DVB image film (2009)

YouTube name: YourDVB.
Date: December 17, 2009.
City: Dresden (Germany).

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Photos of Dresden CarGoTram: Volkswagenwerke Logistik-zentrum - Volkswagenwerke Gläserne Manufaktur

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Dresden Cargotram (2013)The role of railway romanticism in introducing the Cargotram in Dresden. Our next stop is Dresden, home to the Volkswagen Transparent Factory. The luxury cars produced there don't receive their parts by truck, but by tram. This is the new VW freight tram in the company's livery, and it has been operating in Dresden since March 2001. Its purpose is to supply Volkswagen's newly built transparent car factory with materials. Currently, two of the five-car bidirectional freight trams are in use. Built by Schalker Eisenhütte Maschinenfabrik GmbH in Gelsenkirchen, the tram's design differs from the typical Dresden light rail model. At 59.4 meters, it is nearly twice as long, requiring the driver to be especially attentive. At certain intersections, it's advisable to stay alert and possibly avoid following the scheduled train to prevent closing off the entire intersection. Dresden has many traffic lights that change unpredictably or give priority to private vehicles, putting the tram to the test. The blue tram, in particular, is affected by this, running daily through the heart of Dresden's historic city center. The city's traffic is chaotic, cold, and unwelcoming, though the two trams are actually colleagues. The Dresden public transportation company operates the tram serving Volkswagen under a 15-year contract. After just 20 minutes of travel, the Transparent Factory comes into view. Behind 27,500 square meters of soundproofed windows, luxury-class cars are being assembled. A total investment of 186 million euros was made in this glass construction giant. Compared to that, the price for a complete freight tram seems almost absurd. One train costs 1.75 million euros. When the production facility was built near the city center, a new logistics system was also set up outside Dresden. A goods distribution center was established, from which car parts are transported by train directly to the Transparent Factory site, creating a direct link to the Dresden tram network. This was actually a key argument in favor of the Transparent Factory location in local politics: it was said, okay, if delivery is done via an environmentally friendly tram, which is also more cost-effective because it only needs one driver instead of three, is fully integrated, causes no disruption, and makes better use of the track network, then it's an ideal solution that benefits everyone, not to mention the advertising and attention it draws. Let’s take a quick step back: On November 14, 2000, the moment arrived. On a sleet night with a shiny, icy road surface, the first CarGoTram was brought to Dresden by heavy-duty transport. It was hard work for the people and machines involved. The unloaded transport train weighs 90 tons. A technical challenge also had to be overcome. Since Germany typically uses rails with a gauge of 1,435 mm, Dresden is an exception. Besides narrow-gauge railways, only Dresden and Leipzig in Germany don’t follow this standard. Dresden’s gauge is 15 mm wider. These extra 15 mm are on a standard track bed, which would have required significant wedging and additional safety measures for trucks, leading to extra costs. Our challenge was to find vehicles with the Dresden gauge. It took us several days of phone calls, but then we had them. Where do they originate? They come from Eisenhüttenstadt. Another unique feature is the trolleybus station, which has been around for several decades. True to the motto "make old new," this fully motorized trolleybus station has an all-wheel drive train sourced from scrap Tatra vehicles. These trolleybuses were refurbished, and we installed a primary suspension system. We also replaced the DC motors with asynchronous machines from VEM, giving us a modern three-phase drive. As a result, we were able to significantly lower costs. We are located in the Dresden-Friedrichstadt goods distribution center, situated on the outskirts of Dresden, where the Schnellecke Group, a supplier company, has taken over the storage and loading of the CarGoTram. The only downside is that the center is not yet connected to a DB track; however, this is expected to be completed by the end of July. Until then, car parts are still transported to the goods distribution center by truck. From here, the CarGoTram runs every 40 minutes to the manufacturing facility, operating 21 hours a day. By the way, due to its appearance, the train is also known as the Blue Wonder, much like the famous Dresden Bridge. This is fitting, as the train, like the historical Dresden, has now become an attraction. However, transporting goods by tram is nothing new to us—we have a long tradition of doing so.By Sebastian Lehmann - May 30, 2013.

Dresden CarGoTram with motor freight car 2005 on Postplatz (2007)By Paul Meißner.
April 16, 2007.

See all about Dresden CarGoTram: Volkswagenwerke Logistik-zentrum - Volkswagenwerke Gläserne Manufaktur.

Photos from Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB)

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Tram Dresden line 9 part 1 (2003)Tram line no. 9 at Dresden Bahnhof. Neustadt - Prohlis filmed in 2003.By esbek2 - 2003.

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1:1 model of the new light rail (2019)Since Bombardier Transportation and I signed the contract, numerous details for the 30 new Flexity low-floor trams have been discussed. The mockup, built by ROBUR Prototyping & Materials GmbH in Chemnitz, represents the walkable interior up to the first door and the driver's cabin. We, of course, receive design suggestions from our customers. Yes, they imagine the surfaces to look a certain way. We then prepare them in CAD, so to speak, during the development process. These suggestions also reveal the disadvantages of the range, which we then build up piece by piece. When creating a full-scale model, we must purchase components like roads, as these are long-lasting investments that will operate for 20, 30, or even 40 years in Dresden. We want to ensure that what we put onto the tracks meets our expectations, meaning it is securely and naturally fixed in place. These include dimensions such as the track width of two meters, the length, and the seat height, which are fixed by design. However, everything else that the user interacts with can still be fine-tuned or changed. This is why I focus on details such as what seat covers will be used, what type of floor covering, whether the grab bar is attached correctly, the placement of other elements—whether the validators are positioned to display destinations well, if the loops for holding on are at the right height, and so on. There are many details to consider, and we've come to appreciate how special this process is. It costs money because it takes time and requires increased coordination effort. The effort behind the design process is significantly time-consuming, but this ensures that essential insights from the organization flow directly into further development. That is a crucial step today. The entire process revolves around four key behaviors. It is necessary for us that you understand from the start what will be done with the lock-up and where the installation will take place. In this case, we knew it had to go to the museum. We assessed the circumstances and made decisions accordingly. For example, we selected a specific part involving the victim and tax to research a mockup of a transaction. Of course, we present the vehicle to the public, along with suggestions and perceptions from passengers and future users of the vehicle. I'm relatively tall and perceive things differently than shorter people. We also need to consider children and wheelchair users. By doing this, we aim to build the best vehicle possible for Dresden.By YourDVB - November 28, 2019.

See all photos from Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB).

Last updated: November 13, 2025.

DVB image film (2009)

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