Tramway renewal: the Vilnius case

Since 1991, Vilnius (population 600,000) changed rapidly. After completing the entire renovation of the old town, classified as a world heritage by the UNESCO in 1999, Vilnius has turned into a modern European capital. However, the inner city is starting to suffer from congestion. The increase of car ownership, amplified by the city organisation (60% of inhabitants live in high density areas and work on the other side of the river), creates road bottlenecks with huge consequences on traffic congestion, environmental pollution and dramatic lack of parking places in the centre. The street capacity has already achieved its maximum level and the quality of life in the city tends to deteriorate. Besides car ownership is expected to continue until 2015 with a forecasted growth of 40% along with the improvement of life conditions and the economic recovery which will further increase motorization, the situation will soon reach breaking point. In 1998, the Vilnius Master Plan has been approved, introducing the idea of a new transport system to stimulate public transport and better serve the population demand. Taking advantage of tramway and LRT implementations in other European countries such as Scandinavia, France and England, the mayor of Vilnius chose to deal with this issue proactively and plan a new and modern public transport solution for the next decade. In 2001, he asked for international support to undertake a feasibility study of a modern system in Vilnius. In September 2001, Systra has been chosen to assist the Municipality in defining a LRT scheme and design the technical characteristics of the first line. Systra has carried out this study over 12 months. The results highlight the city centripetal functioning and the impact of 1960s functionalist urbanisation on mobility. High density housing areas located in the suburbs generate massive traffic flows to the centre. Major traffic corridors fluctuate between 5,000 and 6,000 passengers in peak hours, which makes the modern tramway the most appropriate system to match the demand. Multicriteria analysis has resulted in the selection of a three-route network on the surface, with a main interchange point at the centre of the city (Municipality square on Gedimino Av). These routes will be all connected to the current trolleybus, bus and microbus networks and will be combined with park and ride facilities to attract cars. When completed, the whole network will serve 48% of population within the urban area, 59% of the work places and 67% of the educational and academic institutions. The Municipal Council approved the 2010 LRT master plan in May 2002. The traffic simulation study forecasts between 150,000 and 170,000 trips per day. The rolling stock park will count 19 vehicles of 42 m, full low floor, with a capacity of 300 passengers. With a frequency of 3.5 minutes during peak hour on the first line, it will be possible to link the central railway station to the Santariskes main hospital in 27 minutes. Passengers will then save 30% of their current journey time. The global cost of the project has been estimated at 169 millions Euros, i.e. 16.2 million Euros per km, which includes around 45 millions Euros for the rolling stock. The forecast schedule assumes an implementation in 2007. At the same time, new road and parking schemes will be carried out. For the covering abstract see ITRD E126595.

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  • English

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  • Accession Number: 01013805
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
  • ISBN: 0-86050-342-9
  • Files: ITRD
  • Created Date: Dec 22 2005 11:22AM