First time around and the tram system looks great!

I took some pics today and hopefully I'll have more time later on this week.

📷Nokia 1020 (+ some Snapseed)

Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe 1019 “Fockeberg” Solaris Tramino NGT 10 LVB Typ 39 (Baujahr 2018) am 27.3.2025 vor dem Hauptbahnhof in Leipzig.

A Metrolink tram and a Northern train at Altrincham Interchange station in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England last Friday.

Altrincham Interchange is a transport hub that is home to a bus station, heavy rail operated by Northern, and light rail through the Manchester Metrolink - where it is the terminus of two lines. The station also sees freight trains pass through it.

Bielefeld doesn't exist as is widely known, yet I always see it on the map in the Regio trains. So I figured there probably is at least *something* there; some other city cosplaying as Bielefeld, so they can point at it and say, there it is. It's real after all, and now shut up. Only one way to find out, and that is going there. And truth be told, I'd almost have fallen for it, they went to really great lengths. Too great lengths in fact when it comes to the transit system, which ends up revealing the whole trickery. A small city somewhere out in the wilderness of East Westphalia, and then it has a subway? A two-story subway even, as if this was Düsseldorf or Duisburg or something. Yeah, nice try. As if.

But that of course raises the question, which city was this originally? All things considered, probably a Swiss one that they've imported and plopped down here. What makes me think that: On the first tram which I got onto after arrived at the central station, the driver made an announcement apologizing. For being delayed about 7 minutes due to an accident that happened earlier somewhere on line 2. Let me say that again. By 7 minutes. Back home when a tram is 7 minutes late it's going to run almost empty because everybody expected at least 10 and wasn't even at the station yet. Such perfectionism on rail can only be Swiss or Japanese, and let's be honest, it doesn't look very Japanese here.

1: Vamos #5011 at Schüco, serving line 2 toward Altenhagen. Line 2 seems to be the only line so far where the newer generation "Vamos" can run. They are wider than the older LRV generations, which means they need more distance between the tracks, and each branch of the network needs to be adjusted for them first.

2: Another Vamos, #5020 specifically, at Buschbachtal. This is one of two stations added to line 2 recently past its previous terminus at Milse.

3: The other is the new terminus in Altenhagen, where Vamos #5009 just arrived and got on the way back into the city ASAP. Interesting about the Vamos: Some of them have been given names, and some placards inside with some background about who or what they were named after. Usually districts and towns in and around Bielefeld, or personalities with a connection to the city.

4: The older generation, called the M8D. Let's just say the design of the Vamos is real leap forward from those. If you ask me, they're a strong contender for Germany's ugliest tram - at least as long as Würzburg is banned from competing. Bielefeld's Stadtbahn system was modeled after that Cologne, and in the mid-90's they got themselves a fleet of vehicles that look like a K4000 and a 2200 made a baby. But well, they get the job done, so I shouldn't complain too much. #583 at Deciusstraße, on line 1.

5: M8D #585 at Sudbrackstraße, where the northern branch of line 1 leaves the downtown tunnel. Back to the M8D's design, it also looks a little bit like it could be made by Stadler. Which only makes sense of course, and maybe they really are. It's a Swiss city after all, right?

6: Also at Sudbrackstraße, line 1 passes under this footbridge linking two buildings of the Miele plant - Miele being a well known manufacturer of household appliances, from way back when "Made in Germany" became the quality label it's known as. At least nowadays it is a Miele plant. Who knows, maybe it was a V-ZUG plant before they moved it here, which they then changed so it looked more German. M8D #577 just passes it on an inbound train.

7: Change of location to the other end of the city and line 1, to Normannenstraße in the cozy town center of Brackwede. #583 has a handful of stops to go still to the terminus at Senne.

8: Again #577, again in Brackwede, at Gaswerkstraße. Generally, Bielefeld's network features rather long distances between stops. Gaswerk and Normannenstraße stops however are just some 300 meters apart - not sure what that's really about.

9: #590 at Gaswerkstraße, travelling back toward downtown Bielefeld.

10: Lastly, M8D #593 at Brackwede train station. Or rather, climbing the incline from the train station up to the town center.

Brussels, Belgium

CVAG 602 Adtranz / Bombardier Bautzen 6-NGT-LDE “Variobahn” (Baujahr 1999) am 29.6.2025 auf der Turnstraße in Chemnitz

The trams were diverted due to the Bratislava Marathon (Sunday, April 7 2024).

🌍 🇧🇪 Belgium, Coast Trams 2026

As well as a nice little Duewag B80

Brussels, Belgium

CVAG 901 Adtranz / Bombardier 6 NGT-LDZ “Variobahn” (Baujahr 1998) mit kurzzeitiger Werbung am 21.6.2025 neben der Bahnhofstraße in Chemnitz.