Norwegian Trams 2 - Bergen
The
city of Bergen is Norway’s second largest city and is situated in the extreme
west of the country in Hordaland region.
The county name is Fylke and the public transport in this area is
administered by Skyss. The
tramway returned to Bergen in 2010 in the form of a modern light rail
system. It is branded as Bybanen,
which translates to ‘city railway’ and at the time of filming in June 2016,
runs from Byparken to Lagunen a total of 13.2 km, with an extension planned to
the airport. There are 20 stations, six
tunnel sections and street running in the city centre. The French company Keolis is
responsible for the day-to-day operations of the services and their logo is
carried on the trams. The current fleet
is made up of 20 Stadler Variobahn trams,
which are five-section, bi-directional vehicles, 100% low-floor, numbered
201-220. Three of the original batch
ordered by Bergen were delivered to Tramlink
in Croydon. A smart livery of orange
and light grey is carried on the trams with different interior designs carried
on their ceilings. Each tram has a
different ‘chime’ prior to the stop announcement ranging from classical to
modern pop music! We also look at the
trolleybuses that operate in Bergen on this programme. Currently there is now only one route, which
is operated by Tide Buss AS on behalf of Skyss. There are just six low-floor articulated MAN/Neoplan trolleybuses of the N6221 type. Smartly turned out in an orange and white
livery they operate on route 2, but are supplemented by buses, usually
articulated Mercedes-Benz Citaros.
Our filming begins at the city centre tram terminus at Byparken. Our cameras follow the line to the Florida
stop along Nygårdsgaten where we see the trams operating along the street
sections and grassed reserved track.
Locations include Starvhusgaten, Kaigaten, Nonneseter, Lungegårdskaien
and Agnes Mowinckels gate. We then ride
on the trams boarding tram 216 at the start of the line at Byparken and travel
to Kronstad. This is where the depot is
situated. From here we board tram 218
and travel to Wergeland and catch the action at this tram stop. It is now time to board tram 210 to Nesttun,
which was the terminus of the original route before it was extended to Lagunen
in 2013. We continue our journey to
Lagunen on tram 206, where on arrival we film the tram terminal and the bus
exchange below at this busy transport interchange. We now take a look at the trolleybuses. We
see bus and trolleybus action at Småstrandgaten in the city centre before
boarding trolleybus 8198 (EL-10902) a MAN
Neoplan N6221 on route 2 to Birkelundstoppen. We enjoy the sights and sounds of the
trolleybus as it climbs its way to the lofty heights of the terminus at Birkelundstoppen. We return on similar vehicle 8199 (EL-10903)
to Olav Kyrres gate in the city centre - as you will see a spirited and tuneful
ride! Bergen is a very pretty city, but
sees a high average rainfall! Some of
that rain fell during our visit, but this did not deter our filming to bring
you this incite to the trams and trolleybuses of Norway’s second city. Enjoy!
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Filmed
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2016 |
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Duration
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50 mins |
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Price
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Within UK - £16 |
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Rest of world -
£18 |
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Format
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DVD -R |
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Picture Aspect 16:9 |
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Order
Ref : |
D282 |