Suppliers

Bombardier-Innovia

Headquarters
Saatwinkler Damm 43
D-13627 Berlin, Germany 1501
Phone: +49-30-3832-0
Fax: +49-30-3832-2000

Total Transit Systems Headquarters
PO Box 220  Station A
Kingston, ON K7M 6R2, Canada
Phone: +1 (613) 384-3100
Fax: +1 (613) 634-5321

Lebanon Church Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA
Phone: +1 (412) 655-5700
Fax: +1 (412) 655-5860

Salient Features:  The current product is a much-improved version of the Westinghouse APM of the 1970/80s with rubber-tired vehicles accommodating 60-100 passengers. It operates in 30 installations worldwide, often in simple back-and-forth shuttle mode. There are more elaborate corridors and loops with spurs as well. Innovia is the most familiar APM to Americans, who have likely ridden one while flying through Atlanta, Denver, Dallas or San Francisco (or other) airports. Perhaps most salient is the degree to which their comfortable and convenient service has become as commonplace as the reliability and safety of elevators.

By building, operating, powering and maintaining secure,
low-emission mass transit systems,
Bombardier is
‘Helping Cities to Breathe’
across the globe.

Bombardier’s automated people mover (APM) systems, first introduced at Tampa International Airport in 1971, continue to demonstrate high reliability, consistently delivering availability above 99 per cent.  Our rubber-tired C-100 series and Innovia*  operate on a dedicated guideway - at grade, in tunnels, elevated or in any combination - to satisfy a variety of applications.  The technology permits single-vehicle configuration or trains up to four cars, and easily accommodates peak periods during daily operations. Whether the C-100 or Innovia, they offer airport and urban authorities exceptional route flexibility.
*Trademark(s) of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Status: First introduced in 1971, there are now over:
-30 Innovia installations worldwide.
-300 vehicles placed into passenger service.
-3 billion passengers carried.
-100 million-vehicle miles accumulated.

Over half the world’s top 30 airports use a Bombardier APM.

Urban Design Parameters

• Guideway Envelope – About 3 meters wide per direction, but there is variation from application to application.  Please contact a Bombardier Representative to discuss the specifics of your particular application.
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation – No data provided.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns – No data provided.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – No data provided.
• Minimum Radius of Curvature – 22m.
• Maximum Recommended Slope – Up to 10 percent.
• Minimum Station Footprint – No data provided.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing – The vehicle-guideway interface combined with new suspension and guidance elements, results in low noise impact
• Level of vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr – No data provided.
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach To (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls - No data provided.

Coaster, Gmbh

Illweg 10
6714 Nuziders, Austria
Phone: +43-5552-32277
Fax: +43-5552-32277-11
Email: info@coaster.at
Website: www.coaster.at

Salient Features:  6-8 passenger vehicles with their own intelligence and energy (advanced batteries, recharging at stations) travel on a lattice-like guideways at speeds to 54 km/hr and headways of 7.5 seconds, yielding line capacity of 2880 pphpd (8-seater). Reversible. System cost, including guideway, estimated to be $3m/km.

Status:  The company was established in 2001. A test track has operated in western Austria since 2003, with safety certification gained from public authorities. The first installation opened in 2007 at a ski resort in western Switzerland. Other installations are under study. A passive switch for off-line station operation is a main challenge for large installations. 

Urban Design Parameters

• Guideway Envelope – 1.1m wide x 1.3m high.
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation: 1.5 x 1.5m for a permanent column, or 1m x 1m for a temporary one.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns – 24m.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – 36m.
• Minimum Radius of Curvature – 6m (Downhillercoaster) or 7m (Citycoaster); 120m at 40km/hr.
• Maximum Recommended Slope – 55percent.
• Minimum Station Footprint – 5m x 4m for a one-way station; 5m x 6.5m for a two-way station.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing – No data provided.
• Level of vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr – No data provided.
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach To (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls - No particular problem.

DCC: Doppelmayr Cable Car

Sales & Marketing
Holzriedstrasse 29
PO Box 6
6961 Wolfurt, Austria
Phone: +43-5574-604-649
Fax: +43-5574-604-648
Email: dcc@doppelmayr.com
Website: www.dcc.at

North American Sales
PO BOX 531518
Henderson, NV 89053, USA           
Phone: +1 (702) 558-4002
Fax: +1 (702) 558-4002        
Email: dcclic@doppelmayr.com                 
Website: www.dcc.at

Salient Features: DCC’s cable propulsion technology and passive vehicles hold several key advantages. The elegant simplicity of the overall concept results in better performance, significantly lower operation and maintenance costs, greater flexibility in individual system design, rapid installations, superior passenger comfort , outstanding aesthetics, and greater environmental responsibility.

Status:

Systems in Operation:

Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA: Public Opening: 04/1999.

Birmingham, International Airport, UK: Public Opening: 03/2003; O&M   contract   duration: 20 years.

Toronto, International Airport Shuttle, Canada: Public Opening: 06/2006; O&M contract duration: 8 years.

Mexico City, International Airport Shuttle, Mexico: Public Opening: 06/2007; O&M contract duration: 1 year (negotiated annually).

Systems in design and under construction & installation:

Venice City APM System, Italy: Public Opening: 12/2008 (under construction).

MGM City Center APM, Las Vegas, USA (under construction): Public Opening: 07/2009.

New Doha international Airport, Qatar (in design): Public Opening: 2010.

Urban Design Parameters

• Guideway Envelope - Single steel guideway: height 2m; width: 1.7m; Double steel guideway: height 2m; width: 6.3m.
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation - The size depends greatly on the soil conditions, the column height, and the guideway separation, but to provide some very approximate ranges for DCC’s system:
  • Deep drilled shaft – could have single shaft 1.5 – 2m diameter for a single lane or short column. 3 to 4 meter diameter for a dual lane or tall column.
  • Pile supported spread footing – 4 to 4.5m square for a single lane or short column; 5 to 6 meter square for a dual lane or tall column.
  • Spread footing (very dependent on soil parameters) – 4 to 5m square for single lane or short column in good soils. 9m square or more for tall columns in weak soils.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns - 25-30m.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – 60m / double guideway costs for this particular 60m span.
• Minimum Radius of Curvature – At 40 km/hr – 0 percent super-elevation: 200m; 10 percent super-elevation: 77m.
• Maximum Recommended Slope - 10 percent.
• Minimum Station Footprint – One-way station: loading/unloading one side: 6m wide x 24m to 30m long minimum; Two-way station: loading/unloading on the outside only: 18m wide x 30m long. Loading inside/unloading outside: 24m wide x 30m long.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing – 40 km/h: at 15m distance: 65 dBA; all the others are N/A.
• Level of vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr - DCC’s rope guiding technology with the applied anti vibration elements provide sufficient elasticity and damping so no major vibrations are excited in the steel guideway and in the adjacent structures. The service proven PERFORMAÒ haul rope type does not create exceptional noise above the ambient noise. Furthermore the guideway is an elastic structure which works as an anti vibration element itself. DCC’s experience with former projects shows that the forces created by the moving parts running over (vehicle) and running within the guideway (rope and sheaves) are usually not the reason for vibrations, which can be felt on floors of adjacent structures.
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach to (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls -No problem as long as the wall is designed for the load. The guideway loading will likely be higher than a standard building wall can handle, so it will have to be a special wall design. No problem penetrating the wall, again as long as it is designed for it.

Hitachi

Y. Ueoka, General Manager
18-13, Soto-Kanda 1 Chome
Chiyoda-ku Tokyo, 101-8068, Japan
Phone: +81-3-4564-9853
Fax: +81-3-4564-4068
Email: Hitachi-rail@pis.hitachi.co.jp
Website: www.hitatchi-rail.com/products/monorail/top.html

Salient Features: A large straddling, rubber-tired monorail system with claims to full automation and line capacity up to 20,000 pphpd and speed up to 80km/hr. Walk-through vehicles allow internal circulation over the length of the train.

Status: Over ten installation, but some are manually driven and others are driverless but with on-board attendants. A project in Chongqing opened in 2005 aims at more business in China.

Urban Design Parameters   

• Guideway Envelope – Small monorail: 4.5m wide x 1.5m high; Large monorail:  5.15m wide x 1.5m high.
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation – No data provided.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns – 20m.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – No data provided.
• Minimum Radius of Curvature – 40-50m.
• Maximum Recommended Slope – 6 percent.
• Minimum Station Footprint – Small monorail: 12.7m wide (one way) and minimum 30m length; Large monorail: 15m wide (one way) and length dependent on train length.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing – No data provided.
• Level of vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr – No data provided.
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach To (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls - No data provided.

HSST

Michio Takahashi,Vice President     
2-6-15 Shibakoen
Minato-ku Tokyo 1050011, Japan
Phone: +81-3-5403-1430
Fax: +81-3-5403-1429
Email: home@hsst.com
Website: www.hsst.com

Salient Features
The HSST is levitated by electromagnets and propelled by linear motors, providing the best solutions for urban transportation as a cost effective, reliable, and environmentally sound transit option.

Status
The HSST development began in the 1980s with support from Japan Air Lines and Nagoya Railroad. A test track for urban applications was built in the 1990s. The first revenue operation materialized in March 2005 with the 8.9km Tobu Kyuryo Line with 8 trains in Nagoya, Japan. There is a joint marketing agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Urban Design Parameters

• Guideway Envelope - Guideway envelope: width: 3.3m high x 4.6m wide.
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation - 4.5m x 4.5m; Cross-section of a column is 1.5m x 1.5m.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns - 20～25m.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – There is no standard for longer spans, however, this can be extended with bridge building methods.
• Minimum Radius of Curvature –
  At 40km/h - 90m with 3.5 degree of super-elevation; 168m without super-elevation.
  At 80km/h - 233m with 8 degree of super-elevation; 672m without super-elevation.
• Maximum Recommended Slope – 7 percent.
• Minimum Station Footprint – No standard footprint for stations.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing –
  At 12.5m distance: 60 dB (cruising at 40km/h); 63 dB (Accelerating at 40-50km/h).
  At 7.0m distance, 69 dB (accelerating at 70-72km/h); 69 dB (decelerating at 79-75km/h).
• Level of vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr - At 12.5m distance: 49.5 dB (accelerating at 47.3km/h); At 7.0m distance: 55.1 dB (cruising at 72.8km/h)
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach To (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls - The HSST can be integrated directly into building structures without transmitting train vibrations to the surrounding structures. The HSST is very quiet, eliminating need for special isolation foundations or noise insulation.

IHI Ltd

Yuki Matsuoaka, Manager Urban Transit Systems or Masaaki Kuwabar
Shin-Ohtemachi, Building 2-1
Ohtemachi 2-Chome, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, 100-8182, Japan
Phone: +81-3-3244-5111
Fax: +81-3-3244-5131
Email: koji_noguchi@ihi.co.jp, Masaaki_kuwabara@ihi.co.jp
Website: www.ihi.co.jp

Salient Features:  A classic rubber-tired APM originally developed by Niigata Engineering based on the Airtrans installed at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in the 1970s. This was purchased by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) several years ago. Vehicles accommodate 50-80 passengers and run with rotary motors using sidedwall guidance at 65 km/hr.

Status:  The first Niigata installation opened in 1981 in Osaka knownas the Newtran. Niigata was involved in seven projects in all. Shuttles have been installed at Taipei and Kansai (Osaka) airports. The most recent project is the 10km Toneri Line, which opened in 2007.

Urban Design Parameters:  Beyond information below, no data were provided.

• Minimum Radius of Curvature – 30m.
• Maximum Recommended Slope – 7 percent.

Leitner

Ermenegildo Zordan, Sales Manager
Giuseppe Conte, Technical Manager
Via Pacinotti, 3
39100 Bolzano, Italy
Phone: +39-04-7156-7811
Fax: +39-04-7156-7899                     
Email: zordan.ermenegildo@leitner-lifts.com, conte.giuseppe@leitner-lifts.com              
Website: www.leitner-lifts.com

Salient Features
The MiniMetro is a rope-propelled automated people mover. Fifty-passenger, rubber-tired cars travel along a dedicated dual-line track.  At stations, cars detach and attach to a continuously moving rope loop.

Status
A test track has been operating since 1993 at the Leitner Technologies plant in Vipiteno (Italy). A complete system has been operating since January 2008 in the city of Perugia (Italy).

Urban Design Parameters

• Guideway Envelope - Approximately 5.4m x 2m (dual track).
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation -Depends on the specific project.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns - About 24m – 28m.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – Project specific.
• Minimum Radius of Curvature – 50m – 70m (depending on the operating speed).
• Maximum Recommended Slope – 12 percent – 13 percent (due to passenger comfort).
• Minimum Station Footprint – The system uses small vehicles 5.7m length x 2.1m width. The minimum station footprint depends on the specific country rules in relation with the capacity of the system and architectural design.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing – The level of noise depends essentially on the super-structure nature, shape (concrete, steel) and on the track geometry. Generally at a 10m distance the level of noise is less than 55-60dB.
• Level of vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr - Depends on the specific project.
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach To (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls - The Guideways can be easily integrated in the existing urban infrastructure, and surely can be attached to building walls and penetrate through too.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Yukinori Go,International Operations, Transportation Systems Dept.
16-5, Konan 2-Chome
Minato-ku Tokyo 108-8215, Japan  
Phone: +81-3-6716-3797
Fax: +81-3-6716-5767
Email: yukinori_go@mhi.co.jp
Website: www.mhi.co.jp

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.
Darin Friedmann, Transportation Systems Division
630 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3155
New York, NY 10111, USA
Phone: +1 (212) 397-6144
Fax: +1 (212) 262-2113
Email: darin_friedmann@mhiahq.com
Website: www.mitsubishitoday.com

Salient Features:  Dubbed “Crystal Mover”, this is a classic APM with rubber-tired vehicles that accommodate up to 100 passengers. AC induction motors propel them. Capacities up to 20,000 pphpd are claimed.

Status:  Over a dozen installations have been installed or are underway, including a 70km, 385-vehicle (two lines with two more in planning) project for Dubai’s metro. A shuttle recently opened at Korea’s Incheon Airport, and another is underway at Washington-Dulles.

Urban Design Parameters:  No data provided.

Note:  MHI is now integrated with the HSST engineering team. MHI provides a suspended monorail, but has not done so as a fully automated system. It has installed an automated, inclined, cable-drawn “Skyrail” with suspended vehicles to feed a metro station in Hiroshima, and has experimented with accelerating walkways.

Alstom Transport

Jean-Marc Pagliero, VP Systems Metro
33, rue des Bateliers
93400 St. Ouen Cedex, France
Phone: +33-1-4166-8125
Fax: +33-1-4166-8074
Email: jean-marc.pagliero@transport.alstom.com, Virginie.hourdin@transport.alstom.com
Website: www.transport.alstom.com

Chuck Wochele, VP Business Development
1 Transit Drive
Hornel, NY 14843, USA
Phone: +1 (607) 281-2573
Fax: +1 (607) 324-7090
Email: chuck.wochele@transport.alstom.com
Website: www.transport.alstom.com

Salient Features:  Steel wheels on steel rails from a mainstream rail manufacturer.

Status:  Several projects in Singapore and others underway in Lausanne, Switzerland; Shanghai, China; Sao Paulo. Brazil.

Ansaldo STS

Pierfranco Romano, Commercial Manager
via P. Mantovani, 3 / 5
I -16151 Genova, Italy
Fax: +39-010-655-2028
Email: Pierfranco.Romano@atsf.it
Website: www.tsf.it

Jack Wall, Sales
Union Switch & Signal, Inc.
1000 Technology Drive
Pittsburgh, PA  15219-3120, USA
Phone +1 (412) 688-2261
Fax:  +1 (412) 688-2589
Email:  jnwall@swicth.com

Salient Features: Steel wheels on steel rails from a mainstream rail manufacturer. Ansaldo STS products range from traditional signaling systems to complete turnkey systems performing unattended train operation. Ansaldo STS also performs O&M for its own systems.

Status: In service in Copenhagen since 2002 and Brescia by the end of 2008. Other projects underway in Milan, Rome, and Thessaloniki, Greece. CBTC systems have been installed in Paris and China.

Bombardier Transportation - ART

Headquarters
Saatwinkler Damm 43
D-13627 Berlin 1501, Germany
Phone: +49-30-3832-0
Fax: +49-30-3832-2000

Total Transit Systems Headquarters
PO Box 220  Station A
Kingston, ON K7M 6R2, Canada
Phone: +1 (613) 384-3100
Fax: +1 (613) 634-5321

Salient Features:  Steel wheels on steel rail, but unlike most metros ART is  powered by linear induction motors.

Status: The first ART was Vancouver’s SkyTrain that opened in 1986. It has been expanded and a second line added. As a one-way loop, it opened in Detroit in 1987. A line in Kuala Lumpur started service in 1998, followed by the AirTrain at New York’s JFK Airport in 2003.

Note:  Bombardier also supplied a privately funded automated monorail in Las Vegas. It is designed to urban transit standards.

Siemens Transportation Systems

Richard Jarsaillon
50 rue Barbes
92542 Montrouge Cedex, France     
Phone: +33-1-4965-7698
Fax: +33-1-4965-7364
Email: richard.jarsaillon@siemens.com
Website: www.siemens-ts.fr

Hermann Deneke
Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 (531) 226-2809
Email: hermann.deneke@siemens.com

Ron van Huuksloot
7464 French Road
Sacramento, CA  95828, USA
Phone:  +1 (916) 525-2853

Salient Features:  Since 1986, there has been a competent yet curious mixture of French and German expertise supplying driverless metros that run on either rubber tires (the VAL developed by France’s Matra Transport) or on steel wheels (from major German rail division of giant Siemens as the 3rd line of Nuremberg’s metro).

Status:  The first VAL opened in 1983, and many have been supplied in France as well as U.S, Taiwan, Italy, etc. A next-generation version dubbed NeoVAL has been developed. The steel-wheeled Nuremburg line is now in service.

Note:  Siemens-Germany also has installed two H-Bahns – automated suspended-vehicle monorails. Siemens-France operated an advanced APM with PRT-like qualities in the 1980s. Neither product is actively promoted.

Advanced Transport Systems (ULTra)

Martin Lowson, CEO
Unit 5 Brunel Way
Thornbury, Bristol 3UR, UK
Phone: +011 (44-14) 5441-4700
Fax: +011 (44-14)n 5441-4770
Email: office@atsltd.co.uk
Web: www.alstd.co.uk

Salient Features: ULTra uses numerous battery-driven, four-seat vehicles running over (not locked into) low-cost, low-impact guideway networks with off-line stations providing PRT service. Maximum speed is 40km/hr. Controls are sensor-based. Two-second headways are envisioned in initial operations.

Status: A 1km, 3-vehicle test track has operated in Cardiff since 2001. The first commercial deployment is scheduled to open at London Heathrow ‘s Terminal 5 in the spring 2009. Safety approval is managed by the UK Rail Inspectorate. The British Airports Authority (now owned by Spanish Ferrovial) has purchased a 25 percent share of ATS.

• Guideway Envelope - For a vehicle sitting atop guideway with no column, the envelope is: 2.3m high and 2.1m wide.
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation – No data provided.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns – 18m. The vehicle payload is 500kg.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – There is a standard 36.6m (120’) spacing as well, without much overall cost penalty. 
• Minimum Radius of Curvature – 12.5m.
• Maximum Recommended Slope - For passenger comfort, 10-degree rise, 6-degree fall.
• Minimum Station Footprint – Vehicle length is 3.75m.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing – Less noise than a car. 
• Level of vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr - No data provided. 
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach To (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls - Readily. 

2getthere

Robbert Lohmann, Carel van Helsdingen
Proostwetering 26
3543 AP Utrecht, The Netherlands
Phone: +31-30-238-7203
Fax: +31-30-2241-5931
Email: info@2getthere.eu
Website: www.2getthere.eu

Salient Features: 2getthere markets and develops electronically guided vehicular systems. The lack of physical guidance ensures the capital and operational costs are minimized. The distributed architecture of the network controls ensures the system is flexible, robust and easy to extend.

Status: 2getthere’s network and vehicle controls have a 24+ year development history in various demanding environments. The group transit system (GRT) has been realized at three locations, with the 2nd generation operational at an office park outside Rotterdam. The engineering of a personal transit system (PRT) has been completed.

Urban Design Parameters

• Guideway Envelope - Width: 1.7m (PRT) or 2.4m (GRT).
• Minimum Radius of Curvature –
  • At 40km/hr and an accepted sideways acceleration of 1,5m/s2, the required radius is 80 meters.
  • At 40km/hr and an accepted sideways acceleration of 1,0m/s2, the required radius is 120 meters.
  • At 40km/hr and an accepted sideways acceleration of 0,6m/s2, the required radius is 200 meters.
• Maximum Recommended Slope – 10 percent.
• Minimum Station Footprint – A custom design will be made based on the required capacity, number of berths and space available.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing –  @ 40km/hr and 10 meters, < 65dba
   

Robosoft

Vincent Dupourque, CEO
Technopole d’Izarbel
64210 Bidart, France
Phone: +33-5-5941-5360
Fax: +33-5-5941-5379
Email: Vincent.dupourque@robosoft.fr
Website: www.robosoft.fr

Salient Features:  Optically self-guiding vehicles (CyberCars) operate at low speeds without need for an exclusive guideway. Vehicle sizes range from 4 to 30 seats on simple circuits from several hundred meters to a few kilometers.

Status:  Robosoft has furnished numerous systems for cleaning, surveillance, health, factory and warehouse settings. It is an outgrowth of the public-private Praxitele project guided by INRIA and participation in the EU’s EDICT and CityMobil R&D programs. Demonstrated passenger service in Antibes (southern France), a science theme park in Clemont-Ferrard (central France) and Fort du Simserhof on the Maginot Line.

Urban Design Parameters  - No data provided.

Taxi 2000

Morris Anderson, President & CEO
8050 University Ave. N.
Fridley, MN 55432, USA
Phone: +1 (763) 717-4310
Fax: +1 (763) 717-4311
Email: info@taxi2000.com
Website: www.skywebexpress.com

Salient Features:  Classic PRT with 4-passenger vehicles running in a slender beam at 70km/h at one-second headways. Propulsion is by linear induction motor. Sophisticated simulation and planning software has been developed.

Status:  Established by Dr. Ed Anderson in the early 1980s as a spin-off of work at the University of Minnesota and work by the California-based Aerospace Corp., Taxi 2000 is a privately held company. There was intense R&D in conjunction with Raytheon Corp. and the Chicago RTA with a full-scale test facility using rotary motors outside Boston in the 1990s, but commercialization was not achieved. A new “product launch” occurred in 2003. Anderson separated from Taxi 2000 in 2005. See PRT International in the Promoters section. Taxi 2000 has well developed and demonstrated control systems, a protorype vehicle and guideway section, and a tabletop network.

Urban Design Parameters

• Guideway Envelope – Including guideway covers the envelope is 0.9m wide and 1m high.
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation – Typical post is 25cm in diameter and 56cm in the ground. The type of soil and the seismic activity in the area installed will determine the depth of footing and final diameter.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns – 28 meters.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – A maximum spacing has not been determined.  Engineering studies have indicated that a span of 55m would not collapse.  So that if a post were removed due to an accident, there would not be a catastrophic failure of the guideway in that area.
• Minimum Radius of Curvature – 12.2m at 16km/hr; 64m at 56km/hr; 134m at 80km/hr.
• Maximum Recommended Slope – The slope limitations are restricted only to those related to ride comfort.  Because of the nature of the propulsion system slopes well outside passenger comfort can be safely achieved either in an uphill or downhill mode.  Recommend a 10 percent slope based on passenger comfort.  
• Minimum Station Footprint – Vehicle length is 2.9 meters, and minimum berth is 3.05m in length. Station ramps require 11-50 length.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing – Actual testing of vehicles at speed have not been accomplished, but we estimate that noise level will be comparable to other electric PRT systems or electric cars.
• Level of vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr – Actual testing at speed has not been accomplished, but vibration levels should be low.
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach To (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls - Because of the guideways small profile and light weight it can easily enter into a building or attach to a building.

Vectus

Contact: Sunwook Lee, Head of Vectus Ltd, Korea Office
Mosan Building, 5th Floor
14-4 Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu
137-888, Seoul, Korea
Phone: +82-2-431 6130
Fax: +82-2-431-6067            
Email: sunwook.lee@vectusprt.com                       
Website: www.vectusprt.com

Salient Features:  Classic PRT with passive 4/6-passenger vehicles powered by reversible in-guideway linear induction motors by Force Engineering and WGH of the U.K. Current work aims at 2.5 second headways and 45km/h commercial speed (60km/h maximum).

Status:  Korean steel conglomerate Posco decided to develop Vectus in 2002 and established partnerships with European companies in 2003. A 1:10 model has operated in Korea since 2005. In the spring of 2006 construction of a ~$40-million, 400-meter full-scale test facility in Uppsala, Sweden started. It opened in fall of 2007 under supervision of Swedish rail authorities and safety acceptance in the winder of 2008. Controls are by Swedish software firm Noventus. Civil work is in cooperation with Skanska.

Urban Design Parameters

• Guideway Envelope – No answer.
• Typical Footprint Requirement for a Guideway Column Foundation – No answer.
• Recommended Spacing Between Columns – Empty vehicle weight of 800kg.
• Maximum Spacing Between Columns – No answer.
• Minimum Radius of Curvature – 5m at half-speed.
• Maximum Recommended Slope – 10 percent.
• Minimum Station Footprint – Vehicle size is 3.5m long x 1.5m wide x 2m high.
• Noise Level (decibels) of a Vehicle Passing – No answer.
• Level of Vibration at 40 and 80 km/hr – No answer.
• Ease in Which Guideways Can Attach to (and Penetrate Through) Building Walls - No answer.

The Vectus test track in Uppsala has gained safety approvals from Swedish rail authorities.

WGH, Ltd.

Andrew Howarth      
Linden House, 34 Moorgate Road
Rotherham, South Yorkshire S60 2AG, U.K.
Phone: +44-17-0977-0760
Fax: +44-17-0977-0717
Email: Gscelzoprt@ameritech.net

Salient Features:  Small (2-seat), suspended, open vehicles that are powered by linear induction motors at low speeds, mostly for indoor viewing purposes (dark rides). Very tight turns are possible. More robust designs at higher speeds are feasible.

Status:  This small English company has installed several projects in the U.K., Finland, and Abu Dhabi. It is part of the team developing the Vectus PRT. Currently has two small projects in the U.K.

Urban Design Parameters:  No data provided.

Aeromovel Global Corporation

Steven Ivins, Project Manager
7575 Dr. Phillips Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32819, USA
Phone: +1 (407) 363-7883
Fax: +1 (510) 272-9970
Email: info@aeromovel.com
Website: www.aeromovel.com

Salient Features:  Metro-scale trains provide line-haul service with an unique air propulsion element.

Status:  A test track has operated in Porto Allegre, Brazil since the 1980s, and an installation has operated in a cultural park in Jakarta for several decades. In the 1990s Saudi investors bought a controlling share.

Intamin

Franz Zurcher
Landstrasse 126
PO Bo 644
FL-9494 Schaan, Liechtenstein         
Phone: +42-3237-0363
Fax: +42-3237-0360              
Email: info@intamintransportation.com                 
Website: www.intamintransportation.com

Salient Features:  Automated monorails of modest size and capacity that can be tailored to customer needs and preferences. A metro-scaled version capable of carrying over 10,000 pphpd in severe winter conditions is also available.

Status:  A dozen or so modest monorails have been built. Many of them have been dismantled. Many still operate. Intamin engineers, builds and operates amusement and viewing rides in addition to its monorails. The urban version in cooperation with Moscow transit officials has not moved beyond demonstration service.

Otis (Division Of United Technologies)

Contact:   Frank Bares
Phone: +1 (860) 286-1617
Email: frank.bares@otis.com

Salient Features:  An air-cushioned APM with 30-40 passenger vehicles, typically with cable propulsion. An early installation still operating at Duke University Hospital (Raleigh NC) used linear induction motors. Japan’s Otis company has studied LIM propulsion extensively.

Status: Abandoned as a commercial product in 2002 despite successful implementations are several airports and at Huntsville (AL) Hospital. O&M services are currently provided. installations.

Schwager Davis Inc. (SDI)

Guido A. Schwager, P.E.
198 Hillsdale Avenue
San Jose, CA 95136, USA
Phone: +1 (408) 281-9300
Fax: +1 (408) 281-9301
Email: guido@schwagerdavis.com
Website: www.schwagerdavis.com

Salient Features: Modest cable-drawn shuttles and a three-station installation with self-propelled three-car trains.

Status: Several shuttles operate at casino complexes and a park and the 2.4km three-station installation is owned and operated by a large medical service provider in Indianapolis.

SNC-Lavalin Inc. (SK)

455 Rene-Levesque Blvd. West
Montreal, Quebec H2Z 1Z3, Canada
Phone: +1 (514) 393-8000
Fax: +1 (514) 395-2486
Email: pinge@snclavalin.com
Website: www.snc-lavalin.com

Salient Features:  An APM of modest scale and capacity in which many small vehicles which release from the main propulsion cable at stations.

Status:  Several temporary installations, including two in occasional service at an expo park outside Paris and in Shanghai.