GB2168664A

GB2168664A - Tram-vehicle system and station/stop arrangement

Info

Publication number: GB2168664A
Application number: GB08527500A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eberhard Hipp
Original assignee: MAN Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nuernberg AG
Current assignee: MAN AG
Priority date: 1984-12-07
Filing date: 1985-11-07
Publication date: 1986-06-25
Also published as: FR2574577A1; DE3444657A1; GB8527500D0; FR2574577B1

Abstract

A traffic system with track steered omnibuses (1) is provided with a central island (4) at an omnibus stop in order to reduce the overall breadth of the road. The island (4) has one stop for each of the two directions of travel. It is on a level with the floor of the omnibus (1); the island (4) makes possible access into the interior of the omnibus (1) through doors (3) in the side thereof. The upright side walls of the island provide a guide face for a feeder wheel of a track steering control system of the omnibus. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A traffic system The invention relates to a traffic system comprising a road with two tracks, omnibus stops placed along the road and a track-steered omnibus which has at least one access means on a side of the omnibus facing the stops, the access means being adapted to enable passengers to mount and leave the omnibus.

Such a traffic system may be designed so that at least one such omnibus travels firstly along one of the two tracks to the destination and then back along the other track. The omnibus is equipped with means for causing it to be steered by the tracks (an omnibus driven by an IC engine, a trolleybus or an omnibus with a hybrid or some other sort of suitable drive). The tracks may have a track steering means at certain positions spaced out along the road to cooperate with the track steering device on the omnibus so as to cause the omnibus to be accurately steered and to allow the track to be made with a minimum breadth.

This is particularly desirable at installations such as underpasses, bridges and tunnels.

The track steering of the omnibus may be brought about by a feeler arm able to be swung out to the side and controlling the steering gear of the omnibus. The arm cooperates with a guide rib on the track. However other track steering systems such as electromagnetic ones or the like are also possible with little difference in principle.

With the exception of the track steering system such an omnibus hardly differs from conventional ones which are able to be freely driven in normal road traffic and it will therefore have passenger access means on the side of the omnibus facing the side of the road for the use of passengers waiting at stops placed along the two sides of the road (i. e, in all cases on the same side of each track with respect to the direction of travel along the track). The bus stops do not have to differ in construction from the side of the track between them for instance by having a raised level so that the access means of such an omnibus are so constructed that it is possible to get on and off the omnibus from and to the level of the road, for example by means of steps.However, it is necessary that each bus stop occupy a section along the side of the respective track of a certain minimum size so that the waiting passengers are not endangered by the omnibuses as they approach and leave such a stop.

Civil engineering constructions on the road, more especially tunnels, make it desirable to have a lay-out of the road involving a minimum possible breadth, since on designing such a construction every increment in breadth involves a very substantial increase in costs.

In the case of long constructions it is however often essential to provide omnibus stops thereon or therein, it being frequently most convenient to have omnibus stops placed in pairs on opposite sides of the road. The strip of ground necessary for such a construction therefore amounts to an overall breadth which is double the width of a track and a omnibus stop.

Taking this prior art as a starting point, one aim of the invention is to reduce the breadth of that strip of ground needed at the point where each of the two tracks of the road has an omnibus stop.

In order to achieve this aim in the invention a traffic system comprises a road with two tracks and omnibus stops placed along the road and a track-steered omnibus which has at least one access means on a side of the omnibus facing the stops, the access means being adapted to enable passengers to mount and leave the omnibus, a central island placed between the tracks, track steering means placed on each side of the island, the central island having a breadth the same as that of a stop, at least one further such access means on the side of the omnibus opposite to the first-mentioned access means, said central island being at the same level as a floor of said omnibus.

In such a system there is central island at each stop with a breadth equal to that of a single stop and such as to ensure the safety of the waiting passengers. At the central island there is a track guiding means for each of the two tracks so as to make it possible to approach the passengers waiting on the central island, very precisely. In the omnibus or the omnibuses one access means is constructed on the side opposite the side normally used for such means, as for instance in a drive-on-the-right traffic system, on the nearside of the omnibus, so as to provide for passenger access from the central island.In order not to lose an excessive amount of passenger space in the omnibus owing to the additional entry means of the omnibus, the central islands are constructed at the same level as the floor of the omnibus so that doors of the omnibus may be outwardly opened without being obstructed by steps or the like.

Access to the central islands may if necessary be by way of an overhead or underground storey or directly by way of constructions with stairs.

Such a central island may fit in well with road systems carrying heavy traffic, in which case it is important to see that the entire flow of traffic is impeded as little as possible by the omnibuses and the stops.

The traffic system in accordance with the invention will now be described in the form of one embodiment with reference to the diagrammatic accompanying drawing.

The drawing shows a trolleybus 1 on the righthand track of a road designed for driveon-the-right traffic and having two tracks 2.

On the side of the omnibus opposite to the side shown in the drawing, there are the nor mal access means so as to make it possible for persons to get into the omnibus from ground level.

On the opposite side, viewed in the drawing, the omnibus 1 has two access means 3, which unlike the righthand access means not visible in the drawing, are formed by openings extending downwards as far as the floor of the omnibus and have their own doors. That is to say the access means 3 do not have any steps or the like as provided at the other access means. The roof of the omnibus 1 is made slightly higher at the access means 3 in order to make room for the upper door mechanism without encroaching on the vertical size of the access means.

The omnibus 1 shown is at a stop which is constituted by a central island 4, whose upper edge is at the same level as the floor of the omnibus 1. The upright longitudinal wall of the central island facing the omnibus and the opposite longitudinal wall visible in the drawing respectively form a guide face for the feeler wheel of a track steering control system of an omnibus.

Claims

1. A traffic system comprising a road with two tracks and omnibus stops placed along the road and track-steered omnibus which has at least one access means on a side of the omnibus facing the stops, the access means being adapted to enable passengers to mount and leave the omnibus, a central island placed between the tracks, track steering means placed on each side of the island, the central island having a breadth the same as that of a stop, at least one further such access means on the side of the omnibus opposite to the first-mentioned access means, said central island being at the same level as a floor of said omnibus.

2. A traffic system as claimed in claim 1 substantially as described above with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.