4 ms·
Still in use on a few lines of the Paris Métro
by jjgreen 3y ago
Still in use on a few lines of the Paris Métro
- almatabata 3y agoIs it this system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber-tyred_metro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber-tyred_metro It mentions Paris Metro line 14.
- lbourdages 3y agoAlso the entirety of the Montreal Metro, which was inspired by the Paris Metro.
- NeoTar 3y agoAnd Sapporo in Hokkaido.
- ilamont 3y agoSo does Taipei's Wenhu line (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenhu_line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenhu_line) which was built by a French consortium in the 90s (Matra IIRC). Construction disputes were epic but it seems to operate very smoothly now. The other lines in the system are rail-based.
- lqet 3y agoAFAIK, basically all French subway systems opened after the 1960s use this system. This is one of the things I strongly associate with Paris: the slight smell of burned rubber when you enter a Métro station of a line with rubber tires. Pro tip for Paris visitors with children: ride with one of the automated lines 1, 4 or 14, and enter through the very first door. There is a fake (printed) control panel for children below the front window [0]. [0] https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2GC1HTP/paris-automatische-metro-m14-fahrerstand-fr-kinder-paris-automatic-metro-line-m14-cockpit-for-children-2GC1HTP.jpg https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2GC1HTP/paris-automatische-metro-m...
- littlestymaar 3y agoThe reason why metros on tires is a thing is that they used to have much better acceleration/breaking characteristics than rails, which is good for metros since you can cram more trains in the same lines this way. I said “used to” because, from what I understood, the development of ABS made breaking characteristics of traditional trains much better than before, which reduces the improvement you get with tires. (Don't quote me on that though, I got this from a coffee machine discussion with a former metro driver when I was working for RATP 10 years ago so my memory may not be 100% accurate at this point)
- andbberger 3y agorubber tired metros have no advantage over steel wheeled linear induction metros.
- TylerE 3y agoHalf right. The limit at this point is much more do with what (likely standing, possibly not even holding on) people can tolerate, not what the device is physically capable of generating.
- littlestymaar 3y agoTrue, though emergency braking isn't entirely subject to these limitations. At least for tramways I know for sure[1] that the tram will happily have you break your arm inside the tram because it braked too strong in case of emergency rather than crushing a pedestrian that crossed in front without paying attention. Maybe the rules are different for metros though, given that there aren't as many pedestrian on the way… [1] because I got the information from the system design team of a big tramway manufacturer I worked with no later than last year so my memory is much fresher, and the source is more reliable.
- inferiorhuman 3y agoMuni reduced the emergency braking force back in 2008–2009 or so, because, yes people were getting injured (and given how frequent EB applications were back then…). You can definitely achieve sufficient braking without having to violently throw people to the ground.
- azdle 3y agoAs far as I can find, the Paris Métro's rubber tire lines all run on special rollways and not traditional railways like the vehicles in the article.
- m463 3y agoalso mexico city Ten of the lines are rubber-tired. Instead of traditional steel wheels, they use pneumatic traction, which is quieter and rides smoother in Mexico City's unstable soils. The system survived the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_City_Metro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_City_Metro