AU2004212556A1

AU2004212556A1 - Double-decker rail vehicle layout

Info

Publication number: AU2004212556A1
Application number: AU2004212556A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Max Lhommet
Original assignee: Alstom SA
Current assignee: Alstom SA
Priority date: 2003-09-19
Filing date: 2004-09-16
Publication date: 2005-04-07
Also published as: EP2258594B1; FR2859967A1; FR2859967B1; EP1577186A1; EP2258594A1

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority Related Art: Name of Applicant: Alstom Actual Inventor(s): Max Lhommet Address for Service and Correspondence: PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 AUSTRALIA Invention Title: DOUBLE-DECKER RAIL VEHICLE LAYOUT Our Ref POF Code: 728223 375552/353683 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): 1 6006q Double-decker rail vehicle layout The present invention relates to self-propelled doubledecker rail vehicles constituting rakes of double-decker trains.

This type of vehicle, which has been in service for a number of years, has a certain number of drawbacks that have been criticized by users: the upper deck and lower deck seats are accessible only via stairs, which is problematic for passengers with strollers and for disabled persons who require access to these seats, the number of seats is insufficient, the ceiling height is low and therefore a problem for those of 'tall stature, circulation between vehicles is difficult, and visibility inside the rakes is poor, it is difficult to see if there are free seats or not, and the confined areas encourage assaults.

The regulations impose a certain number of constraints relating to the height of the rakes, which is limited to 4.32 meters, and to negotiating curves, linking the width and length of the vehicle. Thus the width may not exceed 2.806 meters for a distance of 20 meters between the axes of two bogies and if the width of the vehicle is to be increased it is necessary to reduce its length, which reduces the number of seats per vehicle.

The object of the present invention is to propose a rail vehicle that is wider, more accommodating, more airy and more accessible whilst retaining the same number of bogies and a rake as long as standard double-decker rakes, or even longer.

Rail vehicles with two decks according to the invention comprise at least one motor bogie and said bogie straddles two vehicles, each vehicle has a length less than 26 meters, a width greater than 2.80 meters and a height less than 4.32 meters, the lower deck comprises two rows of seats and an aisle, the upper deck comprises two aisles and three rows of seats, and the middle row of seats on the second deck is located above the aisle of the first deck and on a raised portion of the floor offset in height relative to the lateral rows of the upper deck. Locating the bogie between two vehicles reduces the number of bogies whilst increasing the number of vehicles in a rake, and it is therefore possible to reduce the distance between the axes of the bogies for a given length, so that the width of the vehicles may be increased while still complying with the standards for negotiating curves. Disposing the upper deck seats in three rows, which imposes the creation of two aisles, is made possible by the widening of the vehicle and enables an aisle height of 2 meters. This layout of the second deck allows the center row to be located above the aisle of the lower deck and to raise it on a raised floor portion in the shape of a tophat in order to increase the height of the lower deck aisle, which may then be 2 meters. The seats can be raised only in the central portion, because the ceiling of the second deck is rounded at the edges, which rules out raising the outside seats, as the users would then have insufficient ceiling height. The rake may comprise both motor bogies and nonmotor bogies.

According to a complementary feature of the invention, the middle row of the second deck is offset in the lengthwise direction relative to the lateral rows of the same deck. The lateral seats are fixed to the bay uprights in order to have a good view of the outside when seated and the seats of the middle row are fixed directly to the floor and their raised position enables them to be offset longitudinally relative to the lateral seats without reducing their visibility. This position has the further advantage of encouraging circulation in the aisles, because the fact that the two seats flanking the aisle are not face-to-face enables a passenger to move aside more easily if he encounters a passenger approaching in the opposite direction.

According to one particular feature of the invention, the length of the vehicle is approximately 14.5 meters. This length is a good compromise because it allows a width of 3.1 meters instead of 2.806 meters for a standard vehicle while still complying with the standards for negotiating curves and limiting the number of vehicles in the rake for a given length.

According to another feature of the invention the width of the passages between vehicles is at least equal to 60% of that of the vehicles. This greatly improves the visibility between the vehicles.

According to a complementary feature of the invention, access to the second deck is effected via two stairways. The increased width of the vehicle combined with the offsetting of the upper and lower deck aisles provides room for two stairways instead of one, which facilitates the circulation of passengers at the same time as improving visibility, since the aisles are free of obstacles.

According to one variant of the invention, each stairway has no risers. Eliminating the risers, or making them from a transparent material, improves visibility and makes it easier to identify empty seats.

According to one particular feature of the invention, access to the first deck from the entry vestibule is via a slope. This enables access to the seats of the first deck by a disabled person in a wheelchair and passengers with strollers. It is equally possible to make the entry to the first deck via two steps.

According to a complementary feature of the invention, the slope is less than 17%. The regulation slope for disabled access is less than 17%, and the above slope therefore satisfies the applicable standards.

According to another feature of the invention, the traction equipment is located at the ends of the rake. Moving the equipment areas to a location at the front of the rake frees up circulation between the vehicles and therefore facilitates the movement of passengers.

According to another feature of the invention, there is only one double-door entry on each vehicle. The vehicles being shorter, it is no longer necessary to provide two doors per vehicle, allowing more seats to be provided.

The invention will be better understood after reading the following description, which is given by way of example only and with reference to the appended drawings, in which: figure 1 is a diagram of the conditions for trains negotiating a curve, figure 2 is a plan view in longitudinal section of a prior art vehicle, figure 3 is a view in cross section of a vehicle of the invention, figure 4 is a plan view in cross section of each deck of a vehicle of the invention, figure 5 is a view in cross section of the vehicle at the height of the access doors, figure 6 is a perspective view of the interior of the vehicle at the entry end, and figure 7 is a perspective view of the interior of the vehicle at the aisle end.

For simplicity, the same items are indicated by the same reference numbers. The rail vehicles 1 are equipped with at least one bogie 2 and one entry door 3.

As seen in figure 2, prior art vehicles 1 have two decks 10 and 11 on which are disposed seats 4. Access to the different decks is effected via stairways 5 and 6.

The stairway 5 provides access to the second deck 11 and the stairway 6 provides access to the lower deck 10. The aisle 7 of each of the decks 10 and 11 is situated in the middle of the vehicle 1 whereas the stairways 5 and 6 are placed on respective opposite sides of the central axis

A

of the vehicle 1, which makes it obligatory to offset the first row of seats 4 in order to enable passengers to enter the central aisle 7 without being impeded by the seats 4.

The prior art vehicle 1 is equipped with two bogies 2. As may be seen in figure 2, the fact that there are two bogies 2 on the same vehicle reduces the area in which said vehicle may comprise two decks.

The prior art vehicle also has two doors 3 to allow passengers to embark and disembark when stopped at stations. The number of doors 3 is determined by a minimum distance between two doors enabling rapid movement of users and thereby limiting the stopping time in stations. Given the length of the prior art vehicle, it is necessary to provide at least two doors 3.

The traction equipment areas 8 are placed at respective opposite ends of the vehicle 1 above the bogies 2. The equipment 8 is preferably located above the bogies because it is not possible to provide two decks in this area, in which the height is limited and the bogies prevent lowering of the floor 100.

Figure 1 shows the standard for rail vehicles 1 negotiating curves. For a curve of radius R, because the zone Z must not be crossed, for a wagon or vehicle 1 with a distance di between the axes of the bogies, the width may not exceed Li, whereas a shorter vehicle with a distance d 2 between the axes could have a width

L

2

L

1 In vehicles 1 according to the invention, as shown in figure 3, the bogies 2 are placed between two wagons or vehicles 1, except for the vehicle at the front of the train and that at the rear of the train, of course. The area neutralized by the bogies is therefore proportionately smaller than on a standard vehicle with two bogies.

The traction equipment areas 8 are in the vehicles la at the ends of the rake, which totally frees up the passage in the intermediate vehicles lb. Other equipment 81, such as air-conditioning equipment, is located high up or low down similarly, there is only one double door 3 per vehicle 1, which leaves proportionately more room for the seats 4.

The widening of the vehicle 1 allows the provision of two upper deck aisles 7b instead of the one aisle on the upper decks of standard vehicles. The seats 4 on the upper deck are divided into two lateral rows and one central row 41. The central row 41 is located above the lower deck aisle 7a. To increase the height of the aisle 7a the floor 110 of the upper deck is raised 112 under the seats 41. The curved shape of the ceiling iiI allows this raising 112 of the floor and therefore of the central seats 41, whereas the lateral seats 40 must remain lower.

As shown in figure 5, entry to the vehicle 1 is effected via doors 3; the station platform 9 is usually higher than the floor 14 of the vestibule and a ramp 140 is therefore provided in front of each door 3.

Access to the various decks is shown in figures 3, 6 and 7.

Access to the lower deck 10 is effected via a sloping floor 101 that runs from the vestibule inside the door 3 to the floor 100. As seen in figure 4, the floor 101 slopes only in the portion corresponding to the aisle 7a, and not under the seats 4.

Figure 7 shows one example of the arrangement of this lower deck access area: the sloping floor 101 is flanked by a ramp 102 and seats 4 are disposed along the lateral wall 13 of the vehicle 1. Some of these seats 4 may be folding seats. This arrangement is particularly beneficial for disabled access and passengers with strollers.

Access to the upper deck 11 is effected via two stairways 5. The stairways 5 line up with the upper deck aisles 7b and lie on either side of the entry to the lower deck 10, which may comprise either a stairway 50 or a sloping floor 101. The raised floor 112 helps to favor the use of a gentle slope 101 for disabled access limited to 17% maximum.

As may be seen in figure 3, the central seats 41 are offset relative to the lateral seats In figure 6, the stairways 5 have no risers, which opens up a view of the lower deck so that it is easy to see whether there are any seats available or not.

vehicles of the invention provide a seven-car train with a length of. less than 112.5 meters, rather than 175 m, doors 2 meters wide instead of 1.3 m, a distance between seats from 1.54 m to 1.64 m, an aisle width of 1.8 m instead of 1.44 m, and a lower deck aisle height of 2 m instead of 1.94 m.

Claims

1. Rail vehicles with two decks comprising at least one motor bogie, wherein said bogie straddles two vehicles, each vehicle has a length less than 26 meters, a width greater than 2.80 meters and a height less than

4.32 meters, the lower deck comprises two rows of seats and an aisle, the upper deck comprises two aisles and three rows of seats, and the middle row of seats on the second deck is located above the aisle of the first deck and on a raised portion of the floor offset in height relative to the lateral rows of the upper deck. 2. Rail vehicles according to claim 1, wherein the middle row of the second deck is offset in the lengthwise direction relative to the lateral rows of the same deck. 3. Rail vehicles according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the length of the vehicle is approximately

14.5 meters 4. Rail vehicles according to any preceding claim, wherein the width of the passages between vehicles is at least equal to 60% of that of the vehicles. Rail vehicles according to any preceding claim, wherein access to the second deck is effected via two stairways. 6. Rail vehicles according to claim 5, wherein each stairway has no risers. 7. Rail vehicles according to any preceding claim, wherein access to the first deck from the entry vestibule is via a slope. 8. Rail vehicles according to claim 7, wherein the slope is less than 17%. 9. Rail vehicles according to any preceding claim, wherein the traction equipment is located at the ends of the rake. 9 Rail vehicles according to any preceding claim, wherein there is only one double-door entry on each vehicle. DATED: 15 SEPTEMBER 2004 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK ATTORNEYS FOR: ALSTOM