Showing posts with label trains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trains. Show all posts

Saturday, September 11

Talking About Public Transport

The following text is a conversation between engineer-einjel and her friend (codename), Love.

engineer-einjel:

i heard PNoy will be there.. i hope so! i'm thinking if may be i could tell him na tama lang ang pgtaas ng mrt fare,haha!


Love:
pero dear, if tataas ang MRT, matutuwa ang mga buses natin. sana lang mayroong gawin sa klase ng services ng mga buses natin dahil malamang dito lilipat ang mga taong nagtitipid dahil na nga sa taas ng MRT. kawawa na naman ang mga Pilipino. dapat dagdagan pa ng infrastructure ang bansa natin para hindi tayo mapunta sa hinding magandang service ng mga buses (i.e. dumugan, halos mag-iisang oras sa bandang Ortigas para lang kumuha ng mga pasahero, kumusta naman ang konsepto ng travel time at kung may work ka diba?) Hay dear, i vote for you for the future MMDA chair.

engineer-einjel:
hahahaha! nakakatawa o tuwa yung last statement mo. thanks! i like the way you think, it shows your concern on public transport.

Re increase in fare sa mrt, what i've read is hindi naman daw mas mataas sa bus fare (magiging 30 ata yung
dating 15) para nga hindi mgshift to bus ang karamihan sa mrt passengers. tsaka yung expected increase in revenues will be used to buy more cars to increase the capacity of mrt and to improve it. mrt is still more efficient mode of transport than the EDSA buses considering pollution, travel time, etc. yeah, i agree with your idea that there's a need to add more infra but this would require funds (kung sana yung huge amount of money from let's say, the MVUC or motor vehicle user's charge will be used properly) and this should also be coupled with road users' (pasahero man o driver) whole-heart-and-mind compliance with the traffic rules and regulations. for more or less 2years already, mayroong OBR o organized bus route project ang MMDA to address the issues with regard to buses plying EDSA. Sadly, I don't know what happened kasi parang wala namang naimprove sa dati.. so, saan napunta yung milyong milyong budget for that? maraming projects pero sana naiimplement nang mabuti. assessments on the impacts of supposedly improvement projects should always done and policy changes or adjustments to maximize benefits should also be put up when necessary.

haha, essay na ang haba nito. gusto ko ng ganitong discussions! :))

Love:
hay, hindi sa pagiging righteous at feelingera, pero when i arrived last July, sinubukan kong sumakay sa tamang sakayan, bumaba sa tamang babaan at mag-abang sa tamang abangan. Wlang konsepto ng stops ang Metro manila so hindi maimprove-improve ang traffic condition. Walang konsepto ng urban planning. mga bahay nasa tabi ng mga kalsada, maliit ang kalsada, walang masyadong flyovers, ---- (see, I'm bitching about the negatives of our country, boohhh!)

Bawasan ang mga bus sa EDSA. kahit magsiksikan ang mga pasahero basta makarating sila ng mabilis sa bahay nila diba? atleast nakauwi agad, atleast hindi na magtatagal pa sa mga bus na sugapang yan. Bawal ang long waiting sa mga areas na matao tulad ng Ortigas, Makati, Shaw, kasi more than 3 hours ang pagtravel from Fairview to Pasay, ang lapit-lapit lang niya kung tutuusin.

Bawasan ang prangkisa ng mga FX, at jeep. bawasan na silang mga jeep bilang andami nila at hindi rin sila humihinto sa tamang stops.

Hearts siya, so mahirap iimplement? Pwede mong i-broadcast sa buong Pilipinas using TV Patrol or saksi or mga radyo sa bus or FX ang mga bagong ruta at bus stops kung saan lang pwedeng bumaba at sumakay ang mga tao. Pag alam ng mga tao - driver, pasahero, mga ibang private vehicles ang stop - pagagalitan ng bawat isa ang hindi sumunod. sa panahon natin kung kelan andaming tao sa Pilipinas at kung kelan umiiral ang ganitong uri ng mga services, at kung saan ang media ay mas mataas pa ang autoridad sa kinauukulan, i.e. national govt, parang mas maganda na lang maging SOCIALIST at hindi na DEMOKRASYA. Democracy does not work for us.

hay, angas! daming bitterness! haha.

engineer-einjel:
Love, nasaan ang puso mo? hahaha!
-- actually, merong urban planning but transport planning came after it. these two should go hand in hand kasi. hindi puedeng you put up land developments then saka mo nalang isipin yung traffic implications
and travel demands nito. yet eto ang nangyari sa city kaya wala ng space for expansion ang mga roads. but it should be noted too that road widening or creating another overpass is not always the answer to our traffic probs coz there will come a time na mapupuno rin ito. i believe the gov't should develop a reliable mass transit system (trains or the cheaper one - bus rapid transit) for everyone and this will significantly reduce traffic probs.
-- OBR also aims to reduce the number of buses plying along EDSA and to reduce waiting time in the bus stops. merong RFID tags ang buses that will automatically apprehend them pag ngexceed sila sa set waiting time. i just don't know kung hanggang ngayon ay pinapatupad (na dapat naman ay pinapatupad pa).
-- regulated naman ang pgapprove ng franchise for public transport vehicles. sadly, yung pghinto ng jeep kung saan saan has become norm for the people. jeepney's lane changing behavior creates chaos to an already problematic city roads. we can't simply remove jeepneys, etc.. but i can still see hope somehow that this will be improved in the future. may be it takes a lot of will power among all people haha.
-- to use the power of media in educating the people regarding traffic rules and regulations is actually a good idea. i just don't know how we could start with that.. any more ideas? :) but to argue between socialist and democracy is another thing. haha
-- i think bitterness is better than apathy to the existing road congestion issues. once there are things that you don't want then you can move on to thinking on how you can improve the bad things. thanks! :))

Love:
ahahaha. :) iisip pa ko ng isasagot, parang nasabi ko na rin ang gusto kong sabihin eh.

ahhaha.

tama na may mass transport system to be set by the govt. with our democratic system, pati ang transportation system, nasa private institution whi
ch is mahirap namang pakiusapang sumunod sa tamang rules. mas mahirap ang magregulate simply because hindi naman ganun ka-strict ang mga implementing officers. much better if it starts with the bus drivers themselves. mangyayari lng 'yan kung hindi na private ang humahawak. gusto ko i-discuss pano ang democracy in terms of mass transport system blah blah. i know it worked for the western countries but our culture seems hard to change at this point that this kind of democracy would not work for us. wehe. ito na yata ang pinakamahabang discussion na nagawa natin. na-miss na kita. kwentuhan tayo minsan. :D

engineer-einjel:
yeah, haba nga.. magandang pguusap 'to when we meet. see ya! :)

Love:
sa china dear, alam mo, every bus route should only take you an hour lang. so u can expect that the longest hour you'd stay inside a bus is just an hour. kahit paputol-putol ang pagsakay mo, ok lng diba? hindi 'yung tulad sa'ten, Fairview to Pasay lng ang choice mong sakyan kaya wala kang magawa kung magtagal man ang mga bus sa kalsada. hayz. kelan kaya un dito dear?

engineer-einjel:
oh, nice.. it may take years for us but i believe as long as there are dedicated people (my profs and other good leaders in the transport sector) working toward acquiring efficient and safe roads as well as orderly environment then it will be realized.. umaasa ako na mababago pa ang mga ayaw natin. it started with the hope that is in those dedicated people.. :)

Tuesday, November 3

Mag Lev, MagLev, Bullet Train

Mag Lev / MagLev / Magnetic Levitation Trains / Bullet Trains
An Update

MagLev trains run at 330 miles per hour - this is faster than the speed of airplanes!

Japan is building two MagLev lines which is anticipated to start its operations by 2025. Its speed is more than 500kph.

The countries that conducted advance railway technology studies include USA, Japan, and Germany. But USA now is less interested in railways.

Saturday, January 17

MAGLEV or Magnetic Levitation Trains

MAGLEV, or magnetic levitation, is a system of transportation that suspends, guides and (usually) propels vehicles, predominantly trains, using magnetic forces. This method has the potential to be faster, quieter and smoother than wheeled mass transit systems. The technology has the potential to exceed 4000 mph (6437 km/h) if deployed in an evacuated tunnel.[1]



Power and energy usage

Power for maglev trains is used to accelerate the train, and may be produced when the train slowed ("regenerative braking"), it is also usually used to make the train fly, and to stabilise the flight of the train, for air conditioning, heating, lighting and other miscellaneous systems. Power is also needed to force the train through the air ("air drag").

At low speeds the levitation power can be significant, but at high speeds, the total time spent levitating to travel each mile is greatly reduced, giving reduced energy use per mile, but the air drag energy increases as a square law on speed, and hence at high speed dominates. [3]

The following figures show how maglev trains work. [2]


The highest recorded speed of a maglev train is 581 km/h (361 mph), achieved in Japan in 2003, 6 km/h faster than the conventional TGV speed record. [3]



Technology

The term "maglev" refers not only to the vehicles, but to the railway system as well, specifically designed for magnetic levitation and propulsion. All operational implementations of maglev technology have had minimal overlap with wheeled train technology and have not been compatible with conventional rail tracks. Because they cannot share existing infrastructure, these maglev systems must be designed as complete transportation systems. The Applied Levitation SPM Maglev system is inter-operable with steel rail tracks and would permit maglev vehicles and conventional trains to operate at the same time on the same right of way.

There are three primary types of maglev technology:
a. electromagnetic suspension (EMS) uses the attractive magnetic force of a magnet beneath a rail to lift the train up.
b. electrodynamic suspension (EDS) uses a repulsive force between two magnetic fields to push the train away from the rail.
c. stabilized permanent magnet suspension (SPM) uses opposing arrays of permanent magnets to levitate the train above the rail.

Another experimental technology, which was designed, proven mathematically, peer reviewed, and patented, but is yet to be built, is the magnetodynamic suspension (MDS), which uses the attractive magnetic force of a permanent magnet array near a steel track to lift the train and hold it in place.

Maglev vs. conventional trains

Major comparative differences between the two technologies lie in backward-compatibility, rolling resistance, weight, noise, design constraints, and control systems.

Backwards Compatibility. Maglev trains currently in operation are not compatible with conventional track, and therefore require all new infrastructure for their entire route. By contrast conventional high speed trains such as the TGV are able to run at reduced speeds on existing rail infrastructure, thus reducing expenditure where new infrastructure would be particularly expensive (such as the final approaches to city terminals), or on extensions where traffic does not justify new infrastructure.

Efficiency. Due to the lack of physical contact between the track and the vehicle, maglev trains experience no rolling resistance, leaving only air resistance and electromagnetic drag, potentially improving power efficiency.[4]

Weight. The weight of the large electromagnets in many EMS and EDS designs is a major design issue. A very strong magnetic field is required to levitate a massive train. For this reason one research path is using superconductors to improve the efficiency of the electromagnets, and the energy cost of maintaining the field.

Noise. Because the major source of noise of a maglev train comes from displaced air, maglev trains produce less noise than a conventional train at equivalent speeds. However, the psychoacoustic profile of the maglev may reduce this benefit: A study concluded that maglev noise should be rated like road traffic while conventional trains have a 5-10 dB "bonus" as they are found less annoying at the same loudness level.[5][6]

Design Comparisons. Braking and overhead wire wear have caused problems for the Fastech 360 railed Shinkansen. Maglev would eliminate these issues. Magnet reliability at higher temperatures is a countervailing comparative disadvantage (see suspension types), but new alloys and manufacturing techniques have resulted in magnets that maintain their levitational force at higher temperatures.

As with many technologies, advances in linear motor design have addressed the limitations noted in early maglev systems. As linear motors must fit within or straddle their track over the full length of the train, track design for some EDS and EMS maglev systems is challenging for anything other than point-to-point services. Curves must be gentle, while switches are very long and need care to avoid breaks in current. An SPM maglev system, in which the vehicle permanently levitated over the tracks, can instantaneously switch tracks using electronic controls, with no moving parts in the track. A prototype SPM maglev train has also navigated curves with radius equal to the length of the train itself, which indciates that a full-scale train should be able to navigate curves with the same or narrower radius as a conventional train.

Control Systems. EMS Maglev needs very fast-responding control systems to maintain a stable height above the track; this needs careful design in the event of a failure in order to avoid crashing into the track during a power fluctuation. Other maglev systems do not necessarily have this problem. For example, SPM maglev systems have a stable levitation gap of several centimeters. [3]

Existing Maglev Systems

  • Transrapid, (German maglev company)
  • JR-Maglev MLX01 (Yamanashi, Japan)
  • Linimo (Tobu Kyuryo Line, Japan)
  • Shanghai Maglev Train (China)

Sources:

1. http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2004-04/trans-atlantic-maglev

2. Encarta Encyclopedia

3. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev_train)

4. Transrapid claims to use a quarter less power at 200 km/h than the ICE train

5 . Vos, Joos (April 2004). "Annoyance caused by the sounds of a magnetic levitation train". The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 115 (4): pp 1597–1608. doi:10.1121/1.1650330. Retrieved on 17 January 2009.

6. Gharabegian, Areq (November 2000). "Maglev—A super fast train". The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 108 (5): p 2527. Retrieved on17 January 2009.