A design for railway to cause paradigm shift: risks of derailments & capsizing of coaches totally eliminated but with same high speeds and loads : Skybus

Rajaram Bojji M.Tech., F.I.E., F.N.A.E
Indian Railway Service of Engineers [1970-2005].  

Why needed ; aim and objectives.

Over 35 years of railway service, witnessed derailments, capsizing of coaches losing precious lives; suffered great anguish.The anguish drove effort to find a high speed railway but with zero risk of derailments or capsizing of coaches.

The aim was to  re-engineer the existing proven railway sub-modules to create a modern railway  free from risk of derailments, which can be used in metros and intercity high speed travel.

Conceptually if the bogies carrying the coach can be made to ride the track without fear of derailment, and coach has positive attachment to the tracks, risk is mitigated.

So why not take the bogies and track system in to a concrete box, and suspend the coach below the track, is the simple reconfiguration.

It becomes another hanging or suspended train system but compared to existing ones, now high speed bogies used in modern railway is used. Thus physics of the railway remains well proven with center of mass now getting closer to the running track center. more stable. The axle loads and carrying capacity can be same as our modern railway.

First a concept paper was presented at Bologna Italy. [1] Bojji, Rajaram, 1989, Skywheels- New Mass transit system, at l' Convegno Internazionale “ LE FERROVIE , NEI TRASPORTI DELGI ANNI 2000 BOLOGNA, 12/13/14 Aprile 1989, 420-424

Then issues of track without sleeper middle portion, gauge, reversals, changing tracks arise, with suspender elements coming between the running rails.By cutting down the train length to 50 m, using wider coaches, for reversals of a train unit at terminal, traverser arrangement designed. A 50 m track sub element used to shift a trail unit from track to track or to a third track for changing tracks.

A turn table arrangement in which track and train submodule can be turned  to change direction was conceptualised.

Railway can be aligned practically to follow existing roads because it is no more rigid as in legacy metros. In this arrangement railway becomes flexible avoiding dislocation of habitats.

More importantly, modal split in transport can be avoided and point to point transport becomes feasible by metro rail. Currently metro stations create congestion around the terminals and stations. One must use road necessarily . City congestion problem continues even after metro rail is commissioned.




So in this configuration,  instead of thinking track and train as different elements, one should consider them integrated and as one system. With modern digital technology operations can be easily automated observing CENELE standards for electronic interlocking safety.

Planning & execution

First to communicate with credibility computer aided models used to present the concepts to respected Scientists like Dr Abdul Kalam and his fellow scientists committee for review. They declared it as technically sound. Then presentations were made to another technical committee including Commissioner of Railway Safety who supported the technology as feasible. Further the presentation of proposed system was passed through international QA experts TUV Rheinland Germany . After covering existing suspended systems in the world and bench marking against them, declared Skybus to be mature technology which can be safely implemented. Further for independent check for novelty applications for patents filed. US granted. Geneva IB accepted for International patent. These rights I assigned to the govt company without seeking personal benefit.

Now comes creation of a working model for industry to see and appreciate. This was done.

First full scale prototype : funding .
For funding govt naturally won't. Though I was head of govt company , my hands were tied. So appealed to various industry leaders with all this data and media coverage , writing personal letters to CEOs explaining the business opportunity for them . Only those companies who can contribute in kind, that is own skills and product designs for the project were invited. No cash sought. In return they were promised preferred vendor partner status for regular projects. Thus the first full scale prototype of Skybus was manufactured duly coordinated by us, providing the specifications and requirements. Since most of them are railway industry products, the companies found it comfortable. Within 3 months the prototype was set up. Its value was Rs 70m which included two coaches, bogies, double track and supporting twin box structure with a modern station fully air conditioned.

On 15th Oct 2003 at Margao Goa, a celebration cum heartfelt thanking party to leaders of private industry was organized as a public event attended by government railway Minister too and we published a booklet [  https://goo.gl/photos/  ]getting the industry leaders' opinions what motivated them. The government felt compelled then to announce on the spot sanction of Rs 500m for Skybus experimental track of 1.6 km with a station and two coaches. After due reluctant processing at Delhi by concerned members of the board, finally funds sanction was communicated in Feb 2004.

By Sept 15th 2004 the World's Skybus rolled [   https://youtu.be/TzFH26E6eto ]with all of us riding! A momentous event for us. [.  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE989407EF6CD4C09 ] the full technical movie made gives construction and running details.  National Geographic too covered. Videos available at the link. Austrian 3 ph asynchronous motor manufactures gladly contributed their sills and hard ware gratis on the basis of preferred vendor status. [ https://goo.gl/photos/kwQ9HxG2gVD77UE58 ]. Photos can be perused.

Even an unintended accident took place. Uncertified , still being tried out auto pilot was over zealously  tried prematurely by a technician causing the units to over speed on a sharp curve. One corner of a coach swung beyond design clearance , hit a concrete column. But the system stood the impact, proved it cant derail, as also no capsizing of coach took place. All riding inside , survived with minor injuries for some. However one person hanging outside open door got thrown down, hit his head on a pedestal and died. Unfortunate, though not related to technology. Later damaged coach restored , same staff & engineers confidently rode along with third party testing teams from Ministry of Railway authorized testing wing RDSO as well as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre testing scientists. The readings  confirmed safe riding limits for the Skybus. No surprise, because it is the same railway, just reconfigured to eliminate derailments and capsizing. In fact the CG of the dynamic system is at the rail level.

Both important goals of eliminating derailment and capsizing  are demonstrated to be achieved by Skybus because of the unintended accident.

Innovation and creativity .

The major lacunae of the least friction steel wheel over steel rail viz.,
1. Risk of derailments. 2. Coaches capsizing
which force us to over provide in design for unknown forces are now removed and the reconfigured railway is an opportunity to have much lighter coaches and bogies. Tare weight reduces pay load increase.

Additionally because of the shorter train lengths we use, we design traffic clearance as they arrive, that is by rate of flow of traffic and clearance , avoiding congested crowds accumulation any time. Thus stations become elegant roadside access points for service.

Moving block system is ideally implementable and driverless running adopted. Service every minute is provided.

Elimination of points and crossings , adoption of traversed and turn table saves tremendous land requirements too.

High Speed railway now becomes even more risk free. It is only a matter of using the high speed bogie.

The climatic factors like snow or mud flow on to tracks now totally things of past. Tracks stand protected from any external impediments.

Existing manufacturers need not recast their facilities but redesign lighter system for heavy duty work out put , and fundamentally will be able to make railway and economic viable proposition for long term sustained growth at lower costs.

Further when combined with Gravity Power Tower [   https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwHemx70oqnENjYwY2IxMjktOWUyNS00ZGZmLTg2NTYtYWQ2MTYyNmNjNzBj ] the need for wheel mounted electrical motors eliminated . Energy saved to the extent of 70% in metro systems. Almost 40% energy can be saved in high speed rail too.

Further paper in WCRR 2016 [.  ] https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwHemx70oqnEQ0YxM082bll3V0k ] details how a smart city can create a neighborhood railway by 2050.

International patents granted in Geneva and US too apart from India.

The core building block is the Skybus railway where risk of derailment and capsizing is removed.  This the true paradigm shift to railway as we know, but with rather a simple re-arrangement of components.