State agencies to prepare proposals on tram transportation
By Leman Mammadova
At present, the damage of transport vehicles to the environment is one of the most pressing problems in the world. Automobile transport holds leading position in environmental pollution by more than 90 percent.
Many countries have already realized the serious damage caused by automobiles and view using alternative kind of transports as a solution to this challenge.
One of the ecologically clean transports is trams. Trams and electric trains are the most important vehicles in all developed cities around the world. Trams have been adopted in almost all cities in Europe with population above 200,000 people. The main reasons are that they are efficient and ecofriendly.
The first trams in the world were the main vehicles of cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Touching upon the benefits of trams it should be noted that contruction of tram system requires less cost, it has high capacity of passenger transportation, additional wagons can be connected to the tram at peak hours, and its service life makes more than 40 years.
Trams are very convenient for people in cities where there are a lot of tourists.
The revival of tram lines in Baku has long been rumored and discussed.
It is planned to distribute transportations by types of transport and to ensure the interaction of different types of it in 2019-2022, Trend reports referring to the State Program on Road Traffic Safety in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2019-2023, approved by Presidential Decree dated December 27, 2018.
An action plan will be developed to ensure the interaction of different types of transport, as well as a common transport strategy of Azerbaijan for the purpose of increasing the service life of the motorways in Azerbaijan and reducing the load, improving the safety and quality of transport, overall traffic safety and accelerating the socio-economic development of the regions, optimal distribution of passenger and cargo transportation by type aimed at the development of tourism.
In addition, it is planned to develop the existing public transport infrastructure, increase the number of urban public transport, investigate the possibilities and economic efficiency of tram, cabotage passenger and cargo shipments, and make proposals in this field.
The main executive body is the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, and other executive bodies are the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Baku Transport Agency, Baku Metro, Azerbaijan Railways, Azerbaijan Airlines and Azerbaijan Caspian Sea Shipping Company.
The Baku tramway network had been operating for 80 years.
The Baku tram line network was operating between 1889 and 2004. A horsecar line was opened in Baku in 1889. On 8 February 1924, an electric tram line was launched in Baku, which lasted until 2004.
In February 2012, the government of Azerbaijan announced that it is planning to restore the tram line in Baku, which had to be laid along the seaside promenade of Baku Boulevard in central Baku as part of the Baku White City development project.
Unlike the former network, the new line had to be considerably shorter in length and it hadn't had to serve within the main road networks of Baku as was the case with the former tramway network.
Recently, Alstom, a major French engineering company, suggested the cooperation on restoration of tram line in Baku. Alstom is waiting for Baku city administration to decide on implementation of the project on restoration of the tram lines in the capital of Azerbaijan. The project proposes construction of a new tram line from the Olympic Stadium to the Port Baku and then to the Flag Square.
Alstom is a one of the world leaders in production of power equipment and railway transport.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz