The Flexity Classic is a tram model introduced in 2006 and manufactured by Alstom after it acquired Bombardier Transportation in 2021. Although it is marketed as the most traditionally designed member of the Flexity family, it is a modern bi-directional articulated tram with suspended body segments. The low-floor sections allow good accessibility, especially to passengers in wheelchairs. The design and initial production was carried out by (DWA), using the LF2000 name.

Flexity models operate in a number of German cities, as well as in Stockholm (2010–2020), Norrköping and Gothenburg (Sweden), Kraków and Gdańsk (Poland), and Adelaide in South Australia. Most Flexity Classic trams run on , but run on in Essen, on gauge in Dresden, and on gauge in Leipzig.

Along with other varieties of Flexity trams, the Flexity Classic's closest competitors are the Combino, Avenio and Avanto manufactured by Siemens and, prior to the take-over of Bombardier, Alstom's Citadis. Following the Combino metal fatigue crisis in 2004, the Flexity Classic became the most popular tram model in Germany for almost a decade.

Adelaide

thumbnail|right|A 100 Series [[Bombardier Transportation|Bombardier Flexity tram on the private reserve section of the line to Glenelg]]

In 2006, TransAdelaide began to replace the Type H cars operating on the Glenelg tram line with 11 Flexity Classic trams built in Bautzen, Germany by Bombardier Transportation. The first of the new cars was delivered to the Glengowrie depot in November 2005 and entered revenue service on 9 January 2006. A further order of four in 2008 brought the total to 15, numbered 101–115.

The Flexity cars are painted in a standard Adelaide Metro colour scheme of white with yellow, blue and red ends. The trams have low floors throughout 70 per cent of their length, and are accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs through each of the three sets of doors. Their features include air conditioning, heating, recorded video surveillance and automated audio and visual announcements of the next stop. Roving conductors are employed.

The internal layout accommodates 64 seated passengers and another 115 standing. Initial overcrowding owing to the popularity of the rejuvenated Glenelg line and the short route extension through the business area of Adelaide, and the inadequacy of air conditioning in Adelaide's hot summers, led to adverse reactions from commuters and local media, but the faults were soon rectified and supplementation by Alstom Citadis trams (200 Series) has minimised overcrowding.

Specifications

{| class="wikitable"

|+Flexity trams

|width="45%"| Track gauge:||

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|Power source:|| 600 V DC overhead wire

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|Traction:|| 4 motors

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|Number in class:|| 15

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|Unit numbers:|| 101–115

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|Introduced:|| 2006 (11), 2008 (4)

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|Built by: || Bombardier Transportation<br />Bautzen, Germany

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|Passenger capacity: || 64 seated; 115 standing

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|Weight: ||

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|Length: ||

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|Width: ||

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|}

Dresden and Leipzig

thumb|Flexity Classic XXL in [[Trams in Dresden|Dresden.]]

The Flexity Classic XXL model was developed for the Dresden Transport Authority by the German factory Bombardier Transportation in Bautzen. It is long, runs on twelve axles and has a capacity of 260 passengers with 153 seats. The Flexity Classic XXL (classification NGT D12DD) has, because of Dresden's altitude differences of , a power-to-weight ratio of . The tram has been in service since 2003 and serves tram lines with a high peak load of passengers. The exterior is specially designed for the Dresden Transport Authority, which owns 43 trams. and a third (slightly changed) batch of 9 was delivered in late 2011/early 2012.

<gallery class="center" widths="200px">

Image:KasselKoenigsplatzStrassenbahn2477.jpg|One out of ten bi-directional Flexity Classic on the Kassel tram network, Germany

Image:HB 2016-0607 photo28 tram at Domsheide.jpg|Flexity Classic in service on line 6 in Bremen, Germany

Image:Schwerin Strassenbahn 2008-06-10 002c.jpg|Flexity Classic of the “Nahverkehr Schwerin” (NVS) network in Schwerin, Germany

Image:Hw ngt6.jpg|Flexity Classic (NGT6) in service in Kraków on the “Krakowski Szybki Tramwaj” (Krakowian Fast Tram) network, Poland

Image:Clp 20140811 2324 EVAG Tw 1505 Hst Borbeck Süd Bahnhof.jpg|Flexity Classic in service on line 103 in Essen, Germany

Image:Tramwaj_na_Abrahama.JPG|Flexity Classic (NGT6) in service at Strzyża PKM in Gdańsk, Poland

File:VGF S201 29.11.2005 Suedbahnhof.JPG|A Flexity Classic tram in Frankfurt am Main

Image:NGT8 Dortmund Hafen.jpg|NGT8 type Flexity Classic at the Harbor station of the “DSW21” network in Dortmund, Germany

Image:Stockholm Tram Car 3 - left side.JPG|Flexity Classic on the Spårväg City Line (an extension of the Djurgården Line) in Stockholm, Sweden

Image:M06 tram in Norrköping, Sweden, before it entered service.jpg|Flexity Classic on the tramway in Norrköping, Sweden

</gallery>

References

  • Flexity official site