I think this is what urban trains should be:
- It mixes well with pedestrians and bikes because it is slow - 14 mph max.
- The stops are only a block apart.
- It is quiet.
- The floor is low. You barely have to step up.
- The tracks are flush with the ground so you don’t trip on them.
- In a lot of places, pedestrians can cross the tracks anywhere, so the tracks don’t divide up the City.
- A lot of the track bed is planted with grass.
Brilliant
This Paris tram uses overhead power. In Bordeaux (above), they use a third rail to supply power from ground level and avoid the overhead power lines. Only 8 meters of rail are powered at a time so that only the section covered by the tram is energized.
