Skybus Metro - Revision history

SidneyBecnel: small edit

2026-03-12T20:45:36Z

small edit

Hexatron93 at 08:05, 8 July 2023

2023-07-08T08:05:05Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:35, 8 July 2023
Line 4:		Line 4:
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=February 2014}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=February 2014}}

	The '''Skybus Metro''' was a prototype [[Suspension railway\|suspended railway]] system by [[India]]n technologist B. Rajaram with the [[Konkan Railway]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/76439/konkan-railway-invite-eoi-sky.html\|title=Konkan Rly to invite EOI for Sky Bus metro\|work=Deccan Herald}}</ref> The system consisted of an elevated track with the cars suspended below, similar to the [[Wuppertal Schwebebahn]] or [[H-Bahn]] systems in [[Germany]].		The '''Skybus Metro''' was a prototype [[Suspension railway\|suspended railway]] system by [[India]]n technologist B. Rajaram with the [[BEML]] and [[Konkan Railway]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/76439/konkan-railway-invite-eoi-sky.html\|title=Konkan Rly to invite EOI for Sky Bus metro\|work=Deccan Herald}}</ref> The system consisted of an elevated track with the cars suspended below, similar to the [[Wuppertal Schwebebahn]] or [[H-Bahn]] systems in [[Germany]].

	A 1.6 [[km]] (1 [[Mile\|mi]]) test track in [[Margao]], [[Goa]] started trials in 2004, but on 25 September, one employee was killed and three injured in an accident, ending the trial.<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122304661200.htm\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050114221729/http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122304661200.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=14 January 2005\|title=National : Sky Bus Metro resumes after 3 months\|date=23 December 2004\|last1=Sastry\|work=[[The Hindu]]\|first1=Anil}}</ref> The test track was supposed to be extended to 10.5 km, but no progress was made after the accident.<ref name=Pandey>{{cite web\| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1050035.cms\| title=Skybus project: Fantasy or reality?\| author=Pandey, Vineeta\| work=The Times of India\| date=2005-03-15\| accessdate=2006-06-07 }}</ref> In 2013, the [[Konkan Railway]] dismantled the line.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web\|title = Its final! Konkan Railway Corporation to scrap skybus project - The Times of India\|url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Its-final-Konkan-Railway-Corporation-to-scrap-skybus-project/articleshow/23940892.cms\|website = The Times of India\|accessdate = 2015-05-30}}</ref>		A 1.6 [[km]] (1 [[Mile\|mi]]) test track in [[Margao]], [[Goa]] started trials in 2004, but on 25 September, one employee was killed and three injured in an accident, ending the trial.<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122304661200.htm\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050114221729/http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122304661200.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=14 January 2005\|title=National : Sky Bus Metro resumes after 3 months\|date=23 December 2004\|last1=Sastry\|work=[[The Hindu]]\|first1=Anil}}</ref> The test track was supposed to be extended to 10.5 km, but no progress was made after the accident.<ref name=Pandey>{{cite web\| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1050035.cms\| title=Skybus project: Fantasy or reality?\| author=Pandey, Vineeta\| work=The Times of India\| date=2005-03-15\| accessdate=2006-06-07 }}</ref> In 2013, the [[Konkan Railway]] dismantled the line.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web\|title = Its final! Konkan Railway Corporation to scrap skybus project - The Times of India\|url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Its-final-Konkan-Railway-Corporation-to-scrap-skybus-project/articleshow/23940892.cms\|website = The Times of India\|accessdate = 2015-05-30}}</ref>

imported>GreenC bot: Rescued 2 archive links; reformat 3 links. Wayback Medic 2.5

2021-04-21T22:07:30Z

Rescued 2 archive links; reformat 3 links. Wayback Medic 2.5

New page

{{distinguish|text=other uses of the name "[[Skybus (disambiguation)|Skybus]]"}}

{{Use Indian English|date=February 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}

The '''Skybus Metro''' was a prototype [[Suspension railway|suspended railway]] system by [[India]]n technologist B. Rajaram with the [[Konkan Railway]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/76439/konkan-railway-invite-eoi-sky.html|title=Konkan Rly to invite EOI for Sky Bus metro|work=Deccan Herald}}</ref> The system consisted of an elevated track with the cars suspended below, similar to the [[Wuppertal Schwebebahn]] or [[H-Bahn]] systems in [[Germany]].

A 1.6 [[km]] (1 [[Mile|mi]]) test track in [[Margao]], [[Goa]] started trials in 2004, but on 25 September, one employee was killed and three injured in an accident, ending the trial.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122304661200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050114221729/http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122304661200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 January 2005|title=National : Sky Bus Metro resumes after 3 months|date=23 December 2004|last1=Sastry|work=[[The Hindu]]|first1=Anil}}</ref> The test track was supposed to be extended to 10.5 km, but no progress was made after the accident.<ref name=Pandey>{{cite web| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1050035.cms| title=Skybus project: Fantasy or reality?| author=Pandey, Vineeta| work=The Times of India| date=2005-03-15| accessdate=2006-06-07 }}</ref> In 2013, the [[Konkan Railway]] dismantled the line.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = Its final! Konkan Railway Corporation to scrap skybus project - The Times of India|url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Its-final-Konkan-Railway-Corporation-to-scrap-skybus-project/articleshow/23940892.cms|website = The Times of India|accessdate = 2015-05-30}}</ref>

==Construction==
Skybus can run at 100 km/h using electric power,<ref>Rajaram Bojji: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-_AEdUvAts Skybus Tech Movie Full.]</ref> with suspended cars that carry the passengers.

===Tracks===
[[File:Skybus Metro Suspended Railway in Margao, Goa, India.jpg|thumb|A Skybus Metro Railcar suspended at a station on the track at [[Margao]], Goa, India. The system looks like a "monorail" but there are two conventional steel rails on the overhead concrete beam, with the car hanging from this.]]

Heavy {{convert|52|kg/m|lb/yd}} rails of standard gauge are placed in 8m x 2m-box enclosures. These rails are supported over 1m diameter columns 10m tall, spaced at 15-20m intervals on pile foundation. This structure is constructed in the divider space between road lanes. Sky Bus follows existing road routes without disturbing traffic. The steepest gradient was 2%. The sharpest curve had a radius of 100m. The maximum radius of vertical curve was 3375m.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

===Bogies===
Two standard axle "bogies" provide the drive mechanism. Each bogie is driven by 3-phase alternating current (AC) motor. A third rail provides power. Braking is either regenerative (returning electricity to the grid) with supplemental disc and (emergency) mechanical braking. Power is delivered to the vehicles using brushes or by current carrying wheels.

===Coaches===
The coaches are double walled lightweight shells with wide larger windows & are suspended below the rails. The air conditioned coaches have 4m-wide automatic doors. They offer audiovisual information to passengers. Each pair of coaches carries 300 passengers. Each coach is 9.25m long and 3.2 m wide. "Trains" consist of two coaches, with total length of 18.5m.

===Traverser===
The traverser automatically shifts units between tracks. The traverser is a modified form of transverser used in others industries for lifting & shifting objects. In the traverser a platform of track is hung to a bogie which consist of a motor & is also mounted on the track. The traverser acts like a station. A distance of 50m from the last station to the traverser is maintained to provide holding capacity for two units as a third unit is getting traversed in case of unforeseen delay.

===Station===
[[File:Skybus at Station.jpg|thumb|A Skybus Metro car at a station]]
The station is an air-conditioned platform 5.5m above ground. Stations have automatic doors and lifts. A smart card opens the station door. The station fits in a 50m long spot.

==Trials==
In 2004 the [[Konkan Railway]] carried out a trial of Sky Bus in [[Margao]], [[Goa]] with the help of Goa state government. On 25 September, one employee was killed and three injured in an accident when the coaches hit the concrete track pillars, ending the trial.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122304661200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050114221729/http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/23/stories/2004122304661200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2005-01-14 |title=National : Sky Bus Metro resumes after 3 months |date=2004-12-23 |accessdate=2010-08-11 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref>

Managing director Bhanu Prakash Tayal shared that KRC was unable to engineer critical components like the "swing arrestor" and "switching apparatus" which could have potentially addressed the safety concerns that surrounded the project since the 2004 accident.<ref name=":0" />

Rajaram defended Sky Bus, stating that the accident was avoidable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1yYQcyramb5wecESziWdwWZtxdXkZpUQ897COcdE8H1I |title=ACD article 20th july 2010 |date= |accessdate=2012-11-26}}</ref>

==Closure==
In October, 2013 the [[Konkan Railway]] Corporation (KRC) decided to discontinue the SkyBus project to curb expenses. The 1.6km test track was dismantled as a result of the decision. The KRC had solicited interest from foreign firms to maintain and upgrade the test track; this was met with poor response which also contributed to the decision to dismantle.<ref name=":0"/>

==See also==
{{div col}}
* [[Bennie Railplane]]
* [[H-Bahn]]
* [[List of monorail systems]]
* [[Memphis Suspension Railway]]
* [[Mumbai Monorail]]
* [[Rail transport in India]]
* [[Schwebebahn Dresden]]
* [[Transport in India]]
* [[Wuppertal Schwebebahn]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://archive.today/20060531160141/http://www.konkanrailway.com/website/ehtm/sky_bus.htm Skybus page from konkanrailway.com]
* [http://www.konkanrailway.com/website/ehtm/sky_Index.pdf Konkan Railways Skybus page] (PDF)
* [http://irfca.org/faq/faq-metro.html Indian Railways Fan Club: Konkan Railway Skybus Metro]
* [http://rajaram.bojji.googlepages.com/ B. Rajaram, designer of the Skybus Metro]
* [http://www.google.com/patents/US6688235?hl=de Suspended coach transportation system.] Patent US 6688235 B2.

{{Rapid transit in India}}

{{coord missing|Goa}}

[[Category:Transport in Margao]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Margao]]
[[Category:Konkan Railway]]
[[Category:Monorails in India]]
[[Category:Suspended monorails]]