Bidirectional Rapid Transit System With Crossing Loops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current rapid transit systems face challenges in accommodating increasing passenger traffic, particularly in urban areas, due to insufficient capacity and inefficiencies in track usage, which lead to long travel times and impaired throughput, especially when bypass tracks are constructed, affecting both rail and trackless vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A rapid transit system design that allows vehicles to move along both tracks in both directions, with crossing loops and intersection areas optimized for traffic flow, eliminating the need for bypass tracks and enabling flexible operation without significant reconstruction, thus improving throughput and passenger capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If bypass tracks are constructed to free up main routes for high-speed trains, then the throughput of the rapid transit system is improved, but the device complexity and reconstruction cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines opposite-direction tracks into a single shared track infrastructure, eliminating the need for separate bypass tracks. Groups of vehicles share the same physical track space by coordinating their movement in time and space, thereby achieving high throughput without adding complex bypass infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The single track serves multiple functions simultaneously: it accommodates vehicles moving in both directions, supports group-based traffic flow management, and provides flexible routing options. This multi-functional design replaces the need for dedicated bypass tracks while maintaining system throughput.
2Quantity of substance
If bypass tracks are constructed for trams, then the passenger transportation capacity is improved, but the throughput of motor roads is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to track usage by organizing vehicles into groups that coordinate their movement. Instead of requiring separate physical space for different vehicle types, the system manages rail and road vehicle flows through time-based coordination on shared infrastructure, maintaining motor road throughput while increasing tram capacity.
3Device complexity
If a linear rapid transit system with one track is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the adaptability to passenger flow hikes during peak hours is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic group formation and dissolution mechanisms that allow the system to adapt to varying passenger demands. During peak hours, groups can be formed more frequently or with larger capacities, while during off-peak times, the system operates with fewer groups. This dynamic adjustment enables a simple single-track system to flexibly respond to changing traffic conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters such as group size, group frequency, and track usage patterns in response to passenger flow variations. By adjusting these parameters rather than changing the physical infrastructure, the system maintains low complexity while achieving high adaptability to different traffic conditions.
4Area of stationary object
If vehicles move in both directions on the same track, then the area usage is optimized, but the reliability of the system decreases due to potential disruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a control system that acts as an intermediary between vehicles moving in opposite directions. This control mechanism coordinates group movements, manages track access rights, and resolves potential conflicts before they occur, thereby maintaining system reliability despite the shared bidirectional track infrastructure.
5Adaptability or versatility
If crossing loops are added to allow switching between tracks, then the adaptability of traffic flow is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the track-switching function from complex physical infrastructure and implements it through logical control mechanisms. Instead of building extensive crossing loops and switchyard infrastructure, the system uses control systems to manage virtual track assignments and group routing, achieving high adaptability with minimal physical complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to municipal or commuter transport, both rail (tram and subway) and trackless (bus, trolleybus) transport.The objective is to simplify the rapid transit system, improve its reliability and throughput, and increase the passenger traffic it can accommodate.There are sections of the rapid transit system (FIG. 10) allowing for the movement of adjacent vehicles within a group along both tracks: some vehicles from the group along one track, and other vehicles from this group along the other track. There are crossing loops on the tracks intended for groups of vehicles moving in opposite directions. Areas of intersection with other rapid transit systems, where the traffic is heavier, are located on its sections providing a possibility for the adjacent vehicles to move within a group along both tracks, and the areas of intersection between the rapid transit system and other rapid transit systems, where the traffic is lighter, are located on the crossing loops intended for vehicle groups moving in opposite directions.Other applications of novel features and connections between them are also described.