Holtab keeps Gothenburg’s trams rolling
In 2021, Sweden’s second city, Gothenburg, celebrated its 400th year. Trams are one of Gothenburg’s most famous features and they are powered by substations built by Holtab.
“It’s a fun project. I’m a keen fan of rail traffic,” says Karl-Jörgen Mathiasson from Omexom, who ordered rectifier stations from Holtab.
Gothenburg is growing rapidly. In 15 years, more than 100,000 more inhabitants are expected to live in the city, totalling more than 700,000. This means that the city is being developed, densified and expanded.
In addition to the development of new districts, a new bridge over the Göta River will be inaugurated this year. It coincides with the 400th anniversary. The new Hisings Bridge connects Hisingen to the mainland of Gothenburg and replaces the old Götaälv Bridge, which is being demolished.
"When we work on projects in urban environments, we get close to the users. It adds an extra dimension to see the benefits our work makes for the people of Gothenburg who travel by tram," says Mathiasson, Head of Omexom’s Rail Power Nordic unit.
The attraction of the tram
In the mid-1900s, trams were still popular in Sweden. But then private use of cars grew and a number of Swedish cities – including Malmö, Helsingborg, Sundsvall, Gävle and Uppsala – disposed of this type of public transportation.
But trams have had a renaissance. At the end of last year, a tram network was inaugurated in Lund, a unique initiative as the city has never had a tram before. Holtab was involved in delivering a handful of rectifier stations through the contractor Omexom, called Eitech at the time.
“The tram initiative encourages more people to travel by public transport and contributes to climate-smart urban development,” said Holtab’s project manager Tobias Fäldt.
Gothenburg is investing
Now that Gothenburg is developing the city, Holtab and Omexom are once again collaborating. In total, Omexom is supplying 16 rectifier stations to the City of Gothenburg’s transportation office. Holtab has manufactured 14 of these.
The advantage of Holtab prefabricating the stations at its Tingsryd facility is that there is a short construction time on site.
"It is complicated to have a long construction time in the city. Construction traffic and road closures risk having a major impact on traffic. It can also cause noise problems for the people living around there" he says.
Instead, Omexom picks up the stations on a trailer in Tingsryd and then they can be lifted into place in one day.
Long-term partnership
The new bridge over the Göta River is a complicated construction project costing billions of kronor. It entails relocating several rectifier stations that supply the tram network with electricity and building new ones.
In addition, a new depot has been built on Ringön in Hisingen, with room for 100 trams. One of the rectifier stations from Holtab is located there.
Other stations have been placed around the city, including Wieselgrensplatsen and Opaltorget in western Gothenburg.
"Gothenburg is growing and it’s great that we can be involved in delivering innovative electric power solutions to get the tram network working efficiently. Our collaboration with Omexom is a well-oiled machine," says Holtab’s sales engineer Mattias Hansson.
The challenge:
Gothenburg is growing and improving its tram network. This is to ensure that the people of Gothenburg have the best possible public transport. As a result, new rectifier stations are needed to supply the tram network with power.
The solution:
Holtab and electrical engineering company Omexom, formerly Eitech, are working together to deliver 14 stations to the City of Gothenburg’s transportation office. The stations are prefabricated at Holtab’s facility in Tingsryd to reduce construction time on site.
Details:
- Incoming 11 kV AC, outgoing 750 V DC on track side.
- Station complete with high-voltage switchgear, load metering, 1,250 kVA rectifier transformer, control cabinet, rectifier and DC switchgear for distribution to overhead line.
Result:
High-quality rectifier stations can be delivered cost-effectively to Omexom, who then put them in place and connect them. Gothenburg’s investment in its public transportation continues to progress.
