The TransTec calendar, somewhat of a tradition
Since the end of 2006 TransTec publishes a calendar for its contacts. This calendar is not only a practical tool, but also has marked esthetical qualities. The photos in the calendar are a mixture between technology and man, modernism and history, vehicle and landscape. We are convinced the calendar has something to offer to every taste.
TransTec adviseurs openbaar vervoer consults on all aspects of public and collective means of transport. Even if our name suggest otherwise, we look much further than the mere technical side of things. Transport is about people. And good, clean and sustainable transport contribute to a high quality of life. This is one of the ideas we try to convey with our calendar.
Calendar 2012
Click here to have a look at our calendar 2012. Our new service in 2012: download our calendar pages for your desktop.
Calendar 2011
Click here to have a look at our calendar 2011.
Background Stories calendar 2011
Cover photo. The cover photo brings us to the tram tunnel linking Amsterdam with its stunning IJburg suburb located on artificial islands. A Combino tram is seen speeding through the tunnel.
January photo. A Syntus train was photographed on the Winterswijk-Arnhem railway line. Syntus became famous by successfully integrating bus and train transport in the so-called Achterhoek region in the east of the Netherlands, thus offering a much better service to passengers. This train service will soon be taken over by Arriva.
February photo. The February photo brings us to the Belgian city of Liège. This city has recently joined the exclusive club of cities that can boast of having a station designed by the renowned Santiago Calatrava. Other happy cities include Zürich, Lisbon and New York. Splendid as they may be, Calatrava stations come at a considerable cost. The Liège one runs in the hundreds of millions of Euros and took no less than 11 years to build.
March photo. The North Sea Canal is almost surreal at times. Especially when the futuristic Fast Flying Ferry that Connexxion uses to shuttle passengers between Velsen and Amsterdam slides through the water in front of the massive Tata Steel Works in Velsen Noord.
April photo. In April we go back in time, but stay very close to where our offices are located. The picture was taken on the emblematic Damrak boulevard in the centre of Amsterdam. It is dated to the 30th of April 1962. Nowadays such a picture is not possible anymore. On any given 30th of April hundreds of thousands of visitors take possession of the Damrak to celebrate Queen’s Day. For this reason trams are banned from the city centre just this one day every year.
May photo. Spring is an excellent time to head north. For railway buffs the north of the Netherlands has become a byword for Arriva and its splendid Swiss-built so-called GTW Spurt trains. Spurt is Dutch for sprint. These trains can be admired on any of the regional railways radiating from the cities of Leeuwarden and Groningen, to such destinations as Harlingen, Leer, Stavoren and Roodeschool. Meanwhile Arriva has taken over other railway lines in the Netherlands or is about to. Many more Spurts have therefore been ordered and delivered, some of them are electrical units.
June photo. Everybody agrees that the modern port city of Rotterdam has a most impressive skyline. The Manhattan on the Maas used to feature a spectacular railway route straight through the city and spanning the Maas river and adjacent King’s Port on impressive bridges. In 1993 the railway tracks were put underground. All what remains is the Koningshavenbrug, commonly referred to as the Hef. The bridge does not get to carry any trains anymore, but has found another splendid use as a highlight of industrial heritage. As such, it is now a most emblematic part of the Rotterdam skyline.
July photo. This month Amsterdam yet again. But with good reason. The northernmost parts of the city of Amsterdam are a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Here wide views, water, nature and tranquillity reign supreme. This is therefore the place to head on a beautiful summer’s day. Preferably by bike. The municipal transport operating company did however include the lovely villages of Zunderdorp, Ransdorp and Holysloot in its extensive bus network. The nature of the soil and the somewhat cramped infrastructure allow for nothing bigger than the smallest of busses to serve this area.
August photo. No calendar picture takes us further from home than this one. Welcome to the hustle and bustle of Alexandria, Egypt’s finest portal town. Not many trams can be found on the African continent, so the extensive urban tram system stands out. Not in the least with its trams, many of which were bought used from Copenhagen. In the sub-Saharan world day-to-day tram operations pose many challenges. On the picture a tram crosses a busy strip mall. Space is at a premium here, so whenever a tram passes through, passers-by have to wait or step aside and become an easy target for the adamant and cunning salesmen. Do notice the chair, it also changes place regularly, depending on density and direction of tram traffic.
September photo. Welcome back to Amsterdam. Tourist busses have recently joined the ranks of canal boats to enhance the Amsterdam experience. On this splendid picture one of the busses is mirrored in a puddle of water. Our compliments to the photographer, as there is no photo-shopping involved. Amsterdam’s Tourist busses have no open upper deck because of the abundant tram overhead wires that would really be to close for comfort.
October photo. Dutch Railways are well underway to having at their disposal one of the most modern and in shape railway fleets in the world. The so-called Sprinter Light Train (SLT) spearheads the renewal program for suburban and local railway services. Trains were ordered from Bombardier and Siemens in 2005 and trials started somewhere in 2008. In the course of 2009 and 2010 these trains have gradually become omnipresent on the Dutch railway network. Due to teething problems there have been repeated interludes where older stock reappeared on short notice.
November photo. Most bus networks in the Netherlands have been put out to tender. Sometimes entire new fleets enter service on the first day of the new contract. This was the case with the new Groningen-Drenthe contract which was won by Qbuzz and taken over from rival Arriva at the end of 2009. Qbuzz, one of many companies in which Dutch Railways NS is a stakeholder, has gone from outsider to major player in the span of a mere dozen of months. The company was created in 2008 and since has won tenders in Friesland, around Rotterdam and in Groningen and Drenthe.
December photo.There is no skiing going on in the area, but the lovely hills of Arnhem and a brief winter spell make for an excellent scene for pictures of trolleybuses. Arnhem has indeed one of the largest trolleybus networks in Western Europe, featuring many lines some of which cross into neighbouring districts. Quite recently magnificent new Hess trolleys have been introduced and one of them is shown in our closing picture of calendar 2011. Make sure to keep an eye out for our calendar 2012, it is set to be another eye-pleasing work of art.
Calendar 2010
Click here to have a look at our calendar 2010.
Background Stories calendar 2010
Cover photo. The cover photo brings us to Bruxelles Midi, one of the largest and busiest rail passenger terminals in Belgium. The picture was taken on the south side of the station, where an impressive array of switches allows trains to continue towards such destinations as Bruges, Gent, Oostende, Paris, Tournai, Mons and Charleroi. Switches have s strong symbolical connotation. They can symbolize life’s important decisions and the diverging trajectories they have for a consequence.
January photo. Against all odds, the winter of 2009-2010 is proving to be considerably cold and snowy. Snowy days are nevertheless a rare thing in the Dutch Province of Brabant. On the picture we see a so-called plan V running on a local train service. This train is almost 40 years old, and it won’t be long before it is replaced by brand new Siemens-Bombardier Sprinter train sets. If you look at this picture again in say 2011 or 2012, the scene depicted might very well belong irrevocably to the past.
February photo. The February photo brings us to a misty and snowy Wallis in Switzerland. Although ski lifts would not normally be considered public transport, they do bring people where they want to go, even if it is only to come racing down a snowy slope. What’s so amazing about this picture, is the fact that the lift seems to be unemployed. With the climate change, maybe this could be considered a glimpse into the future.
March photo. In March we make a virtual trip to one of the most amazing metro systems in the World. Rådhuset station in the city centre of Stockholm features a most amazing design. It could be called minimalistic, but somehow that term does not cover it. Aside from the amazing stations, hewn straight from the rock, the Stockholm metro is special in many other ways. First of all, it’s noteworthy that trains run on the left side, a remnant of Sweden’s past prior to 1967. In modern days the metro was the backstage for the world’s first free Metro newspaper, first distributed in Stockholm before conquering the world.
April photo. The April photo brings us to Europe’s busiest port: Rotterdam. Although the scene depicted is eminently urban, the photographer is standing near to the Maas river in the heart of the so-called Shipping Quarter. This area of Rotterdam was less affected by the second world war and has retained some of the old Rotterdam charm. All things considered, the tram seen on the picture is not really that old, but its lack of low floor entry means it won’t get to advance much into the second decade of our 21st century. The next time you visit Rotterdam, you are likely to see a newer Citadis tram on duty at this location.
May photo. This month’s photo might very well be the most artistic photo in our 2010 calendar. We see a student waiting for the bus at a Utrecht bus stop. The scene was cleverly captured by a fellow student, and without much doubt photoshop helped to create the gloomy atmosphere. Busses play an important role in the life of students in Utrecht. The major Uithof university campus is situated on the outskirts from Utrecht. Every day the Utrecht Transit Company has to bring masses of students there from the city centre and from Utrecht Central Station. Impressive 25-meter long bendy busses are deployed to get the job done. They run every few minutes and are often loaded to capacity. The city council is therefore planning to develop an urban tram system.
June photo. In June we return to Sweden, to Gothenburg to be exact. This charming harbour town on Sweden’s west coast features the largest tram network of Scandinavia. The sturdy looking oldtimer on the photo is a so-called M29. Despite its old age, it still is an indispensable actor in the urban public transport screenplay. All the different shades of blue on this photo make it quite stunning. The tram we see is busy crossing an impressive bridge right in downtown Gothenburg.
July photo. In July we take a trip to the fourth most beautiful station of the world, at least if Newsweek magazine is to be believed. The wonderfully eclectic Antwerp Central is only preceded by Saint Pancras in London, Grand Central Terminal in New York and Victoria Station in Bombay. Architect lovers will appreciate the architectural clash taking place within the terminal: the wonderful 19th century grandeur of the station building and steel-and-glass construction gives way as one descends to the eclecticism and minimalism of a new underground terminal, which is part of the Antwerp – Amsterdam high speed line. For the sake of comprehensiveness, we should not forget to mention the dreary sixties style metro station which is also part of the station complex.
August photo. This month our calendar gives you a glimpse of the lovely west Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog. This little island off the coast of Friesland only has about a thousand inhabitants. Tourism is the main economic activity. As car traffic is restricted, Public Transport plays an important role on the island. The bus service is especially geared to bring people from and to the boat, as the display on the front of this Arriva bus clearly demonstrates.
September photo. Trains play an important role in regional and suburban travel in the Netherlands. The quintessential suburban sprinter train seen on the calendar photo is speeding through the so-called Zaanstreek on the busy railway line between Amsterdam and Alkmaar. The picture might not give any clues about this, but the important Zaanse Schans touristic site is actually quite nearby. Drums of tourists are bussed there every day to admire the unique sight of a cluster of windmills.
October photo. In October we travel to yet another island, this time lovely Rügen in the east of germany. The picture was made on a spring day in 2009, during which the weather gods were fiercely competing for control of the skies. The panoramic windows of the Stadler built Flirt train set operated by a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn allow for a picture perfect view on the skies, just as the sun breaks through and the rain drops light up like pearls.
November photo. The ubiquitous double deck VIRM train set of Dutch Railways can hardly be avoided on any train trip through the Netherlands. With train lengths totalling 300 m and more, they make for an impressive sight by any standards. The train pictured here is on an intercity duty and has just passed through Sloterdijk station, one of the major public transport nodes on the outskirts of Amsterdam. The bleak weather is typical for November.
December photo. The December photo brings us home. It was indeed shot just around the corner of our offices. Christmas shopping is obviously in full swing on this gloomy winter day. With a tram 24 travelling down the Dam towards Central Station, this is the quintessential Amsterdam. If you ever visit Amsterdam and find yourself in this location, be sure to pay TransTec a visit. As our offices are located in a former coffee warehouse, it is fitting that we will be glad to offer you a cup of excellent hot coffee, which especially in December might prove to be as irresistible as our general appeal as a cutting edge public transport knowledge centre.
Calendar 2009
Click here to have a look at our calendar 2009.