Hill Climbing capability of trams – they can easilly deal with Bath’s Hills – as they did in the past

https://bathtrams.uk/trams-in-other-cities/can-trams-climb-steep-gradients-bath-winter/

The steepest tramway with only wheel/rail adhesion was in Montreal (14%), which the replacement buses could not manage in winter. As a number of you have pointed out Lisbon has 12% gradients with all axle powered trams, coping with in all weathers for over 100 years. Trams used to climb the steep hills of Bath until 1939. The steepest gradient in the UK is Sheffield 10%, with all powered axle trams operating up and down safely since 1995.

Maximum hill climbing, and braking down hill is not dependent on vehicle weight but the number of driven axles and the control system used. But these are supply side points.

The more important point is how well a new tram system in Bath will attract  trips from cars (-Croydon trams reduced car traffic by 20%), and so reduce traffic (volumes,  congestion and pollution)   and will that be enough to cover both the operating costs, and retire/depreciate the capital investment? This will be the crux of a Feasibility Study. Fortunately travel behaviour of a population is known and trip transfer to tram can be deduced, for a wide range of competitive choice scenarios, including travel cost, journey time, convenience etc.

Kind regards,
Prof. Lewis Lesley BSc, AKC, PhD, CEng, FRSA, MICE, FCIT, MTPS.