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Presentation of the Various Forms of Urban Rail Transport
The subway:
The subway or metro, abbreviation of the “metropolitan” railway system, is most often an underground rail system, sometimes installed on viaducts and rarely above the ground.
Most subways use traditional rails separated by standard distances. Some subways use rubber tires on rails.
Certain subway trains were automated during the same period. At the beginning of the 1980s, fully automated conductor-free subways appeared, whether of a small size (Val to Lille [1983], Toulouse [1993] and Rennes in 2002) or a large size: the first was Line D in Lyon (1991), followed by Line 14 in Paris in 1998. The first automatic subways in Japan were also inaugurated during this period.
Magnetic levitation train:
In 1984, a new subway technology based on magnetic rails was installed over 600 meters between the principal airport and international airport of Birmingham to the railway station at a speed of 15 km/hour.
This first attempt was a failure, but the technology allowed for the future development of what we now refer to as the magnetic levitation train, or Maglev, which is a train that uses magnetic forces to ensure its levitation and move forward. Unlike traditional trains, it is not in contact with rails, which minimizes friction and allows for much higher speeds (some systems could reach a speed in the range of 650km/hour).
There are two main types of magnetic levitation trains:
1/ The electrodynamic suspension (EDS) type that uses supraconductor magnets. Supraconductor coils are placed in the train and electromagnets are placed along the track. When the train passes at high speed, a current is induced on the track. The resulting Laplace force levitates the train. The most complete project is the Japanese Maglev.
2/ The electromagnetic suspension (EMS) type that uses traditional electromagnets. The German Transrapid is the best example. The “bearing” rail has magnets or electromagnets, which push or draw the train to make it advance or stop with precision.
The interaction between the magnets on the train and those placed along the track create an induced magnetic field that compensates for gravity and creates levitation.
The tram train :
The tram train is a system that allows for a single train to travel over tramway tracks in town and link the stations outside of town or even further by using the pre-existing regional rail network.
The equipment used must be compatible with a traditional train (signs, power, resistance). This mode of public transportation contributes to a more efficient linkage between the parts of a network, in particular when combined with the traditional tramway.
In North America, the tram train took the form of various inter-urban trains (the European equivalent was to an extent the Vicinal tramways in Belgium); many used merchant trains inter-changed with traditional railway systems (for this reason, they were operated under a regulatory regime that was identical to that of trains, where lateral signs and train orders, rather than visual operations, dictate the evolution of trains; similarly, the tramways traveling on it were built to fulfill the same anti-collision standards as traditional railway cars).
Inter-urban trams also exist in Europe, for example, the Tram line on the Belgian coast that runs from the northern coast of the country to the southern coast over 68 km and plays a leading role in tourism, in addition to being a traditional form of public transportation.
Tramway with rubber tires:
A tramway with rubber tires is guided by a wheel (a double-flanged wheel) following a central rail (mechanic guidance) or an optical cell following a line traced on its pathway (optical guidance).
According to its promoters, this system presents two main advantages: the cost of the investment is lower than that of a traditional tramway and it provides the train with the ability to occasionally leave its pathway should an incident occur and even travel on entire sections of lines that are not equipped with guidance rails as a trolleybus (as long as the power intake system is compatible: rods and double-contact line) or a bus, the trains being equipped with a power generating set.
They can therefore be used without guidance rails and an air contact line. This vehicle is therefore hybrid. Traveling on tires, these trains can climb steep gradients (up to 13%, according to the manufacturer) at low costs; technically, traditional tramways can climb gradients up to 14%, but ascending grades must be installed and the equipment must be adjusted, which obviously costs more.
The cost of use is higher than that of a real tramway: double the consumption of energy (the tire/roadway rolling resistance is much greater than rail/rail resistance), extremely frequent replacement of the guidance rails and pneumatics, regular replacing of the bituminous coating of the roadway to compensate for the rutting, lesser comfort for users and the specificity of the system, which leads to the initial manufacturer being the network’s only provider of new parts and equipment.