Monday, June 15, 2020

LANDER'S LRV simulators reach the Norwegian market

LANDER'S driving simulators have reached the Norwegian market through Sporveien, the tram operator in the city of Oslo.

The beautiful capital of Norway, Oslo, is without a doubt one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe and the world. The city was called Kristiania between 1897 and 1924. It is the Norwegian capital with the country's largest population, and it is the political, economic and cultural nerve centre that is home to almost 675,000 people with a modern urban transit network. It is an ideal city for public urban transport.

The Sporveien tram network has six lines crossing through the city centre and out to the suburbs. The metro system, known as T-Bane, runs between the east and west of the city and has six lines converging in a tunnel underneath Oslo city centre. The metro lines are numbered from 1 to 6, and two lines run to the town of Bærum in the west. The tram lines are numbered 11 to 13, and 17 to 19. The city also has 50 bus lines, including 16 night bus lines operating at weekends. Most of them stop at Jernbanetorget, on the other side of the Oslo S Station.

Tram system demand in Oslo has increased considerably in the last 15 years. In recent years this has led the public body to renovate and increase the fleet of vehicles, with 2018's largest active tram contract awarded to CAF. 87 new vehicles will be added to a system undergoing extension and modernisation as one of the main axes of transport in Oslo.

This major project will be accompanied by an unprecedented effort in other areas such as training for the drivers who will be operating the new trams. Sporveien has decided to use simulation to train its drivers, even before the first units have been commissioned.

The driving simulator the public body intends to develop with LANDER will have a team to guarantee a high level of immersion, an accurate reproduction of the new tram, and the entire Oslo tram network. This will all form part of a team for 100% adaptation to the operational circumstances of the system.

Sporveien's requirements will go hand in hand with the extensive experience that has been acquired by LANDER in recent years in the manufacture of tram simulators, thanks to operators with vast knowledge of European tram operations, such as the Budapest Tram, the Utrecht network, the Warsaw tram or Germany's RNV project. Nor can we forsake recently installed projects such as the Vienna tram, Wiener Linien, or Amsterdam's GVB tram.

Sporveien's knowledge will doubtless help get the very most out of simulation technology thanks to this team. And all this will certainly assist with the ultimate objective: to guarantee the best possible effort to improve operational safety and the passenger experience around the city of Oslo.

“Sporveien has 125 years of experience in providing public transport in Oslo, Europe's green capital in 2019. By the end of 2024, Oslo will have 87 new trams and upgraded streets and urban spaces. The Tram Program is creating the Urban Transportation of the Future! At the same time, we now modernize the training for the drivers through collaborations with Lander,” states Mr. Bjørn Bjune, Project Director in Sporveien.