Cheers, everyone!

 

I had to wait far longer than I would have preferred, but this Friday, I finally did get instructed on our new NGT10 trams. Type rating for our staff had been significantly slowed due to the flu outbreak in late winter but is now being caught up on.

 

The procedure consists of one day of theory, one day of individual driving instruction, and one shift of passenger service with a trainer in attendance. I'll now have to accomplish only the last step and would then be rated for solo driving.

 

Driving instruction is currently carried out in a morning and afternoon shift Mondays till Fridays. The unit currently used primarily for training is 1001, which was absent from Leipzig between 26 October last year and 22 March for amendments and paintwork renewal.

 

Training shifts explicitly double as testing and evaluation sessions, with instructors and trainees explicitly invited to collect information and observations. This means that newly delivered NGT10s generally are booked for training shifts for a crtain period before release into revenue service.

 

As it is, 1001 currently is generally the first unit to receive software updates for evaluation prior to distribution to the other units. At present, 1001 through 1012 are in Leipzig. 1011 saw its first revenue shifts this week, while 1012 is currently being prepared for shakedown turns.

 

 

 

 

Our route first took us to Schkeuditz, pulling over off Central Station West to allow the Line 11 service behind us past.

 

En route to Schkeuditz, I made an emergency stop for practice. I had been informed that the NGT10 has even better performance here than the NGT12, which is excellent already. Taking a pedestrian crossing outside Stahmeln as the mark, on a slight downhill gradient out of 50 kph, the stopping distance was roughly half the unit's length, my estimate being about 19 metres. Which of course means that, as always with emergency stops, one should be prepared for possible injuries aboard.

 

As a new detail which is being planned to be duplicated on our older low floor units, hazard lights automatically activate upon an emergency stop.

 

 

 

 

Taking a break in Schkeuditz.

 

 

I was quite fond of the driver seat, easily as comfortable as on current top-range cars. Numerous adjustment options exist for backrest, lumbar support and cushioning, with actuation being partially electric and partially pneumatic. The seat as a whole is pneumatically suspended with automatic weight adjustment, and also provides heating and ventilation. There also is an "easy access" key which has the seat travel to a position allowing easy-ish cab ingress and egress, as - which does merit mention - cab space use is, shall we say, efficient.

 

One feature not yet active is the memory adjustment function, where one optimal and up to two additional adjustment profiles can be saved to the staff pass, which, once active, will allow the seat to set itself automatically after driver changes.

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, many vehicle functions are now operated through touchscreens, of which there are two on the control panel.

 

This is the standard interface for the centre screen, providing speed, OHLE and battery circuit tension information, as well as wipers, windscreen heating and defogging, pantograph actuation, microphone control for internal, external and radio communication. Furthermore, the "disk/padlock" softkey allows a total period of ten minutes (five ahead and five beyond activation) of CCTV image recording to be saved to a protected event storage for later readout. This, of course, can be useful in the event of violence or other incidents aboard, with general CCTV memory duration being 168 hours as per current privacy regulations.

 

The icon immediately to the right of the pantograph softkey indicates holding brakes to be applied. The speed indicator also provides information as to when recuperated power can be fed back into the OHLE grid during braking, and when you are driving economically, utilising coasting and downhill sections effectively, for example.

 

With unlocked doors, it is also possible to open and close individual doors by tapping the appropriate softkeys in the lowermost row.

 

 

The left screen provides diagnostic information as well as cab and passenger air conditioning and lighting control. Interior and exterior lighting can be automatically activated by ambient light sensors. The general rule is that functions which are selected or activated are indicated by coloured accents on the relevant softkeys, such as the "auto" labels and light beams on the automatic lighting keys.

 

Error messages would appear in the table to the upper left table…

 

 

…and can be read and acknowledged by tapping, following which they are moved into this temporary storage, which can then be called up on the "wrench" tab. It is recommended to clear this table occasionally using the "trash" key. The "document folder" key would call up the permanent error history with all faults to have ever been recorded by the unit.

 

Not all errors really are genuine, some resulting from factors such as peripheral signal latency. This, I understand, is still being worked on, and probably expected during practical evaluation periods such as this.

 

 

 

 

It is also possible to call up an energy consumption tab.

 

 

 

 

CCTV camera images can be viewed also. By default, these are displayed whenever stopped with unlocked doors, though this setting can be deactivated.

 

It is possible to display quad images and individual camera images. Changing between single and quad images requires tapping the image display; changing between any quad view or individual images is done by swiping left or right from the outer screen limits. In other words, operation is not at all unlike that of tablets or other mobile computing devices.

 

 

The ITCS terminal, door and point control buttons as well as turn signal buttons are on the rightmost panel section.

 

 

 

 

The left lateral panel comprises the activation lock, pantograph control and emergency lighting buttons, as well as selectors for holding brake emergency release.

 

The selector behind the "R!" lid activates an emergency operating mode for route clearing in the event of various major malfunctions. In this mode, only core operating functions are maintained, and driving controls are restricted to one fixed power and brake force setting and a maximum speed of 20 kph.

 

 

The controller handle is identical to that of the NGT12. The microphone, as I may have mentioned before, allows free speaking into the cab space without the need to bend down.

 

 

 

 

The NGT10 also is our first unit to be equipped with outboard cameras rather than a traditional rear view mirror. While calling at stops, downward-facing cameras above Doors 1 and 6 are displayed in the right half of the camera display. It is also possible to activate the Door 1 camera for 30-second periods while driving for judging lateral distance in narrow locations.

 

 

 

 

During our walkaround, I also practised unstowing the towing coupler. Due to space constraints, an Albert coupler head was the only viable option…

 

 

…which means that for towing by units other than another NGT10, an adapter for Scharfenberg couplers is required. Ordinarily, these are carried by inspector and breakdown assistance vehicles, but 1001 carries one aboard for the duration of its training assignment, too.

 

 

 

 

Motor bogie.

 

 

 

 

The rear control stand provides basic controls. The power controller is spring-loaded in order to provide a deadman safety function, and has "B" (Braking) as the neutral position.

 

 

 

 

We also visited Lausen…

 

 

 

 

…and Deutscher Platz, which loop once provided passenger access to the old Exhibition Centre during the regular Leipzig Spring and Autumn Exhibitions.

 

 

 

My general impression of the NGT10 has been decidedly positive. With a length of 37.63 metres, width of 2.3 metres and weight of 55.16 tonnes, it is slightly smaller and lighter than the NGT12, while being rated at the same 680 kW/912 hp traction power and having eight powered wheelsets, too. This yields fairly responsive and agile driving characteristics, and in addition, it handles run-down track and poor adhesion conditions rather well. That impression is shared by a plurality of drivers already rated on the type.

 

One interesting detail I hadn't noticed while riding NGT10s as a passenger: The driving controls utilise virtual power and brake force notches, which are closely and smoothly spaced, but once you know they exist and are driving the type you can, in fact, notice this gentle stepping. However, they do not diminish ease and smoothness of handling, in my opinion. While much tweaking, testing and fixing is still ongoing due to the NGT10 being an all-new design, I for one am optimistic at present that the effort will be worth it.