Tampere launches the Nordic countries’ longest tram

Tampere’s first 47-metre tram will begin carrying passengers on Saturday, becoming the longest tram in the Nordic countries, Yle reports.

The tram, named Valma, has been extended by 10 metres with a section fitted in the middle. It is 2.65 metres wide and can carry 345 people, up from 264 on a standard 37-metre tram. The next-longest tram in the Nordic countries, measuring 45 metres, operates in Bergen, Norway.

Valma’s first passenger service will leave Hervanta campus at 8.28 a.m. on line 1. Driver Samu Makkonen said operating the longer tram is much like driving the shorter version, and that its greater weight makes it feel more stable. He described its movement through a bend as being “like a worm”.

The longer trams are intended to ease crowding and help the city restore a 7.5-minute service interval. After complaints about crowding, the interval was shortened from 7.5 minutes to six minutes following the autumn holiday. Nysse, the Tampere region’s public transport service, says it aims to return to the longer interval, which it considers cost-effective and sufficient for passengers. That will require more capacity.

Tampere’s tram network has become increasingly popular. It carried nearly 10 million passenger journeys in its first year of operation, 2021, and more than 20 million last year. The tram company has ordered 11 more extension sections to lengthen existing trams, as well as seven new extra-long trams. The total cost of the trams being delivered, the extension modules and development work is about 63 million euros.

Trams are scheduled to begin running to Partola in Pirkkala and Ruotula in Tampere in August 2028. The goal is to have 19 extended trams and 16 standard-length trams operating by then.