Ultra light rail as intermediate transport for the urban environment

摘要

Ultra Light Rail (ULR) is a form of transport that combines the environmental and user advantages of light rail with the cost effectiveness of bus operations. It is characterised by the use of small vehicles which can penetrate pedestrian areas safely and unobtrusively, and which are autonomously powered, so avoiding the cost and visual intrusion of overhead supplies and also the cost of track isolation and the need to relocate services beneath the road. Implementation costs are typically around ?1M per km. Headways of down to 30 seconds allow a capacity of up to 6000 passengers per hour per direction. ULR is therefore a viable option on routes where patronage is insufficient to justify conventional light rail schemes. A further advantage over buses is the ability to run on conventional railway where it already exists. Two case studies are presented, Bristol, UK and Kalamata, Greece, where ULR schemes are planned.