Rubber-tyred metro

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5000 series central rail-guided rubber-tyred rolling stock operated by Sapporo City Transportation Bureau, Japan, and built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company ST SN5000 20061102 001.jpg
5000 series central rail-guided rubber-tyred rolling stock operated by Sapporo City Transportation Bureau, Japan, and built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company

A rubber-tyred metro or rubber-tired metro is a form of rapid transit system that uses a mix of road and rail technology. The vehicles have wheels with rubber tires that run on rolling pads inside guide bars for traction, as well as traditional railway steel wheels with deep flanges on steel tracks for guidance through conventional switches as well as guidance in case a tyre fails. Most rubber-tyred trains are purpose-built and designed for the system on which they operate. Guided buses are sometimes referred to as 'trams on tyres', and compared to rubber-tyred metros. [1]

Contents

History

The first idea for rubber-tyred railway vehicles was the work of Scotsman Robert William Thomson, the original inventor of the pneumatic tyre. In his patent of 1846 [2] he describes his 'Aerial Wheels' as being equally suitable for, "the ground or rail or track on which they run". [3] The patent also included a drawing of such a railway, with the weight carried by pneumatic main wheels running on a flat board track and guidance provided by small horizontal steel wheels running on the sides of a central vertical guide rail. [3] A similar arrangement was patented by Alejandro Goicoechea, inventor of Talgo, in February 1936, patent ES 141056; in 1973, he built a development of this patent: 'Tren Vertebrado', Patent DE1755198; at Avenida Marítima, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

During the World War II German occupation of Paris, the Metro system was used to capacity, with relatively little maintenance performed. At the end of the war, the system was so worn that thought was given as to how to renovate it. Rubber-tyred metro technology was first applied to the Paris Métro, developed by Michelin, who provided the tyres and guidance system, in collaboration with Renault, who provided the vehicles. Starting in 1951, an experimental vehicle, the MP 51, operated on a test track between Porte des Lilas and Pré Saint Gervais, a section of line not open to the public.

Line 11 ChâteletMairie des Lilas was the first line to be converted, in 1956, chosen because of its steep grades. This was followed by Line 1 Château de VincennesPont de Neuilly in 1964, and Line 4 Porte d'OrléansPorte de Clignancourt in 1967, converted because they had the heaviest traffic load of all Paris Métro lines. Finally, Line 6 Charles de Gaulle – ÉtoileNation was converted in 1974 to reduce train noise on its many elevated sections. Because of the high cost of converting existing rail-based lines, this is no longer done in Paris, or elsewhere. Now, rubber-tyred metros are used in new systems or lines only, including the new Paris Métro Line 14.

The first completely rubber-tyred metro system was built in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1966. The trains of the Santiago and Mexico City Metros are based on those of the Paris Métro. A few more recent rubber-tyred systems have used automated, driverless trains; one of the first such systems, developed by Matra, opened in 1983 in Lille, and others have since been built in Toulouse and Rennes. Paris Metro Line 14 was automated from its beginning (1998), and Line 1 was converted to automatic in 2007–2011. The first automated rubber-tyred system opened in Kobe, Japan, in February 1981. It is the Port Liner linking Sannomiya railway station with Port Island.

Technology

Overview

VAL tracks on the Lille Metro Ligne 1 du metro de Lille Metropole - Garage-atelier des Quatre Cantons (19).JPG
VAL tracks on the Lille Metro
Sapporo Subway guide rail and flat steel roll ways Sapporo subway rollers.jpg
Sapporo Subway guide rail and flat steel roll ways

Trains are usually in the form of electric multiple units. Just as on a conventional railway, the driver does not have to steer, with the system relying on some sort of guideway to direct the train. The type of guideway varies between networks. Most use two parallel roll ways, each the width of a tyre, which are made of various materials. The Montreal Metro, Lille Metro, Toulouse Metro, and most parts of Santiago Metro, use concrete. The Busan Subway Line 4 employs a concrete slab. The Paris Métro, Mexico City Metro, and the non-underground section of Santiago Metro, use H-Shaped hot rolled steel, and the Sapporo Municipal Subway uses flat steel. The Sapporo system and Lille Metro use a single central guide rail only. [4]

On some systems, such those in Paris, Montreal, and Mexico City, there is a conventional 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge railway track between the roll ways. The bogies of the train include railway wheels with longer flanges than normal. These conventional wheels are normally just above the rails, but come into use in the case of a flat tyre, or at switches (points) and crossings. In Paris these rails were also used to enable mixed traffic, with rubber-tyred and steel-wheeled trains using the same track, particularly during conversion from normal railway track. The VAL system, used in Lille and Toulouse, has other sorts of flat-tyre compensation and switching methods.[ clarification needed ]

On most systems, the electric power is supplied from one of the guide bars, which serves as a third rail. The current is picked up by a separate lateral pickup shoe. The return current passes via a return shoe to one or both of the conventional railway tracks, which are part of most systems, or to the other guide bar.

Rubber tyres have higher rolling resistance than traditional steel railway wheels. There are some advantages and disadvantages to increased rolling resistance, causing them to not be used in certain countries. [1]

Advantages

Compared to steel wheel on steel rail, the advantages of rubber-tyred metro systems are:

Disadvantages

The higher friction and increased rolling resistance cause disadvantages (compared to steel wheel on steel rail):

Although it is a more complex technology, most rubber-tyred metro systems use quite simple techniques, in contrast to guided buses. Heat dissipation is an issue as eventually all traction energy consumed by the train  except the electric energy regenerated back into the substation during electrodynamic braking   will end up in losses (mostly heat). In frequently operated tunnels (typical metro operation) the extra heat from rubber tyres is a widespread problem, necessitating ventilation of the tunnels. As a result, some rubber-tyred metro systems do not have air-conditioned trains, as air conditioning would heat the tunnels to temperatures where operation is not possible.

Similar technologies

Automated driverless systems are not exclusively rubber-tyred; many have since been built using conventional rail technology, such as London's Docklands Light Railway, the Copenhagen metro and Vancouver's SkyTrain, the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort line, which uses converted rolling stocks from non-driverless trains, as well as AirTrain JFK, which links JFK Airport in New York City with local subway and commuter trains. Most monorail manufacturers prefer rubber tyres.

List of systems

Country/RegionCity/RegionSystemTechnologyYear opened
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Montreal Montreal Metro Bombardier MR-73 (Green, Blue, Yellow)
Alstom/Bombardier MPM-10 (Orange, Green)
1966
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile Santiago Santiago Metro (Lines 1, 2, and 5) Alstom NS-74 (5)
Concarril NS-88 (2)
Alstom NS-93 (1, 5)
Alstom NS-04 (2)
CAF NS-07 (1)
CAF NS-12 (1)
Alstom NS-16 (2, 5)
1975
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Chongqing Bishan SkyShuttle BYD Skyshuttle 2021
Guangzhou Zhujiang New Town Automated People Mover System Bombardier Innovia APM 100 2010
Shanghai Shanghai Metro (Pujiang line)Bombardier Innovia APM 3002018
Flag of France.svg  France Lille Lille Metro Matra VAL206
Siemens VAL208
1983
Lyon Lyon Metro (Lines A, B, and D) Alstom MPL 75 (A, B)
Alstom MPL 85 (D)
1978
Marseille Marseille Metro Alstom MPM 76 1977
Paris Paris Métro (Lines 1, 4, 6, 11, and 14) Michelin / Alstom, 1,435 mm between Rollways 1958 [lower-alpha 5]
Paris (Orly Airport) Orlyval Matra VAL206 1991
Paris (Charles de Gaulle Airport) CDGVAL Siemens VAL208 2007
Rennes Rennes Metro Siemens VAL208 2002
Toulouse Toulouse Metro Matra VAL206
Siemens VAL208
1993
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Frankfurt Airport SkyLine Bombardier Innovia APM 100 (as Adtranz CX-100)1994
Munich Airport Bombardier Innovia APM 3002015
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Soekarno–Hatta Airport Skytrain Woojin2017
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong Hong Kong (Chek Lap Kok Airport) Automated People Mover Mitsubishi Crystal Mover
Ishikawajima-Harima
1998
2007 (Phase II)
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Turin Metrotorino Siemens VAL208 2006
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Hiroshima Hiroshima Rapid Transit (Astram Line) Kawasaki
Mitsubishi
Niigata Transys
1994
Kobe Kobe New Transit (Port Island Line / Rokkō Island Line) Kawasaki 1981 (Port Island Line)
1990 (Rokkō Island Line)
Osaka Nankō Port Town Line Niigata Transys 1981
Saitama New Shuttle 1983
Sapporo Sapporo Municipal Subway Kawasaki 1971
Tokyo Yurikamome Mitsubishi
Niigata Transys
Nippon Sharyo
Tokyu
1995
Nippori-Toneri Liner Niigata Transys 2008
Tokorozawa / Higashimurayama Seibu Yamaguchi Line Niigata Transys 1985
Sakura Yamaman Yūkarigaoka Line Nippon Sharyo 1982
Yokohama Kanazawa Seaside Line Mitsubishi
Niigata Transys
Nippon Sharyo
Tokyu
1989
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Busan Busan Subway Line 4 K-AGT (Woojin)2011
Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do U Line Siemens VAL208 2012
Seoul Sillim Line K-AGT (Woojin)2022
Flag of Macau.svg  Macau Taipa, Cotai Macau Light Rapid Transit Mitsubishi Crystal Mover 2019
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Kuala Lumpur International Airport Aerotrain Bombardier Innovia APM 100 (as Adtranz CX-100)1998
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Mexico City Mexico City Metro (All lines except A & 12) Michelin, 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) between Rollways 1969
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Singapore Light Rail Transit Bombardier Innovia APM 100 (C801 [as Adtranz CX-100] and C801A) and future APM 300R (C801B)
Mitsubishi Crystal Mover (C810 and C810A)
1999
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Lausanne Lausanne Metro Line M2 Alstom MP 89 2008
Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan Taipei Taipei Metro Brown Line Matra/GEC Alsthom VAL 256
Bombardier Innovia APM 256
1996
Taoyuan Airport Taoyuan International Airport Skytrain Niigata Transys 2018
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Bangkok Gold Line Bombardier Innovia APM 3002020
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  UAE Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport Automated People Mover Mitsubishi Crystal Mover (Terminal 3)
Bombardier Innovia APM 300 (Terminal 1)
2013
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Gatwick Airport Terminal-Rail Shuttle Bombardier Innovia APM 100 (Replaced C-100s)1988
Stansted, Essex (Stansted Airport) Stansted Airport Transit System Westinghouse/Adtranz C-100
Adtranz/Bombardier CX-100
1991
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Terminal 5 Transit Bombardier Innovia APM 200 2008
Flag of the United States.svg  United States Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare) Airport Transit System Bombardier Innovia APM 256 (Replaced VAL256s in 2019)1993–2018 (VAL), 2021 (Innovia)
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (DFW Airport) DFW Skylink Bombardier Innovia APM 200 2007
Denver, Colorado (DEN Airport) Automated Guideway Transit System Bombardier Innovia APM 100 1995
Houston, Texas (George Bush Intercontinental Airport) Skyway Bombardier Innovia APM 100 (as Adtranz CX-100)1999
Miami, Florida Metromover Bombardier Innovia APM 100 (Replaced C-100s late 2014)1986
Phoenix, Arizona (Sky Harbor International Airport) PHX Sky Train Bombardier Innovia APM 200 2013
San Francisco, California (SFO Airport) AirTrain (SFO) Bombardier Innovia APM 100 2003
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) The Plane Train Westinghouse C-100/Bombardier Innovia APM 100 1980
Washington, D.C. (Dulles International Airport) AeroTrain Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover 2010

Under construction

Country/RegionCity/RegionSystem
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Busan Busan Metro Line 5
Flag of the United States.svg  United States Los Angeles, California (LAX Airport) LAX Automated People Mover

Defunct systems

Country/RegionCity/RegionSystemTechnologyYear openedYear closed
Flag of France.svg  France Laon Poma 2000 Cable-driven 19892016
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Komaki Peachliner Nippon Sharyo 19912006

See also

Notes

  1. Rubber-tyred wheels have better adhesion than traditional rail wheels. Nonetheless, modern steel-on-steel rolling stock using distributed-traction with a high proportion of powered axles have narrowed the gap to the performance found in rubber-tyred rolling stock.
  2. In order to reduce weather disruption, the Montreal Metro runs completely underground. On Paris Métro Line 6, upgrades of tyres (as used with cars) and special ribbed tracks have been tried out. The southernmost section of the Sapporo Municipal Subway Namboku Line is also elevated, but is covered by an aluminum shelter to reduce weather disruption.
  3. In effect, there are two systems running in parallel so it is more expensive to build, install and maintain. This is in turn an advantage for conversions to this technology because it can be done with less service disruptions on an existing line, and allows to use more widespread railway components compared to VAL for example.
  4. Since rubber tyres have higher wear rates, they need more frequent replacement, which makes them more expensive in the long run than steel wheelsets with higher first cost (that may be needed anyway as backup). Rubber tyres for guidance are needed.
  5. The system opened in 1901, but was not converted to a rubber-tyred system until 1958.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Véhicule Automatique Léger</span>

Véhicule Automatique Léger or VAL is a type of driverless (automated), rubber-tyred, medium-capacity rail transport system. The technology was developed at the Lille University of Science and Technology, was marketed by Matra, and first used in the early 1980s for the Lille Metro system, one of the world's first fully automated mass-transit rail networks, preceded only by the Port Island Line in Kobe, Japan. The VAL technology is now marketed by Siemens, which acquired Matra in the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third rail</span> Method of providing electric power to a railway train

A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost fully segregated from the outside environment. Third-rail systems are usually supplied from direct current electricity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automated guideway transit</span> Fully automated transit system

An automated guideway transit (AGT) or automated fixed-guideway transit or automatic guideway transit system is a type of fixed guideway transit infrastructure with a riding or suspension track that supports and physically guides one or more driverless vehicles along its length. The vehicles are often rubber tired or steel wheeled, but other traction systems including air cushion, suspended monorail and maglev have been implemented. The guideway provides both physical support, like a road, as well as the guidance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyon Metro</span> Rapid transit system in Lyon, France

The Lyon Metro is a rapid transit system serving Lyon Metropolis, France. First opened in 1974, it currently consists of four lines, serving 42 stations and comprising 34.4 kilometres (21.4 mi) of route. Part of the Transports en Commun Lyonnais (TCL) system of public transport, it is supported by two funiculars and a tramway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road–rail vehicle</span> Vehicle capable of travelling on roads and railway tracks

For 'railroad vehicle' see railroad car

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombardier Guided Light Transit</span> Guided bus technology and associated infrastructure

Guided Light Transit was the name of guided bus technology and associated infrastructure designed and manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It was installed in two French cities: Nancy and Caen. The Caen system was closed in 2017 and replaced by conventional trams, while the Nancy system was closed in March 2023 and is to be replaced by trolleybuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheelset (rail transport)</span> Pair of railroad wheels fixed onto an axle

wheelset is a pair of railroad vehicle wheels mounted rigidly on an axle such that both wheels rotate in unison. Wheelsets are often mounted in a bogie – a pivoted frame assembly holding at least two wheelsets – at each end of the vehicle. Most modern freight cars and passenger cars have bogies each with two wheelsets, but three wheelsets are used in bogies of freight cars that carry heavy loads, and three-wheelset bogies are under some passenger cars. Four-wheeled goods wagons that were once near-universal in Europe and Great Britain and their colonies have only two wheelsets; in recent decades such vehicles have become less common as trainloads have become heavier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway tire</span>

The steel wheel of a steam locomotive and other older types of rolling stock were usually fitted with a steel tire or tyre to provide a replaceable wearing element on a costly wheel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid transit</span> High-capacity public transport commonly found in urban areas

Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be called a subway, tube, or underground. Unlike buses or trams, rapid transit systems are railways, usually electric, that operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles. They are often grade-separated in tunnels or on elevated railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubber-tyred tram</span> Development of the guided bus

A rubber-tyred tram is a development of the guided bus in which a vehicle is guided by a fixed rail in the road surface and draws current from overhead electric wires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in France</span>

Trams in France date from 1837 when a 15 km steam tram line connected Montrond-les-Bains and Montbrison in the Loire. With the development of electric trams at the end of the 19th century, networks proliferated in French cities over a period of 15 years. Although nearly all of the country's tram systems were replaced by bus services in the 1930s or shortly after the Second World War, France is now in the forefront of the revival of tramways and light rail systems around the globe. Only tram lines in Lille and Saint-Étienne have operated continuously since the 19th century; the Marseille tramway system ran continuously until 2004 and only closed then for 3 years for extensive refurbishment into a modern tram network. Since the opening of the Nantes tramway in 1985, more than twenty towns and cities across France have built new tram lines. As of 2020, there are 29 operational tram networks in France, with 3 more planned. France is also home to Alstom, a leading tram manufacturer.

A guide rail is a device or mechanism to direct products, vehicles or other objects through a channel, conveyor, roadway or rail system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MR-63</span> Canadian rubber-tyred metro train

The MR-63 (Matériel roulant 1963) was the first generation of rubber-tyred rolling stock of the Montreal Metro in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Based on the MP 59 of the Paris Métro in France, the trains were in use on three of Montreal's four Metro lines from 1966 until 2018. By the time of their withdrawal, the trains were among the oldest still in use on any metro system in the world, at 52 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapporo Municipal Subway</span> Rubber-tyred rail system in Sapporo, Japan

The Sapporo Municipal Subway is a mostly-underground rubber-tyred rapid transit system in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau, it is the only subway system on the island of Hokkaido.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guide bar</span> Bars beside rubber-tyred metro tracks

The rubber-tyred metro systems that incorporate 1,435 mmstandard gauge track have angle irons as guide bars, or guiding bars, outside of the two roll ways. The Busan Subway Line 4, that lacks a rail track, has I-beams installed as guide bars. The flanges are vertical. The Sapporo Municipal Subway, that lacks a rail track as well, has no guide bars. It has a central guide rail instead. Guide bars are also used to provide guidance for guided buses.

A roll way or running pad is the pad placed on a concrete slab or on the ties on the outside of the 1,435 mm conventional track along both running rails of a rubber-tyred metro or along the unconventional track of a tram. The rubber-tyred wheels roll directly on the roll ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MP 14 (Paris Métro)</span> Paris Metro train

The MP 14 is a rubber-tyred electric multiple unit for the Paris Métro. Manufactured by Alstom as part of the Alstom Metropolis family of units, it is the seventh generation of the rubber-tyred class of trains to be used on the system and is used on Line 14, Line 4 and Line 11. In future, trains could be ordered for Line 1 and Line 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid transit track gauge</span> Spacing of rails for metropolitan passenger transport

The vast majority of rapid transit systems use 1,435 mmstandard gauge. Some of the largest and oldest subway systems in the world use standard gauge in agreement with the country wide dominant usage for track gauge, e.g. London Underground (1863), Chicago "L" (1892), Vienna Metro (1898), Paris Métro (1900), Berlin U-Bahn (1902), New York City Subway (1904), Stockholm Metro (1950), Milan Metro (1964), Mexico City Metro (1969), Beijing Subway (1971), Seoul Metropolitan Subway (1974), Shanghai Metro (1993), Guangzhou Metro (1997), Shenzhen Metro (2004). Many rapid transit systems in countries where the main lines do not use standard gauges are built in standard gauge, including the Barcelona Metro, Santiago Metro, Taipei Metro, and many systems in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Train wheel</span> Wheel designed for railway tracks

A train wheel or rail wheel is a type of wheel specially designed for use on railway tracks. The wheel acts as a rolling component, typically press fitted onto an axle and mounted directly on a railway carriage or locomotive, or indirectly on a bogie, also called a truck. The powered wheels under the locomotive are called driving wheels. Wheels are initially cast or forged and then heat-treated to have a specific hardness. New wheels are machined using a lathe to a standardized shape, called a profile, before being installed onto an axle. All wheel profiles are regularly checked to ensure proper interaction between the wheel and the rail. Incorrectly profiled wheels and worn wheels can increase rolling resistance, reduce energy efficiency and may even cause a derailment. The International Union of Railways has defined a standard wheel diameter of 920 mm (36 in), although smaller sizes are used in some rapid transit railway systems and on ro-ro carriages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Budd–Michelin rubber-tired rail cars</span> Rubber-tired rail cars

The Budd–Michelin rubber-tired rail cars were built by the Budd Company in the United States between 1931 and 1933 using French firm Michelin's "Micheline" rail car design. Michelin built its first rail car in 1929, and by 1932 had built a fleet of nine cars that all featured innovative and distinctive pneumatic tires. In September 1931, an agreement signed between the two companies allowed Budd to use the new rubber rail tires on its shot-welded, stainless-steel carbodies, and at the same time allowed Michelin to expand into the American market.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rubber-Tyred Metro". Rail System. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. GB 10990,issued 10 June 1846[ dead link ]
  3. 1 2 Tompkins, Eric (1981). "1: Invention". The History of the Pneumatic Tyre. Dunlop Archive Project. pp.  2–4. ISBN   0-903214-14-8.
  4. "Sapporo Subway". UrbanRail.Net. Archived from the original on 29 April 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  5. "Sticking with rubber". Montreal Gazette . 14 September 2005. Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  6. Harrison, Matthew C. (1974-02-01). "Rubber Tire vs. Steel Wheel Tradeoffs". SAE Technical Paper Series. Vol. 1. p. 740228. doi:10.4271/740228.
  7. Pierson, W. R.; Brachaczek, Wanda W. (1 November 1974). "Airborne Particulate Debris from Rubber Tires". Rubber Chemistry and Technology . 47 (5): 1275–1299. doi:10.5254/1.3540499.