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Otis Hovair
Otis Hovair Transit Systems is a type of hovertrain used in low-speed people mover applications. Traditional people mover systems used wheeled vehicles propelled by electric motors or cable traction, the Hovair replaces the wheels with a hovercraft lift pad. The aim is to reduce guideway complexity and vehicle maintenance. Another benefit is the system's ability to move in all directions, including sideways. The Hovair is the only hovertrain system to be used in commercial service. History Originally developed at General Motors as an automated guideway transit system, GM was forced to divest the design as part of an anti-trust ruling. The design eventually ended up at Otis Elevator who replaced its linear motor with a cable pull and sold the resulting design for people mover installations all over the world. The first installation was the Duke Hospital PRT in 1979, followed by the Harbour Island People Mover opened in 1985. Otis successfully marketed the system through the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cincinnati Airport People Mover
The Cincinnati Airport People Mover or Underground Train is an automated people mover that serves travelers of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. It opened in 1994 to connect Terminal 3, now the Main Terminal, with Concourses A and B. The system was constructed by and was originally under the operation of Delta Air Lines. Technology The Cincinnati Airport People Mover uses the same technology as the ExpressTram at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and the HubTram at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. History In the early 1990s, Delta Air Lines invested over $500 million to develop the current terminal facility (known then as Terminal 3) in Cincinnati to support their hub operation, which at its peak was Delta's second-largest hub. In September 1991, Delta announced that a people mover system would be installed to connect the new terminal and its airside Concourses A and B (the terminal also had a Concourse C, which was only accessed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transpo '72
U.S. International Transportation Exposition, better known as Transpo '72, was a trade show held on of land at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., for nine days from May 27 to June 4, 1972. The $10 million event, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, was a showcase for all sorts of transportation-related technologies. Over a million visitors flocked to the show from all over the world. According to the ''Wall Street Journal'', it was "the biggest show the government has put on since World War II."Rothschild 1972 Transpo hosted the world's largest air show, all of the new widebody airliners, high-speed trains and demonstrations of the latest automated guideway transit systems. In addition to featuring futuristic technology "Flying trains, square dancing helicopters and the fantasy of a wonderland," according to a news release, Transpo '72 covered all current modes of transportation as well. General Manager William J. Bird explained, "We want to emp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tracked Hovercraft
Tracked Hovercraft was an experimental high speed train developed in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. It combined two British inventions, the hovercraft and linear induction motor, in an effort to produce a train system that would provide inter-city service with lowered capital costs compared to other high-speed solutions. Substantially similar to the French Aérotrain and other hovertrain systems of the 1960s, Tracked Hovercraft suffered a similar fate to these projects when it was cancelled as a part of wide budget cuts in 1973. History Genesis at Hovercraft Development It was noticed early on in the development of the hovercraft that the energy needed to lift a vehicle was directly related to the smoothness of the surface on which it travelled. This was not entirely surprising; the air trapped under the hovercraft will remain there except where it leaks out where the lifting surface contacts the ground — if this interface is smooth, the amount of leaked air will b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aérotrain
The Aérotrain was an experimental Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle (TACV), or hovertrain, developed in France from 1965 to 1977 under the engineering leadership of Jean Bertin (1917–1975) – and intended to bring the French rail network to the cutting edge of land-based public transportation. Though similar to a maglev design, which levitates a train car over a complex electromagnetic track to eliminate all resistance other than aerodynamic drag, the Aérotrain – also a "train without wheels" – rode on an air cushion over a simple reinforced concrete track or ''guideway'' and could travel at the speed of a maglev train, without the further technical complexity and expense of its track. In many respects, the entire concept resembled a product of the aircraft rather than rail industry. History In 1969, a U.S. company, Rohr Industries, licensed the Aérotrain technology to build the hovertrains in the United States. That same year the Aérotrain established the world record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hovertrain
A hovertrain is a type of high-speed train that replaces conventional steel wheels with hovercraft lift pads, and the conventional railway bed with a paved road-like surface, known as the ''track'' or ''guideway''. The concept aims to eliminate rolling resistance and allow very high performance, while also simplifying the infrastructure needed to lay new lines. Hovertrain is a generic term, and the vehicles are more commonly referred to by their project names where they were developed. In the UK they are known as tracked hovercraft, in the US they are tracked air-cushion vehicles. The first hovertrain was developed by Jean Bertin (1917-1975) in France, where they were marketed as the Aérotrain before being abandoned by the French government. Hovertrains were seen as a relatively low-risk and low-cost way to develop high-speed inter-city train service, in an era when conventional rail seemed stuck to speeds around or less. By the late 1960s, major development efforts were underw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narita Airport Terminal 2 Shuttle System
The was an automated people mover used in Narita International Airport, Narita, Chiba Japan. The system operated between December 6, 1992 and 2013. History The Shuttle System opened in 1992 with the opening of Terminal 2 of Narita International Airport, the international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area. The shuttle linked the main building of the terminal and its satellite, 279 metres away. The whole ride took a minute, and was free of charge. The system was made by Nippon Otis Elevator, a company specialising in elevators and escalators. It was technically (and legally) not a railway, but a horizontal elevator; cars were attached to a cable that moved them, like a funicular. The cars did not have wheels; instead, they floated on a 0.2-mm layer of compressed air. This was the first use of such a system to be used in an airport, as well as the first in Japan. A new walkway between the main and satellite buildings had opened on September 27, 2013, whereafter the people mov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sun City (South Africa)
Sun City is a luxury resort and casino, situated in the North West Province of South Africa. It is located between the Elands River and the Pilanesberg, about 140 km northwest of Johannesburg, near the city of Rustenburg. The complex borders the Pilanesberg National Park. It is made up of a number of themed sub-resorts with hotels on each, including the original Sun City Resort, ''The Cabanas'', ''The Cascades'' and the ''Lost City'' (The Palace). History Beginning Sun City was developed by the hotel magnate Sol Kerzner as part of his Sun International group of properties. It was officially opened on 7 December 1979, then located in the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana. As Bophuthatswana had been declared an independent state by South Africa's apartheid government (although unrecognised as such by any other country), it could provide entertainment such as gambling and topless revue shows, which were banned in South Africa. Those factors, as well as its relatively close lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skymetro
The Zurich Airport Skymetro is an underground airport people mover at Zurich Airport in Switzerland. The long system connects the airport's main ''Airside Center'', ''Gates A, B and D'' with its mid-field ''Gates E'', passing underneath Runway 10/28. The line opened in September 2003, and was constructed by the Otis Elevator Company. As of 2010, Skymetro was carrying 6.73 million passengers per year, and is claimed to be the most used cable way in Switzerland. With a cost of 176 million Swiss francs it is also the most expensive cable car system and one of the most complex with high safety standards. The tunnels of the Skymetro were equipped with Zoetrope-like films displayed on the sides which ran from 2006 to 2019, with each film consisting of a series of still frames in rapid succession, accompanied by matching sound effects played over the vehicles' public address system. Various films have been shown, including ones based around the fictional character Heidi and the Mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huntsville Hospital Tram System
The Huntsville Hospital Tram System is an automated people mover system located as part of the Huntsville Hospital System complex in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. Operating on a concrete guideway, the trams serve to connect the Huntsville Hospital with the Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. At the time of completion, this was the second hospital people mover system in the United States after the Duke University Medical Center Patient Rapid Transit. , this is the only automated people mover system completed in the state of Alabama. Description Developed by Poma-Otis Transportation Systems, a joint venture of Poma and the Otis Elevator Company, and constructed by Brasfield & Gorrie, the cable-driven steel-on-steel system was completed at a final cost of $10.9 million. The two concrete guideways are elevated above the surface. Costing $280,000 annually to operate, the Huntsville Hospital Tram System handles approximately 2,200 passengers per day. The vehicles were d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Getty Center Tram
The Getty Center Tram is a people mover system that serves the Getty Center in Los Angeles. It runs two cable-driven hovertrains each consisting of three Otis Hovair vehicles. History The tram line, already planned in 1988, was opened at the end of 1997, following the inauguration of the Getty Center. Route The line, located north of Brentwood, in the Westside Region of Los Angeles, links a freeway-level parking garage to the Getty Center, which includes the J. Paul Getty Museum. The duration of a ride is about 3 to 4 minutes. The lower station (), at the bottom of the hill, lies beside Sepulveda Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway and features a refuge siding. The upper station (), at the top of the hill, is located in the arrival plaza of the Getty Center and is part of the structure. The line follows Getty Center Drive and has a passing loop in the middle, although the two trains can operate independently. Gallery See also *Los Angeles County Metropolitan T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
