56-490: The Gold Line is an automated people mover line, part of Bangkok 's rapid transit system. The line is 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long, consisting of 3 stations, and was opened by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 16 December 2020. It primarily serves as a feeder line between the BTS Silom line and Iconsiam shopping center. The line will be extended 1 km (0.62 mi) along Somdet Chao Phraya road to connect with
112-641: A maximum of 80 km/h (50 mph). The first set was due to be delivered in April 2020, but was delayed due to a COVID-19 related lockdown in Anhui province. The first set later arrived in Thailand on 18 June 2020, the remaining 2 sets were delivered in August 2020. [REDACTED] People mover A people mover or automated people mover ( APM ) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term
168-590: A metro (e.g. Rennes , Lausanne , Brescia , etc.) are now doing so. On September 30, 2006, the Peachliner in Komaki , Aichi Prefecture , Japan, became that nation's first people mover to cease operations. Many large international airports around the world feature people mover systems to transport passengers between terminals or within a terminal itself. Some people mover systems at airports connect with other public transportation systems to allow passengers to travel into
224-487: A road, as well as the guidance. An automated line can be cheaper to run than a conventional line, due to the shorter trains and stations. AGT covers a wide variety of systems, from limited people mover systems commonly found at airports, to more complex automated train systems like the Vancouver SkyTrain . In the people mover role the term "automated people mover" (APM) is sometimes used, although this distinction
280-415: A system known as Cabinentaxi during the 1970s. Cabinentaxi featured small cars with from four to eight seats that were called to pick up passengers on-demand and drove directly to their destination. The stations were "offline", allowing the cabs to stop by moving off the main lines while other cars continued to their destinations. The system was designed so the cars could be adapted to run on top or bottom of
336-526: A wave of similar developments around the world. However, the market for these systems proved to be overestimated, and only one of these US-designed small AGT's was constructed as a mass transit system, the Morgantown PRT . Small scaled AGT systems are also known as people movers. Although the mass transit world showed a lack of interest, AGT systems quickly found a number of niche roles that they have continued to fill to this day. Tampa International Airport
392-508: A way to serve outlying areas or as feeders to a metro system. Kobe 's Port Liner is the world's first mass transit AGT, which began operating in 1981. It connects Kobe's main rail station, Sannomiya Station , with the dockyard areas and Kobe Airport to the south. Many similar systems have been built elsewhere in Japan. The Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL) system in Lille , France , opened in 1983,
448-507: A working title for a new attraction, the PeopleMover . According to Imagineer Bob Gurr , "the name got stuck," and it was no longer a working title. Starting in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, people movers were the topic of intense development around the world. Worried about the growing congestion and pollution in downtown areas due to the spread of cars, many countries started studying mass transit systems that would lower capital costs to
504-455: Is "automated guideway transit", which encompasses any automated system regardless of size. Some complex APMs deploy fleets of small vehicles over a track network with off-line stations, and supply near non-stop service to passengers. These taxi-like systems are more usually referred to as personal rapid transit (PRT). Larger systems, with vehicles with 20 to 40 passengers, are sometimes referred to as "group rapid transit" (GRT), although this term
560-637: Is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. The term was originally applied to three different systems, developed roughly at the same time. One was Skybus , an automated mass transit system prototyped by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation beginning in 1964. The second, alternately called the People Mover and Minirail , opened in Montreal at Expo 67. Finally
616-419: Is not particularly common. Other complex APMs have similar characteristics to rapid transit systems, and there is no clear cut distinction between a complex APM of this type and an automated mass transit system. Another term " light metro " is also applied to describe the system worldwide. One of the first automated systems for human transportation was the screw-driven 'Never-Stop-Railway', constructed for
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#1732863371982672-705: Is often cited as the first AGT installed to serve an existing urban area. Larger scale INNOVIA advanced rapid transit (ART) systems in Toronto , and Vancouver followed in the next few years, and then the Docklands Light Railway in London . VAL and ART systems have seen continued installations around the world such as in Airport Express in Beijing and have been joined by a variety of new systems with similar features, like
728-639: Is relatively rare because most people movers are automated. Larger systems span a variety of conceptual designs, from subway-like advanced rapid transit (ART) systems to smaller (typically two to six passengers) vehicles known as personal rapid transit (PRT) which offer direct point-to-point travel along a switched network. AGT was originally developed as a means of providing mass transit services aimed at serving rider loads higher than those that could be served by buses or trams, but smaller than those served by conventional subways . Subways were too expensive to build in areas of lower density, such as smaller cities or
784-471: Is scheduled to open in 2027. Gold Line trains operate from 06:00 to 00:00 with a frequency range of six to twelve-minute intervals. During the free fare period for the first month of operations in January 2021, the line was averaging between 5000 and 6000 daily passengers with 3000 using Iconsiam station. Gold Line trains operate from 06:00 to 00:00 with a frequency range of six to twelve-minute intervals. During
840-758: The AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro . Automated monorail systems, such as the Innovia Monorail 200 system in Las Vegas , are becoming more common AGT systems. Monorails are less obtrusive because they only require a single, narrow guidebeam. Once limited to larger airports and a small number of metro systems, AGT have undergone something of a renaissance since the late 1990s. Lower capital costs compared to conventional metros have allowed AGT systems to expand quickly, and many of these "small" systems now rival their larger counterparts in any measure. For instance,
896-503: The British Empire Exhibition at Wembley , London in 1924. This railway consisted of 88 unmanned carriages, on a continuous double track along the northern and eastern sides of the exhibition, with reversing loops at either end. The carriages ran on two parallel concrete beams and were guided by pulleys running on the inner side of these concrete beams, and were propelled by gripping a revolving screw thread running between
952-515: The Erie Railroad to the Hudson and Manhattan Tubes . This unit was 227 feet (69 m) long with a rise of 22 feet (6.7 m) on a 15 degree grade , and only cost $ 75,000. A Carveyor consisted of many small cubicles or cars carrying ten people riding on a flat conveyor belt from point A to point B. The belt rode on a series of motorized rollers. The purpose of the motorized rollers was to facilitate
1008-470: The New York City Board of Transportation , had several meetings with a group of architects who were trying to revamp the whole New York City Subway system in the heart of town to connect Pennsylvania Station, Madison Square Garden , Times Square, Grand Central and several new office complexes together. Several of these architects were involved in other programs, and in later years many variations of
1064-541: The Vancouver SkyTrain started operations in 1986, but has expanded so rapidly that its track length roughly matches the Toronto subway which pre-dates it by 30 years. Although the original introduction of PRT systems did not result in the widespread adoption as expected, Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit in West Virginia's success, along with a renewed interest in new forms of transit, has led to several new PRT projects since 2000. London Heathrow Airport has installed
1120-624: The Carveyor people movers were developed. In November 1954 the New York City Transit Authority issued an order to Goodyear and Stephens-Adamson to build a complete Carveyor system between Times Square and Grand Central. A brief summary and confirmation can be found in Time magazine on November 15, 1954. under the heading "Subway of the Future". The cost was to be under $ 4 million, but the order
1176-737: The Center at the top of a hill in Brentwood ; this system places the motor outside the vehicle at the top of the guideway to reduce the weight lifted up the hill and thus improve efficiency. Small AGT systems are also used as circulator or feeder systems within urban centers. The city of Miami installed its Metromover system in 1986 and later extended it by 4.4 miles and added 12 new stations it in 1994. Similar INNOVIA APM 100 systems operate in Singapore's Bukit Panjang district and in Guangzhou , China. Over time,
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#17328633719821232-545: The Downtown People Mover Program. Four systems were developed, Rohr 's ROMAG , LTV 's AirTrans , Ford 's APT and Otis Elevator 's hovercraft design. A major presentation of the systems was organized as TRANSPO'72 at Dulles International Airport , where the various systems were presented to delegations from numerous cities in the US. Prototype systems and test tracks were built during the 1970s. One notable example
1288-529: The Industrial Products Division of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. , if Goodyear had ever considered working on People Movers. He felt that with Goodyear's ability to move materials in large quantities on conveyor belts they should consider moving batches of people. Four years of engineering design, development and testing led to a joint patent being issued for three types of people movers, named Speedwalk, Speedramp, and Carveyor. Goodyear would sell
1344-488: The Leitner Group, better known for their ski lift systems, provide AGT systems for the airport market. Although the smaller vehicle systems were not successful in the marketplace, larger AGT were simpler to integrate into existing mass transit systems. Many higher capacity AGT systems that looked and operated in a fashion similar to a small subway have since become a common fixture of many existing metro systems, often as
1400-514: The United States. Driverless metros have become common in Europe and parts of Asia. The economics of automated trains tend to reduce the scale so tied to "mass" transit (the largest operating expense is the driver's salary, which is only affordable if very large numbers of passengers are paying fares), so that small-scale installations are feasible . Thus cities normally thought of as too small to build
1456-521: The aerospace firms that had initially designed most of these systems left the industry and sold off the AGT divisions to other companies. Most of these were picked up by existing transportation conglomerates, and through additional mergers and buyouts, many of these are today owned by either Siemens or Bombardier . During the same period, a number of new companies entered the field with systems designed solely for these smaller installations. Poma , Doppelmayr and
1512-632: The airport's city. [REDACTED] Media related to People movers at Wikimedia Commons Automated guideway transit An automated guideway transit ( AGT ) or automated fixed-guideway transit or automatic guideway transit system is a type of fixed guideway transit infrastructure with a riding or suspension track that supports and physically guides one or more driverless vehicles along its length. The vehicles are often rubber tired or steel wheeled, but other traction systems including air cushion, suspended monorail and maglev have been implemented. The guideway provides both physical support, like
1568-577: The concept and Stephens-Adamson would manufacture and install the components. A Speedwalk consisted of a flat conveyor belt riding on a series of rollers, or a flat slippery surface, moving at 1.5 mph (2.4 km/h) (approximately half the speed of walking). The passengers would walk onto the belt and could stand or walk to the exit point. They were supported by a moving handrail . Customers were expected to include airport terminals , ballparks , train stations , etc. Today, several manufacturers produce similar units called moving walkways . A Speedramp
1624-402: The cost of a subway system is due to the large vehicle sizes, which demand large tunnels, large stations and considerable infrastructure throughout the system. The large vehicles are a side-effect of the need to have considerable space between the vehicles, known as " headway ", for safety reasons due to the limited sightlines in tunnels. Given large headways and limited average speed due to stops,
1680-503: The end of August 2020, overall work for the Gold Line was 95% complete. The line was due to open on 1 October 2020 and initial test runs began on 11 September. However, further test runs revealed that additional tests would be required of the signaling and operational systems before full operations could start. The President of the BTSC stated that a further two months of tests were required and that
1736-496: The ending of Project Apollo and the winding down of the Vietnam War , there was concern that these companies would be left with few projects in the 1970s and 80s. Expecting widespread deployment of PRT systems through the late 1970s and 80s, many of the major US aerospace companies entered the AGT market, including Boeing , LTV and Rohr . Car companies followed suit, including General Motors and Ford . This, in turn, sparked off
Gold Line (Bangkok) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1792-711: The free fare period for the first month of operations in January 2021, the line was averaging between 5000 and 6000 daily passengers with 3000 using Iconsiam station. 2nd wave of COVID-19 outbreaks (December 2020 - February 2021) The Gold Line uses Bombardier Innovia APM 300 automated people movers with rubber tyres manufactured by CRRC Puzhen Bombardier Transportation Systems (joint venture of Bombardier Transportation and CRRC Nanjing Puzhen ) in Wuhu , Anhui , China. Innovia APMs are commonly used at airports to transport passengers between terminals. Each set has two carriages with 138 passenger capacity in each carriage, and can travel at
1848-568: The future MRT Purple Line southern extension. When completed, it will connect Krung Thon Buri BTS station with Prajadhipok Road in Thon Buri District for a total distance of 2.68 km (1.67 mi). The Gold Line is operated by Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (BTSC) under a 30-year contract. The BTSC also operates the BTS Skytrain . A flat fare of 16 Baht is charged. Tickets can only be purchased for stations within
1904-463: The gradual acceleration and deceleration speeds on the conveyor belt and overcome the tendency of all belts to stretch at start up and during shutdown. At point "A" passengers would enter a Speedwalk running parallel to the belts and cars of the Carveyor. The cars would be moving at the same speed as the Speedwalk; the passengers would enter the cars and be seated, while the motorized rollers would increase
1960-706: The immaturity of the technology and other factors, led the Port Authority to abandon the project and pursue alternatives. By the start of the 1980s most politicians had lost interest in the concept and the project was repeatedly de-funded in the early 1980s. Only two APMs were developed as a part of the People Mover Program in the U.S., the Metromover in Miami , and the Detroit People Mover . The Jacksonville Skyway
2016-485: The last, called PeopleMover or WEDway PeopleMover, was an attraction that was originally presented by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and that opened at Disneyland in 1967. Now, however, the term "people mover" is generic, and may use technologies such as monorail , rail tracks or maglev . Propulsion may involve conventional on-board electric motors, linear motors or cable traction . Generally speaking, larger APMs are referred to by other names. The most generic
2072-508: The line was the responsibility of Krungthep Thanakom PCL, an enterprise of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration . The project budget of 3.8 billion Thai baht was fully funded by the proponent of the project, shopping mall company Siam Piwat who has responsibility for all construction costs. All advertising revenue and operating profits will be collected by Siam Piwat Company during the 30 year concession period. At
2128-458: The line would not open until December 2020. In early December, an opening date of 16 December 2020 was announced. Upon opening, a one-month free travel period was in effect until 15 January 2021. The line will then be further extended 0.95 km (0.59 mi) west along Somdet Chao Phraya road and terminate at Prajadhipok station to connect with the MRT Purple Line southern extension, which
2184-607: The line. The line was not part of the current M-Map Master Plan as the line was proposed by the owners of Iconsiam mall in July 2015 to provide a feeder service to Iconsiam. The project was approved by the Thai Cabinet in September 2016 with an initial planned opening of late 2018. Preliminary works began in June 2018 with major construction commencing in September 2018. Design and development of
2240-411: The only way to increase passenger capacity is to increase the size of the vehicle. Capital costs can be reduced by elevating the tracks instead of burying them, but the large tracks needed present a major visual barrier, and the steel-wheels-on-steel-rails are very noisy rounding bends. Headway can be reduced via automation, a technique that was becoming feasible in the 1960s. As the headway is decreased,
2296-572: The point where any city could afford to deploy them. Most of these systems used elevated guideways, which were much less expensive to deploy than tunnels. However, elevating the track causes problems with noise, so traditional steel-wheel-on-rail solutions were rare as they squealed when rounding bends in the rails. Rubber tired solutions were common, but some systems used hovercraft techniques or various magnetic levitation systems. Two major government funded APM projects are notable. In Germany, Mannesmann Demag and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm developed
Gold Line (Bangkok) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2352-565: The rail and replace it with a "virtual" one that is read by sensors on the vehicle without the need for any mechanical connection. AGT systems, and the personal rapid transit concept (or "dial-a-cab"), became a major area of research after the publication of the HUD reports in 1968, and subsequent funding by the US Department of Transportation . Political support was particularity strong in states with large concentrations of aerospace companies; with
2408-450: The size of the vehicle, so the guideway was often separate from the running surface. Typical solutions used a single light rail embedded in the ground or attached to the guideway wall, with a wheel or slider that was pressed against the guideway rail and steered the running wheels through a linkage. A suspension-like system is needed to smooth out the imperfections in the guideway and provide a comfortable ride. More modern systems can eliminate
2464-462: The size of vehicle needed to transport a given number of passengers per hour also decreases, which, in turn, decreases the infrastructure needed to support these smaller vehicles. Everything from track supports to station size can be reduced, with similar reductions in capital costs. Additionally, the lighter vehicles allow for a wider variety of suspension methods, from conventional steel wheels, to rubber tires, air cushion vehicles and maglevs . Since
2520-432: The speed of the cars up to the traveling speed (which would be preset depending on the distance to be covered). At point B Passengers could disembark and by means of a series of flat slower belts (Speedwalks) go to other Carveyors to other destinations or out to the street. The cars at point B would continue on rollers around a semicircle and then reverse the process carrying passengers back to point A. The initial installation
2576-440: The suburbs of larger ones, which often suffer the same gridlock problems as larger cities. Buses could be easily introduced in these areas, but did not offer the capacities or speeds that made them an attractive alternative to car ownership. Cars drive directly from origin to destination, while buses generally work on a hub-and-spoke model that can increase trip times. AGT offered a solution that fit between these extremes. Much of
2632-462: The system has to be automated in order to reduce the headways enough to be worthwhile, by automating the steering as well the operational costs can also be reduced compared to crewed vehicles. One key problem in an automated system is the steering system's negotiation of turns in the right-of-way. The simplest solution is to use a rigid guideway, like conventional rails or steel rollercoasters . For lighter AGTs, these solutions were over-specified given
2688-428: The track (but not easily converted from one to the other), allowing dual-track movements from a single elevated guideway only slightly wider than the cars. A test track was completed in 1975 and ran until development was completed in 1979, but no deployments followed and the companies abandoned the system shortly thereafter. In the U.S., a 1966 federal bill provided funding that led to the development of APM systems under
2744-546: The tracks in a pit; by adjusting the pitch of this thread at different points, the carriages could be sped up, or slowed down to a walking pace at stations, to allow passengers to join and leave. The railway ran reliably for the two years of the exhibition, and was then dismantled. In late 1949, Mike Kendall, chief engineer and Chairman of the Board of Stephens-Adamson Manufacturing Company, an Illinois-based manufacturer of conveyor belts and systems , asked Al Neilson, an engineer in
2800-613: The world, and today they are relatively universal at larger airports, often connecting terminals with distant long-term parking lots. Similar systems were also a fixture of a number of amusement parks, notably the Walt Disney World Monorail System and the Toronto Zoo Domain Ride . The Getty Center in Los Angeles uses a unique vertically oriented AGT to bring visitors from a parking lot off Interstate 405 to
2856-535: Was Pittsburgh 's Skybus, which was proposed by the Port Authority of Allegheny County to replace its streetcar system, which, having large stretches of private right of way, was not suited for bus conversion. A short demonstration line was set up in South Park and large tracts of land were secured for its facilities. However, opposition arose to the notion that it would replace the streetcar system. This, combined with
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#17328633719822912-606: Was built in the late 1980s. Although many systems were generally considered failures, several APM systems developed by other groups have been much more successful. Lighter systems with shorter tracks are widely deployed at airports; the world's first airport people movers, the Tampa International Airport People Movers , were installed in 1971 at Tampa International Airport in the United States . APMs have now become common at large airports and hospitals in
2968-553: Was never fulfilled due to political difficulties. Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania , Disneyland in California, and Walt Disney World in Florida are among many locations that have used variations of the Carveyor concept. The term 'people mover' was used by Walt Disney , when he and his Imagineers were working on the new 1967 Tomorrowland at Disneyland . The name was used as
3024-571: Was the world's first to incorporate an AGT system as an inter-terminal connector in 1971. Its landside/airside set up allows the airport to increase capacity without spreading out. The LTV Airtrans was another early AGT systems which was installed at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and went into operation in January 1975 (later replaced by the DFW Skylink system in 2005). Similar systems followed at airports around
3080-625: Was to be the 42nd Street Shuttle in New York City between Times Square and Grand Central station. The first mention of the Carveyor in a hardback book was in There's Adventure in Civil Engineering by Neil P. Ruzic (1958), one of a series of books published by Popular Mechanics in the 1950s in their "Career" series. In the book the Carveyor was already installed and operational in downtown Los Angeles. Colonel Sydney H. Bingham, Chairman of
3136-583: Was very similar to a Speedwalk but it was used to change elevations; up or down a floor level. This could have been accomplished by an escalator, but the Speedramp would allow wheeled luggage, small handcarts etc. to ride the belt at an operating cost predicted to be much lower than escalators or elevators . The first successful installation of a Speedramp was in the spring of 1954 at the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Station in Jersey City, New Jersey , to connect
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