Doha’s Education City trams have been undergoing extreme temperature tests at the Rail Tec Arsenal (RTA) in Vienna.
The catenary-less trams have been tested in the centre’s climatic wind tunnel at temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius to simulate the extreme heat they will experience in Qatar’s capital.
Siemens is supplying Doha with 19 Avenio trams for the city’s Education City People Mover, which is due to go into service in 2016.
Heat from passengers inside the tram was simulated by humidifiers and heat pads while the tunnel used a solar field to replicate the intense sunshine.
Each tram has a substantial air conditioning system and shading on the roof to protect from the heat. The trials will ensure that the air conditioning system is capable of maintaining an inside operating temperature of 25 degrees Celsius.
RTA’s climatic chamber is capable of reproducing a variety of extreme weather scenarios. Snow was sprayed onto Russia’s high-speed Sapsan train during testing in 2009.
