Rubber-tyred metro


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.

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 he describes his 'Aerial Wheels' as being equally suitable for, "the ground or rail or track on which they run". 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.
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 Châtelet - Mairie 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 Vincennes - Pont de Neuilly in 1964, and Line 4 Porte d'Orléans - Porte de Clignancourt in 1967, converted because they had the heaviest traffic load of all Paris Métro lines. Finally, Line 6 Charles de Gaulle - Étoile - Nation 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. Santiago Metro and Mexico City Metro are based on Paris Métro rubber-tyred trains. 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, 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 Portliner linking Sanomiya railway station with Port Island.

Technology

Overview

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 is unique because it uses a single central guide rail only.
On some systems, such those in Paris, Montreal, and Mexico City, there is a conventional 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 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.
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.

Advantages

Compared to steel wheel on steel rail, the advantages of rubber-tyred metro systems are:
The higher friction and increased rolling resistance cause disadvantages :
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. In frequently operated tunnels 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

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 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
MontrealMontreal MetroMichelin1966
SantiagoSantiago Metro Michelin1975
GuangzhouZhujiang New Town Automated People Mover SystemBombardier's INNOVIA APM 1002010
ShanghaiShanghai Metro Bombardier's INNOVIA APM 3002018
LilleLille MetroVAL 206, 2081983
LyonLyon Metro Michelin1978
MarseilleMarseille MetroMichelin1977
ParisParis Métro Michelin
Paris OrlyvalVAL 2061991
Paris CDGVALVAL 2082007
RennesRennes MetroVAL 2082002
ToulouseToulouse MetroVAL 206, 2081993
Frankfurt AirportSkyLine Inter-terminal ShuttleBombardier's INNOVIA APM 100 1994
Soekarno–Hatta International AirportSoekarno–Hatta Airport SkytrainWoojin Industries2017
Automated People MoverMitsubishi / Ishikawajima-Harima1998
2007
TurinMetrotorinoVAL 2082006
HiroshimaHiroshima Rapid Transit Kawasaki / Mitsubishi / Niigata Transys1994
KobeKobe New Transit Kawasaki1981
1990
OsakaNankō Port Town LineNiigata Transys1981
SaitamaNew Shuttle1983
SapporoSapporo Municipal SubwayKawasaki1971
TokyoYurikamomeMitsubishi / Niigata Transys / Nippon Sharyo / Tokyu1995
TokyoNippori-Toneri LinerNiigata Transys2008
Tokorozawa / HigashimurayamaSeibu Yamaguchi LineNiigata Transys1985
SakuraYamaman Yūkarigaoka LineNippon Sharyo1982
YokohamaKanazawa Seaside LineMitsubishi / Niigata Transys / Nippon Sharyo / Tokyu1989
BusanBusan Subway Line 4Woojin2011
UijeongbuU LineVAL 2082012
IncheonIncheon International Airport Crystal MoverMitsubishi, Woojin2008
Taipa, CotaiMacau Light Rapid TransitMitsubishi Crystal Mover2019
Kuala Lumpur International AirportAerotrainBombardier Innovia APM 1001998
Mexico CityMexico City Metro Michelin1969
SingaporeLight Rail TransitBombardier / Mitsubishi1999
LausanneLausanne Metro Line M2Michelin2008
TaipeiTaipei Metro Brown LineBombardier's Innovia APM 256
VAL 256		1996
Taoyuan AirportTaoyuan International Airport Skytrain
Dubai International AirportDubai International Airport Automated People MoverCrystal Mover and Bombardier Innovia APM 2013
Gatwick AirportTerminal-Rail ShuttleBombardier's INNOVIA APM 1001988
Stansted, Essex Stansted Airport Transit SystemBombardier's INNOVIA APM 1001991
Heathrow AirportHeathrow Terminal 5 TransitBombardier's INNOVIA APM 2002008
Chicago, Illinois Airport Transit SystemVAL 2561993
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas DFW SkylinkBombardier's INNOVIA APM 2002007
Houston, Texas SkywayBombardier's INNOVIA APM 1001999
Miami, FloridaMetromoverBombardier's INNOVIA APM 1001986
Phoenix, Arizona PHX Sky TrainBombardier's INNOVIA APM 2002013
San Francisco, California AirTrain Bombardier's INNOVIA APM 1002003

Under construction

Planned

Country/RegionCity/RegionSystem
Suwonone line, name not yet announced
Gwangmyeongone line, name not yet announced
IstanbulIstanbul Metro, 3 lines, names not yet announced
AnkaraAnkara Metro, some new lines, names not yet announced
NashikGreater Nashik Metro, 1st line from Shrimik nagar to Nasik Road railway station.
Second line from gangapur to Mumbai naka.

Defunct systems

Gallery