SKY BUS

                                 (THE  URBAN  TRANSPORT   TECHNOLOGY  FOR  THE NEW  MILLENIUM)

  The most precious asset in growing urban areas is the land. Allocation to residential and commercial purposes put heavy pressures on land for public use like parks and open spaces apart from very important and critical roadways. Hardly 6% to a maximum of 18% of land in cities form roadways. The roadways once laid- almost remain constant – at best- and may effectively reduce by uncontrolled encroachments. The physical constraint of road area being constant, as population increases, naturally loads on roads increase.

As more and more people from different habitats try to converge on to the central business district, the road has no capacity to handle and congestions erupt. Roads take one exactly to the point where one wants to go. But the capacity is limited in terms of passengers per hour that can be handled. Even if one considers only buses, need to maintain the braking distances between two buses and the space

maintained between them affects speed as well as limits per lane what capacity can be achieved. When mass transit , that too at higher speed is required, rail based systems only can handle.  

Requirements of an ideal urban transport system:

            Heavy concentrations of residential units coupled with required movement to work places or to market places demand transportation of people.                                                                                                             

            Roads are to cater for the same. But roads have a limitation- the area available remains constant, once the development is completed, and old cities in particular throw up the problems of mismatch of designed capacity    versus the increasing pressure of populations.                                                                                                                

            Let us examine the various modes of transport that population uses in a city and their capacities and limitations, to evolve requirements of urban transport solution in a holistic manner.           

           Currently available solutions are either elevated railway or underground railway  if mass transportation is required:  

            Elevated railway technically cannot reach truly congested central busy roads where the mass transport is needed. It is also too invasive and  may require dislocation of some portions of habitat as well as introduces noise pollution.

Underground railway is less invasive on surface but still poses technically challenging risks of fires and evacuations. It also has to address concerns for foundations of heritage buildings.               

            If road vehicles are involved, in inter-modal transfers, it becomes weak link in the chain of transport between walking and railway. Both modes suffer from derailments and capsizing killing commuters.                                        

            Surface railway is impossible to lay in an existing city. But even to lay the same in a new development, one should keep in mind what happens after 50 years of laying the same. We have living example of our own suburban system. The city remains divided by the corridor and it is an eternal noise polluter in the heart of city day in and day out. Sudden disgorging of heavy loads of commuters at stations create need less congestion on the roads, reducing quality of life. Almost close to 2000 persons die annually- because of trespassing or falling from trains in our present system- whatever be the excuse and justification for accepting the same. In addition vulnerable to minor vandalism by urchins, but resulting in grievous injuries like losing sight for the commuters. Again this mode cannot follow roads, so the weak link of road vehicles has to be brought in for inter-modal transfers.                                                      

   Derailments, collisions and capsizing concerns remain with loss of life for all the above mentioned three systems.

  The infrastructure created for urban transport is hardly utilized to 30 to 40% capacity because of directional as well as inevitable peaks for limited hours  in a day. It has no other use and just idles.   

An ideal solution is one which:

1.      Follows the existing roads- but does not take road space- and be as flexible as a bus                                                

2.      Have rail based mass transit capacity, same as existing rail metro                                                                       

3.      Does not divide city while providing integration along its alignment                                                                               

4.      Be derailment and collision proof- with NO CAPSIZING of coaches- so that there can never be loss of life           

5.      Be free from vandalism                                                                

6.      Noise free and pollution-free                                                       

7.      Non-invasive -requiring the least amount of scarce land space- and not come in the way of development.   

Sky Bus technology as offered by Konkan Railway meets the above requirements, and helps us re-define the thinking and planning for urban transport.                                       

Sky Bus Metro: Eco-friendly MASS urban transport revolutionises urban life!

1  Description:

            Heavy 52/60 kg /m rails placed at standard gauge floating in elastic medium and damped by inertia of measured mass held in a 8 mX 2m box enclosure, supported over a 1m dia. columns spaced at 15 m and located at 15 m distance from each other, in the divider space in between lanes on a road- way, at a height of 8m above road surface- provides the support and guidance for powered bogies which can run at 100 kmph, with the coach shells suspended below , carry passengers in air conditioned comfort, can follow existing road routes, while existing traffic on roads continue.

The fixed structure at 8 m height above road level is aesthetically pleasing and there is no concern of claustrophobic feeling for road users.                              

      Aesthetic and eco-friendly, the Sky Bus can never derail, capsize nor collide- by design as well as by construction, hence is safer than existing rail-based system.  With no signalling and having no points and crossings, it is a unique mass-transit system, which can be put up within two years in any crowded & congested city.

     Sky Bus metro falls under tramway category, under Art 366(20) of Constitution of India, since it operates along existing roadways and within municipal limits, hence excluded from Indian railway act.

2  The components of SKY BUS

            –Sky way

            –Sky bogies

            –Sky coaches

            –Sky stations  

            Traverser arrangements at terminals  

3  Sky way

            Sky bogies   . In the middle of road way pile foundations support 1m dia column approximately 8m high, and space at 15m all along the roadway.The sky way consists of a concrete box structure carried over a series of   piers at a height of 8 m above existing road level.Two rails fixed with appropiate fastenings with the concrete box support and guide the sky boogie.There are no points and crossings.   

4  Sky Bogie

• Standard two axle bogies used in metros for speed of 100 kmph are used (but can have higher speeds,if required up to 160 kmph)-of standard guage

• Linear induction motor technology is incorporated-with 4th rail driving which is above the bogie/or 3 Ph AC motors with regenerative power capability.

• Third rail is used for current collection

• Braking-bogie mounted

• Regenerative

• Disc brakes

• Emergency mechanical brakes

5  Design loads:

Max axle load 12 tonnes

        axle load: 12 t

6  Sky Coaches

• Double walled light shells with wide large windows are suspended from the sky bogies

• Controlled banking on curves- even 100m radius curves can be handled.

• Air conditioned and with automatic doors

• Audio visual information to passengers

• Special 4m wide sliding doors for quick entry and exit of passengers

• Each pair carries 300 persons and service every two is possible.

7  Sky station description

• Unlike conventional mass transit systems, Sky Bus needs smaller stations

• Service is every 2 minutes that is virtually no waiting time for passengers

• Totally automated without drivers or guards-and access control is also electronic by prepaid cards being swiped in

• Stations act as only access facility, and not as passenger holding area  

 8  Traverser:

There are no points and crossings. The traverser is the system which automatically shifts the sky bus units for balancing the loads/ changing routes too as well as shift units to depot lines etc. Proven technologies and a very simple solution by merely re-engineering the components

constitute Sky Bus:

The new technological solution, in terms of Sky Bus Metro is based on the concept of Sky Wheels presented in 1989 at World Congress for Railway Research. The technologies used are:

• Well proven rail guided bogie system commonly used for normal railway system.

• Linear Induction Motor Technology or 3ph AC asynchronous electrical motive units– well proven and widely adopted abroad as well as in India.

• Light weight coaches called `Sky buses’ which are suspended from bogies and travel below rail guides, the physics of which can be engineered very easily – shells of coaches and suspension links well proven.

• Pre-fabricated latest construction technologies, which save time and money resulting in easy execution of the project in busy urban areas without disturbing the existing traffic pattern.. These structural engineering methods are well proven which do not have any project execution risk attached.

• nformation technology tools for economic communications and control.  

9  Advantages

• In this new technology of `Sky Wheels’, almost no land acquisition will be required, except  for providing for right of way on existing roadways

• Only at terminal points, minimum amount of land of the order of 2000 to 4000 sqm of area will be required – that too at places away from the urban centre.

• No demolition of  structures or gardens will be destroyed.

• No Vandalism - Not vulnerable to persons throwing stones and track is inaccessible..

• Fire - Fastest evacuation in case of fire as compared to underground metros.

• No capsizing - If at all derails, cannot fall down coach keeps hanging.  Hence no capsizing takes place as compared to railways and underground metros.

• No Deaths due to trespassing/falling off from train-In normal metros like Mumbai daily 2 to 3 deaths occur on the system with total casualties reaching almost 2000  per year.

• Reaches  heart of the city - Sky Bus follows existing busy roads,  thus reaches  the very heart of the city  decongesting  the roads.  This is not possible in case of Normal Railway .

• Capital cost is lowest - almost 50% of elevated systems & 25% of underground metro for same performance standards.

• Lowest running cost.- Maintenance free tracks, no signals & points & crossings to maintain.

• No interference with  normal road traffic- does not require road over /under bridges.

• Since the system involves guide ways in the sky, which does not fall into an exact definition of Railway, the number of agencies  involved in clearing and executing the project will be minimum and only one authority at state level will be created for implementing  the project.

• It can be built on roads with Fly over. It is not an impediment.

• From the date financial closure is achieved, all land rights are handed over the Project can be completed and commissioned within 100 weeks i.e. about  24 months.    

• Aesthetically pleasing & no noise pollution.

• Insulated against floods, rains and obstruction on track.

10 Conclusion 

References:        

    Rail International -Brussels May 1983:- A simple approach to study rail wheel interaction - Author- B Rajaram

    Rail International -Brussels April 1984:- A New Theory of Rail Wheel Interaction - Author- B Rajaram

    Rail International -Brussels June 1986:- Dynamic Response of elastic fastenings - Author- B Rajaram         

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