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Ive always wondered how much snow is too much for trams like this
Generally railed vehicles cut through snow pretty well. The sheer weight of the vehicle, and the thin metal wheel on a track, will push any loose snow out of the way. Any snow that doesn't get pushed away, actually melts under the pressure of the passing vehicles, which means with frequent enough traffic, the tracks are kept clear.
Solid ice, or a large buildup of snow that can begin gathering in front or in the rail groove, can become a problem. If it's bad enough, derailment can occur.
Snow or water that then freezes can get into switches along a route, preventing them from being actuated.
The first is generally solved by maintenance cars that clear the tracks more thoroughly than just a normal one running by. These would run in the morning, and between normal service if the conditions require it.
Switches in places that get snow are typically heated, keeping them clear of snow and ice at all times.
Overrall, trams keep running fine LONG past where buses and cars become unable to drive. In my city, there have been many times when bus service has shut down during winter storms, while trams just kept going all the way through.
That's not to say derailments don't happen here. They do, but snow storms don't mean the tram network gets shut down. They just adapt to the situation and keep going as well as they can.
I haven't heard of any disruptions in the tram service, but buses have indeed had trouble. Especially the electric Yutongs, which have 3 axles but no ability the lift up the non-driving rear axle to increse traction unlike their Volvo counterparts.
I've never seen a maintenance car, but if they are a thing they run at 5 in the morning before the first tram I imagine, and I'm not up for that. During the day these trams come every 7 minutes so that's probably enough to keep the tracks clean enough.
I'm not sure Tampere has them. I tried to look up info on the rolling stock you guys have, but I could only find info on the cyrrently about 20 Artic X34s that are used to run the lines.
Down here in Helsinki, you definitely see maintenance cars start regularly clearing the rails during the day, when the weather gets bad.
I don't think Tampere has had a single derailment yet. And since the network over there is much smaller, it's possible they're opting to just keep it running using the normal winter road maintenance vehicles the city no doubt already has tons of.
Might not be worth the ticket price of maintenance cars that can only work to clear out snow along the tram tracks, with such a new, small, network. But for the same reason, there are no sections of track that get infrequent traffic, and would thereby develop problems with buildup.
Thank you for such a detailed explanation! I've always asked myself why the busses in my city get cancelled in the winter but not the trams, and now it makes so much sense :D