1.
Guided bus
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Guided buses are buses steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Guidance systems can be physical, such as kerbs or guide bars, or remote, Guided buses may be articulated, allowing more passengers, but not as many as light rail or trams that do not also freely navigate public roads. There are only a few examples, but more have been proposed in various countries, the first guided busway in the United Kingdom was in Birmingham, the Tracline 65,1,968 feet long, experimentally in 1984. Several guided busways have been planned or built in the United Kingdom and it was discontinued as the majority of buses fitted with guide wheels were withdrawn for age reasons. There are no plans to convert newer buses, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway between Cambridge and St Ives is the worlds longest guided busway. The Nagoya Guideway Bus in Nagoya, opened in March 2001 and is the guided bus line in Japan. The kerb-guided bus guidance mechanism is a development of the early flangeways, the Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad of 1809 therefore has a claim to be the earliest guided busway. Earlier flangeways existed, but were not for passenger carrying, optical guidance relies on the principles of image processing. A camera in the front of the vehicle scans the bands of paint on the ground representing the reference path, the signals obtained by the camera are sent to an onboard computer, which combines them with dynamic parameters of the vehicle. The calculator transmits commands to the motor located on the steering column of the vehicle to control its path in line with that of the reference. Optical guidance is a means of approaching light rail performance with a fast, the distance between the door steps and the platform is optimized not to exceed 5 centimetres. Level boarding is possible, and there is no need to use a mobile ramp for people with mobility impairments. Other experimental systems have non-mechanical guidance, such as sensors or magnets buried in the roadway, in 2004, Stagecoach Group signed a deal with Siemens AG to develop an optical guidance system for use in the UK. Two bus lines in Eindhoven, Netherlands, are used by Phileas vehicles, Line 401 from Eindhoven station to Eindhoven Airport is 9 km long, consists largely of concrete bus lanes and has about 30 Phileas stop platforms. Line 402 from Eindhoven station to Veldhoven branches off from line 401 and adds another 6 km of bus lanes, the regional authority for urban transport in the Eindhoven region has decided not to use the magnetic guidance system any more for some years. The Douai region in France is developing a public network with dedicated infrastructure. The total length of the lines will be 34 km, the first stage is a line of 12 km from Douai via Guesnain to Lewarde, passing close to Waziers, Sin-le-Noble, Dechy and Lambres-lez-Douai. 39 stop platforms will be provided with a distance between the stops of 400 m
2.
Clermont-Ferrand tramway
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The Clermont-Ferrand tramway is a transit system located in the city of Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne Region of France. It is a Translohr system, meaning it is guided by a single rail and this tramway comprises just one tramline, called Line A, that serves 34 stations and runs on 15.7 kilometres of double track length. However, there have been plans for extension of the line. Clermont-Ferrand constructed its first tram system in 1890, but in 1956 the tramway was decommissioned in favor of new bus routes, the current Translohr system officially opened in 2006. The first tramline in Clermont-Ferrand was put into service on January 7,1890 by the Electric Tramway Company of Clermont Ferrand, the Clermont-Ferrand tramway distinguished itself from other systems as it was the first to use electricity in France. The first 1,435 mm standard gauge tram track ran from Montferrand to Jaude, shortly after this, an extension was opened to Royat on lAvenue des Thermes. A total of 22 two-axle tramcars were put into service, in 1902, a section between Jaude and Place Delille, via Place Gaillard, opened. In 1913, a link to Cermont-Ferrand Train Station via Salins, before the First World War, the Beaumont line was extended to Ceyrat. In 1928, a link to Aubière was created, following the route of Line 3 on Avenue Léon Blum, at the end of the Second World War, the tram suffered many setbacks. As cars began to more popular, the government did not focus any effort on public transportation systems. The tramlines were gradually replaced by buses, the last tram in Clermont-Ferrand ran on 17 March 1956. After this, public transportation in the city was solely by bus, in many places, the rails were paved over to make way for cars. In the 1970s, concern over the consequences of automobile use increased, in the 1983 Elections, a tramway was proposed by Socialist mayor Roger Quilliot in his re-election campaign. However, the project was only seriously considered starting in 1990. The development of the system was given to SOFRETU, which proposed the building of two tramlines, one line, and an east-west line. In 1996, tenders were offered for the stock for the tramway. Alstom proposed that Alstom Citadis trams be used for the system, a revised project was developed in 2000. A new tender was made in 2002, and the only bidders were, Irisbus with their Civis trolleybus, Bombardier with their TVR rail transit system, the contract was ultimately won by Lohr Industrie due to pressure from the government and from Michelin
3.
Trams in Padua
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The Padua Tramway serves Padova, a city in Veneto. In operation since 2007, it is 10. 3-kilometre long, the system built in the 21st century uses the French Translohr system. The historic tramway having been closed down in 1954, first proposals for the reintroduction of tramways in Padua appeared in 1990, however, only in 1995 the Municipality of Padua was granted state contributions provided by law 211 of 26 February 1992. For Padua, a tramway linking Fornace to Prato della Valle was proposed, ansaldo Transportation, Adtranz, Siemens and Fiat Railway submitted tenders in 1999. As the city council change following elections in 1999, no contract followed, to avoid losing state funding a technical committee was formed to rework the project. It drew up a new mobility plan, taking in consideration local oppositions fear of unsightingly overhead lines. The new plans referred to a transport system using guideways. However, the Translohr cars cannot be used off the guiding rail, the original cost was given as 53 millions euro, but increased by a further 15 millions during construction. Construction was then awarded to the Consortium Mantegna, consisting of the companies Rizzani de Eccher, Sicea, Lohr Industrie, work started on 31 March 2003 and ended in 2005, followed by test and driver training. During the test runs the Translohr system suffered five derailments, a further derailment occurred on 22 April 2010 due to a misaligned switch. Commercial operation of the service Translohr in Padua started 24 March 2007, on 5 December 2009, the line was extended north from the train station to the terminus Pontevigodarzere, thus reaching a total length of 10.3 kilometres
4.
Tram
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A tram is a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets, and also sometimes on a segregated right of way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars are called tramways, Tramways powered by electricity, the most common type historically, were once called electric street railways. However, trams were used in urban areas before the universal adoption of electrification. Tram lines may run between cities and/or towns, and/or partially grade-separated even in the cities. Very occasionally, trams also carry freight, Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than conventional trains and rapid transit trains, but the size of trams is rapidly increasing. Some trams may also run on railway tracks, a tramway may be upgraded to a light rail or a rapid transit line. For all these reasons, the differences between the modes of rail transportation are often indistinct. In the United States, the tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains. Today, most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph, in some cases by a sliding shoe on a third rail. If necessary, they may have dual power systems — electricity in city streets, trams are now included in the wider term light rail, which also includes segregated systems. The English terms tram and tramway are derived from the Scots word tram, referring respectively to a type of truck used in coal mines and the tracks on which they ran. The word tram probably derived from Middle Flemish trame, a Romanesque word meaning the beam or shaft of a barrow or sledge, the identical word la trame with the meaning crossbeam is also used in the French language. The word Tram-car is attested from 1873, although the terms tram and tramway have been adopted by many languages, they are not used universally in English, North Americans prefer streetcar, trolley, or trolleycar. The term streetcar is first recorded in 1840, and originally referred to horsecars, when electrification came, Americans began to speak of trolleycars or later, trolleys. The troller design frequently fell off the wires, and was replaced by other more reliable devices. The terms trolley pole and trolley wheel both derive from the troller, Modern trams often have an overhead pantograph mechanical linkage to connect to power, abandoning the trolley pole altogether. Conventional diesel tourist buses decorated to look like streetcars are sometimes called trolleys in the US, the term may also apply to an aerial ropeway, e. g. the Roosevelt Island Tramway. Over time, the trolley has fallen into informal use
5.
Light rail
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Light rail, light rail transit or fast tram is urban public transport using rolling stock similar to a tramway, but operating at a higher capacity, and often on an exclusive right-of-way. A few light rail networks tend to have closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail. Other light rail networks are tram-like in nature and partially operate on streets, Light rail systems are found throughout the world, on all inhabited continents. They have been popular in recent years due to their lower capital costs. The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the U. S, Urban Mass Transportation Administration to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany the term Stadtbahn was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, however, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of intended for light loads and fast movement, the infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The Transportation Research Board defined light rail in 1977 as a mode of urban transportation utilizing predominantly reserved, electrically propelled rail vehicles operate singly or in trains. LRT provides a range of passenger capabilities and performance characteristics at moderate costs. Light rail is a generic international English phrase for these types of rail systems, the use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English. The word trolley is used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States. A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams except Blackpool after World War II, when these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both the old and new systems. Conventional rail technologies including high-speed, freight, commuter/regional, and metro/subway/elevated urban transit systems are considered heavy rail, people movers and personal rapid transit are even lighter, at least in terms of capacity. Monorail is a technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. Due to varying definitions, it is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail, a system described as light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called light rail are in very similar to rapid transit, in recent years. Some light rail systems, such as Sprinter, bear little similarity to urban rail, in the United States, light rail has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. There is a significant difference in cost between these different classes of light rail transit, tram-like systems are often less expensive than metro-like systems by a factor of two or more
