Coimbatore Corporation plans Skybus !
COIMBATORE:
Congested thoroughfares, some of them with no scope for widening, seem to force the Coimbatore Corporation to go in for skybus - a mode of public transport that seeks to decongest the roads.
After studying infrastructure and transportation facilities in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, Corporation Commissioner P. Muthuveeran says that the skybus facility in these countries have helped city planners a lot in reducing the stress on the roads. Bangkok planned and implemented skybus and other transport systems in just seven years,'' he says. The visit to these countries earlier this month had been to study such infrastructure there and assess whether these can be implemented here under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
"We need only a maximum of eight to 10 ft clearance above the roads for skybus. This will be ideal to overcome lack of space for widening the roads,'' says the Commissioner. The Corporation has invited consultants to submit proposals by December 28 to conduct a study of the requirements for the city.
If the Corporation provides the basic infrastructure using the funds under the mission, the provision, operation and maintenance of the skybus can be done even by private parties. This will function on the lines of the private town service buses. After the feasibility study by consultants, the Corporation will invite tenders from skybus service and related infrastructure providers across the world. The Corporation is also planning a Bus Rapid Transit System that involves separate lanes for buses, cars, two-wheelers and heavy vehicles. One of the expressways planned is to connect the Avanashi Road Flyover with the Coimbatore Airport. (Source: The Hindu)
What is SkyBus ?
Heavy 52/60 kg /m rails placed at standard gauge floating in elastic medium and damped by inertia of measured mass held in a 8 mX 2m box enclosure, supported over a 1m dia. columns spaced at 15 m and located at 15 m distance from each other, in the divider space in between lanes on a road- way, at a height of 8m above road surface- provides the support and guidance for powered bogies which can run at 100 kmph, with the coach shells suspended below , carry passengers in air conditioned comfort, can follow existing road routes, while existing traffic on roads continue.
The fixed structure at 8 m height above road level is aesthetically pleasing and there is no concern of claustrophobic feeling for road users.
The fixed structure at 8 m height above road level is aesthetically pleasing and there is no concern of claustrophobic feeling for road users.
Aesthetic and eco-friendly, the Sky Bus can never derail, capsize nor collide- by design as well as by construction, hence is safer than existing rail-based system. With no signalling and having no points and crossings, it is a unique mass-transit system, which can be put up within two years in any crowded & congested city.
