02-06-2010, 23:43
A brilliant new Chinese/Taiwan train innovation - get on & off the bullet train without the train stopping.
No time is wasted. The bullet train is moving all the time.
If there are 30 stations between Beijing and Guangzhou...a distance of 2200 KM, just stopping and accelerating again at each station will waste both energy and time.
A mere 5 min stop per station (elderly passengers cannot be hurried) will result in a total loss of 5 min x 30 stations or 2.5 hours of train journey time!
How it works (view the movie - in mandarin though!):
1. For those who are boarding the train :
The passengers at a station embarks onto to a connector cabin way before the train even arrives at the station. When the train arrives, it will not stop at all. It just slows down to pick up the connector cabin which will move with the train on the roof of the train.
While the train is still moving away from the station, those passengers will board the train from the connector cabin mounted on the train's roof. After fully unloading all its passengers, the cabin connector cabin will be moved to the back of the train so that the next batch of outgoing passengers who want to alight at the next station will board the connector cabin at the rear of the train roof.
2. For those who are getting off:
As stated after fully unloading all its passengers, the cabin connector cabin will be moved to the back of the train so that the next batch of outgoing passengers who want to alight at the next station will board the connector cabin at the rear of the train roof.
When the train arrives at the next station, it will simply drop the whole connector cabin at the station itself and leave it behind at the station. The outgoing passengers can take their own time to disembark at the station while the train had already left. At the same time, the train will pick up the incoming embarking passengers on another connector cabin in the front part of the train's roof.
So the train will always drop one connector cabin at the rear of its roof and pick up a new connector cabin in the front part of the train's roof at each station.
What an Innovation?
Peng Yu-lun is a Taiwanese inventor who came up with an idea that promises to help save energy and significantly increase train speeds.
Peng Yu-lun says that a train like the domestic Kaohsiung MRT has a maximum speed of 85 km/h, but due to stops, it achieves an average speed of just 35 km/h. If the train followed his concept, it would be able to maintain an average speed of 85 km/h throughout the entire trip thus saving time and energy.
While the idea sounds great in theory, it does have its flaws. Leaving safety factors aside, the system is restrictive in the sense that some stations are more popular than others ? what happens if more people than the designated car can fit want to get off at a particular station, can you imagine the commotion!
No time is wasted. The bullet train is moving all the time.
If there are 30 stations between Beijing and Guangzhou...a distance of 2200 KM, just stopping and accelerating again at each station will waste both energy and time.
A mere 5 min stop per station (elderly passengers cannot be hurried) will result in a total loss of 5 min x 30 stations or 2.5 hours of train journey time!
How it works (view the movie - in mandarin though!):
1. For those who are boarding the train :
The passengers at a station embarks onto to a connector cabin way before the train even arrives at the station. When the train arrives, it will not stop at all. It just slows down to pick up the connector cabin which will move with the train on the roof of the train.
While the train is still moving away from the station, those passengers will board the train from the connector cabin mounted on the train's roof. After fully unloading all its passengers, the cabin connector cabin will be moved to the back of the train so that the next batch of outgoing passengers who want to alight at the next station will board the connector cabin at the rear of the train roof.
2. For those who are getting off:
As stated after fully unloading all its passengers, the cabin connector cabin will be moved to the back of the train so that the next batch of outgoing passengers who want to alight at the next station will board the connector cabin at the rear of the train roof.
When the train arrives at the next station, it will simply drop the whole connector cabin at the station itself and leave it behind at the station. The outgoing passengers can take their own time to disembark at the station while the train had already left. At the same time, the train will pick up the incoming embarking passengers on another connector cabin in the front part of the train's roof.
So the train will always drop one connector cabin at the rear of its roof and pick up a new connector cabin in the front part of the train's roof at each station.
What an Innovation?
Peng Yu-lun is a Taiwanese inventor who came up with an idea that promises to help save energy and significantly increase train speeds.
Peng Yu-lun says that a train like the domestic Kaohsiung MRT has a maximum speed of 85 km/h, but due to stops, it achieves an average speed of just 35 km/h. If the train followed his concept, it would be able to maintain an average speed of 85 km/h throughout the entire trip thus saving time and energy.
While the idea sounds great in theory, it does have its flaws. Leaving safety factors aside, the system is restrictive in the sense that some stations are more popular than others ? what happens if more people than the designated car can fit want to get off at a particular station, can you imagine the commotion!
There's no stoppin' what can't be stopped, no killin' what can't be killed. You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'...