as the tram passes over them.

Older systems required mechanical switching systems which were susceptible to environmental problems. At any one time no more than two consecutive segments under the tram should be live. Wireless and solid state switching eliminate mechanical problems.

[[Alstom]] developed the system primarily to avoid intrusive power supply cables in the sensitive area of the old city of old [[Bordeaux]].<ref>[http://www.railway-technology.com/features/feature1096/ Allez le Tram from Railway-Technology.com]. Retrieved 15 February 2009.</ref>

===Routes===
[[File:Île-de-France - plan des tramways.png|thumb|A map of the tram routes of [[Paris]].]]
Route patterns vary greatly among the world's tram systems, leading to different [[Transport topology|network topologies]]. 
* Most systems start by building up a strongly nucleated radial pattern of routes linking the city centre with residential suburbs and traffic hubs such as railway stations and hospitals, usually following main roads. Some of these, such as those in [[Hong Kong Tramways|Hong Kong]], [[Blackpool tramway|Blackpool]] and [[Bergen Light Rail|Bergen]], still essentially comprise a single route. Some suburbs may be served by loop lines connecting two adjacent radial roads. Some modern systems have started by reusing existing radial railway tracks, as in [[Nottingham Express Transit|Nottingham]] and [[West Midlands Metro|Birmingham]], sometimes [[Cross-city route|joining them together]] by a section of street track through the city centre, as in [[Manchester Metrolink|Manchester]]. Later developments often include tangential routes linking adjacent suburbs directly, or multiple routes through the town centre to avoid congestion (as in Manchester's [[Manchester Metrolink#Phase 2CC – Second City Crossing|Second City Crossing]]).
* Other new systems, particularly those in large cities which already have well-developed metro and suburban railway systems, such as [[Tramlink|London]] and [[Tramways in Île-de-France|Paris]], have started by building isolated suburban lines feeding into railway or metro stations. In Paris these have then been linked by [[Circle route|ring lines]].
* A third, weakly nucleated, route pattern may grow up where a number of nearby small settlements are linked, such as in the coal-mining areas served by [[BOGESTRA]] or the [[Silesian Interurbans]].
* A fourth starting point may be a loop in the city centre, sometimes called a [[downtown circulator]], as in [[Portland Streetcar|Portland]] or [[El Paso Streetcar|El Paso]].
* Occasionally a modern tramway system may grow from a preserved heritage line, as in [[Trams in Stockholm|Stockholm]].

The resulting route patterns are very different. Some have a rational structure, covering their catchment area as efficiently as possible, with new suburbs being planned with tramlines integral to their layout – such is the case in [[Trams in Amsterdam|Amsterdam]]. [[Bordeaux Tramway|Bordeaux]] and [[Montpellier tramway|Montpellier]] have built comprehensive networks, based on radial routes with numerous interconnections, within the last two decades. Some systems serve only parts of their cities, with [[Trams in Berlin|Berlin]] being the prime example, as trams survived the city's political division only in the Eastern part. Other systems have ended up with a rather random route map, for instance when some previous operating companies have ceased operation (as with the ''tramways vicinaux/buurtspoorwegen'' in [[Trams in Brussels|Brussels]]) or where isolated outlying lines have been preserved (as on the eastern fringe of Berlin). In [[Trams in Rome|Rome]], the remnant of the system comprises three isolated radial routes, not connecting in the ancient city centre, but linked by a ring route. Some apparently anomalous lines continue in operation where a new line would not on rational grounds be built, because it is much more costly to build a new line than to continue operating an existing one.

In some places, the opportunity is taken when roads are being repaved to lay tramlines (though without erecting overhead cables) even though no service is immediately planned: such is the case in [[Leipziger Straße|Leipzigerstraße]] in Berlin, the Haarlemmer Houttuinen in Amsterdam, and Botermarkt in Ghent.

====Cross-border routes====
Tram systems operate across national borders in [[Trams in Basel#Cross-border routes|Basel]] (from Switzerland into France and Germany), [[Trams in Geneva|Geneva]] (from Switzerland into France) and [[Strasbourg tramway#Future extensions|Strasbourg]] (from France into Germany).

In 2012, plans were made to connect the Polish town of [[Słubice]] to the tram network of [[Trams in Frankfurt (Oder)|Frankfurt an der Oder]]. These plans were cancelled when voters in Frankfurt voted down funding for the project and replaced the tram line with a bus. <ref>{{cite web |title=Dream of tram line to Słubice over|url=https://www.transport-publiczny.pl/wiadomosci/koniec-marzen-o-tramwaju-ze-slubic-do-frankfurtu-51679.html|date=29 March 2016|language=pl-PL}}</ref> Another cross-border tramway that was planned [[Hasselt – Maastricht tramway|linking Hasselt (Belgium) with Maastricht (Netherlands)]] was cancelled in June 2022.