SM91

SM91
M25 tram in Gothenburg
Manufacturer	Hägglunds
Constructed	1958–62
Number built	36
Capacity	78
Operator(s)	Oslo Sporvognsdrift
Specifications
Car length	14.16 metres (46.5 ft)
Width	2.65 metres (8 ft 8 in)
Weight	18 tonnes
Electric system(s)	600 V DC overhead line
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

SM91 is the Norwegian designation for a tram type which operated on the Oslo Tramway until 2002. The trams were imported from Sweden, where they had originally run on the Gothenburg Tramway under the designation M25. The trams were originally delivered to the Gothenburg Tramway between 1958 and 1961. A total of 36 trams were eventually exported to Oslo, Norway, numbered 264 to 299.

125 trams were built by Hägglund for Göteborgs Spårvägar, where they were designated M25 and given the serial numbers 501–625. They were built between 1958 and 1962. Following the decision to change from left to right-side driving on Dagen H on 3 September 1967, the tram company ordered an additional 130 trams in the M28 and M29 series. The M25s were then sent back to Hägglunds to be converted to right-hand driving, with doors on both sides. Two trams were then driven back-to-back, and the direction of the trams could simply be reversed on Dagen H.

In the early 1990s, the Ring 3 bypass highway was being upgraded, and this caused a disruption to the Grünerløkka–Torshov Line at Storo where it crosses this highway. To continue operations on the line, trams had to turn without a turning loop, but the company did not have enough trams which could run this way. However, Gothenburg had a number of surplus M25 trams capable of running back to back trams. The trams were therefore purchased by Oslo at the token price of NOK 1 each, although upgrading the trams for Oslo use cost NOK 200,000. The rear travelling car in a back-to-back set had to be closed during a trip as its doors were facing the wrong side of the road.

The trams were phased out as they were replaced with the new Italian articulated trams (SL95).

Safety concerns regarding the SM91 were raised after a fatal accident during the evening rush hour at Holbergs plass on 16 January 2001. A mother with a stroller caught her foot by the tram doors as she was entering, and was dragged behind the tram when it started to move. The injuries she sustained were fatal.