On 19/3/24 18:12, 'David Batho' via TramsDownUnder wrote:
> Observations:

>

> 1) Melbourne trams seem to be driven with more ‘verve’, accelerating away from stops quite rapidly, whilst Sydney seems to be a little more relaxed in style, with no sharp acceleration. Is this because the CAF trams cannot do this, or because the drivers are instructed to drive that way (to avoid the possibly of passengers falling over?)?


The 'jerk rate' is set in the traction computer. A Sydney driver could
slam the master controller to full power from a standing start and the
system will ramp up at the programmed rate, ignoring the drivers harsh
input. Both the Urbos and Citadis do this. I suspect ALL modern trams do
this.

Overseas I've seen drivers (Particularly in France) just treat the
master controller as a 3 position switch, going from off to full power
and full brake. The Citadis 302s in Paris actually show a bar graph on
the driver display showing the actual power/brake applied as apposed to
master controller position. It's quite clear that when a driver slams
the handle forward, the computer just 'notches up' at the programmed rate.