Minibus service added

A Minibus; photo curtesy of Hino Motors


As a response to criticism of Waverail a 'sweeper' Minibus service has been suggested and added to complement Waverail. It is referred to as Wbus and will have to run along the same route as Waverail.
Certain trips - such as one station only and other trips for non-walking passengers - can not be done with Waverail alone. Wbus will do all these trip 'stubs' and on top of this will pick-up and deliver passengers to within approximately 100 metres of any point along the Waverail route.

Gold Coast Rapid Transit troubles a chance for Waverail?

Wuppertaler Schwebebahn; photo courtesy of Wikipedia

The planners of the Queensland Government have been told to make it happen quick smart. They are known not to waste time and have been encountered to declare they do not consider even looking at new technical possibilities. Conventionalism still has a strong foothold even in smart Queensland.

A sad reflection. ‘Quick smart’ may be good for political expediency but is it a wise strategy for long term infrastructure projects?

More inspirational is the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, conceived 1890 in a depression and still running 2010! 13km long too. How pioneering. But what a contrast too.

Our new blog makes a critical analysis of the use of traditional trams for the Gold Coast Rapid Transit (GCRT) project 80km south of Brisbane. GCRT is a 13km long flat run along the coast; connecting the University with the administrative centre and the two bustling tourist centres Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach. The project, being very marginal, is ill conceived but has been awarded a tsunami of government money. It is a quick goer with tenders closing 24Feb2010.

Thus an uphill battle for Waverail, exacerbated by the fact that modeling results showed Waverail struggling with viability no less than traditional tram.

But Waverail won't last forever without a project and is desperate for a launch customer. Also the world is not black and white. There is hidden merit because, if Waverail is really better, the harder it gets, the more it would be in its favour. Let me explain:

(1) The Gold Coast Rapid Transit project is so much economically unviable that the trodden trams on offer, as said above, are unviable. The project sponsors pretty well know and there is no escape from it. Also: unexpected things can happen in life.

(2) If Waverail is, as we claim, economically better*), then Waverail should prove itself exactly where other fail, or else stay out. *) Note that this is only above approx 500 Passengers/h; below this ‘crossover point’ Waverail is actually worse.

(3) Ticket revenue of course is the crux. It is the product of the crucial item 'Passenger Numbers' with the equally important item 'achievable ticket price'. Because Waverail can offer unprecedented user-friendliness, both factors are significantly pitched in favour of Waverail. The boost from user-friendliness of course is not unlimited but it helps. A Waverail GCRT operation will still be marginally unprofitable and will need continuous government support. But the level of subsidy needed will be relatively small and, we believe, acceptable for tax payers and successive governments.

(4) We offer no-overhead-wires. Allowing Overhead wires, poles and rectifiers, for the sake of Gold Coast, hopefully will be exposed as the government sponsored vandalism it is. Traditional trams have (or had) the no-overhead-wires option too, through a rail conducting technology. However, we suspect, at exorbitant additional costs. It seems the planners have decided to mute this subject.

(5) The insufficient passenger number problem can be regarded as temporary. The reason for this is that the establishment of an effective, 'no-interchange' feeder network would re-write the numbers. A Waverail network is no-interchange and predominantly non-stop; thus the best of all worlds. Maybe after all, to put a light rail in now might not be that irrational, if ever it peters out this way.

Waverail is thus in for a real challenge.

The Gold Coast Rapid Transit blog's main points are that station-to-station distance is too high and that overhead wires are infringing into the tourist atmosphere of Gold Coast. Overall it rates traditional constant capacity trams deliver insufficient user-friendliness to create popular support and that thus sustained high patronage would be doubtful. It argues that 24km/h point-to-point speed cannot be called 'Rapid' and that Waverail would outperform the planned systems big time.

Gold Coast Rapid Transit critical blog launched

This new blog makes a critical analysis of the use of traditional trams for the 'Gold Coast Rapid Transit Project' (GCRT). Its main points are that station to station distance is too high and that overhead wires are infringing into the tourist atmosphere of Gold Coast. Overall it rates traditional constant capacity trams deliver insufficient user-friendliness to create popular support and that thus sustained high patronage would be doubtful. It argues that 24km/h point-to-point speed cannot really be called 'Rapid' at all and that Waverail would outperform the planned systems big time.
More details will follow.

New Waverail blog

A new blog Waverail Questions & Answers has been launched.

Waverail – Energy miser

Rail transport is a big ticket energy item and, with global warming looming, reducing the energy use of suburban transport becomes a must. Waverail’s saving in energy – about 90% acceleration energy saving compared to conventional rail - is one of its most stunning feature and due entirely to the non-stop mode of operation.

Costs correlated to energy use are cost of purchase, cost of processing (motor, drive train, rail wear), and cost of energy destruction (brakes, rail wear, brake pollution). This has to be kept in mind when trying to understand how Waverail, with its many drivers, is profitable.

Briton's elders mastered it - 151 years ago!

MECHANISM OF THE SLIP. The diagram shows the way in which the slip lever pulls back the bolt that keeps the slip hook closed, and the method of uniting the vacuum brake couplings.
Picture and caption courtesy of Mike's Railway history(2009)


Already in 19th century England small stations were serviced from non-stop express trains. This was achieved by a guard in a rear car uncoupling that car at a precise point from the travelling express. Without motor, the car had to be skillfully coasted into the station. This slip-coach called system, to the credit of our forefathers, operated for 67 years until 1939.

Railway Eye - the railway blog: Waverail promises the return of the slip-coach?

Railway Eye, a British railway site, recently included Waverail. It raised three casual questions pertaining mainly to in-car walking.

The Waverail team comments:
1

With Waverail it is generally not possible to do one station only. See video below. Exactly what is possible when, is shown in the Parramattalink pages and in FAQ. Particular cases have to be referred to our specialised Waverail calculation program.

2

For walking Waverail passenger it is normally not recommended to read while travelling. iPod seems ok. But it is also ok to just sit in Waverail and indeed this is what is recommended for the elderly or frail. Such passengers travel somewhat slower because they have stops every so often. See the various charts and figures as well as the video below.

3

Walking up the car is in fact always the lesser problem, requires less walking speed (see graph above) and only fairly exotic systems at capacity fill are expected cause any sort of problem.




Links: A British reaction to Waverail