The track is supported in the air by columns, and the train is suspended under the track and "flies in the air". This way of travel will soon become a reality in Baoshan. Recently, good news came from the Baoshan Yipeng Skytrain Demonstration Line Project. The first phase of 400 meters of track and station have been completed and are expected to be put into trial operation in mid-to-late September this year.
Near Fulian 1st Road and Fuchang Road, a "steel skeleton" track "suspended" above the road surface is eye-catching. This track is supported by steel columns and suspended in the air. One end extends to the first station of the Skytrain Demonstration Line Project, and the other end winds to the maintenance workshop of Yipeng Rail Transit Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. In the future, skytrains with an average speed of 30 kilometers per hour will be suspended under the track and shuttle between lines and stations.
"We have completed the construction of 400 meters of track, including columns, track beams, turnouts, and all facilities such as power supply tracks, grounding tracks, and expansion joints inside the track beams." The person in charge of Yipeng Rail Transit Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. said that the construction of this project has little impact on municipal roads, and it also has the advantages of low cost and fast construction. "Each column occupies only 80 cm x 80 cm, or 0.64 square meters, and has very little impact on the right of way."
At the other end of the track, a simple and compact two-story station has also been built. The station covers an area of only 150 square meters and can be used for trains to stop and passengers to get on and off. The control center is being built simultaneously with the track and the station. It has been fully built and the first carriage of the sky train is about to roll off the assembly line.
According to the person in charge, "The first section of the vehicle has basically completed the final assembly work and will be transported back to the Baoshan base in the middle and late part of this month to start the static and dynamic commissioning of the vehicle. In August, the whole system, including the system joint commissioning of all subsystems, will be carried out, and it will be available to everyone in early to mid-September."
Skytrain is a new type of low- to medium-capacity rail transit. Unlike traditional modes of transportation, skytrain does not occupy ground road rights and has the advantages of being green and environmentally friendly, occupying less land, low cost, fast construction, low operation and maintenance costs, and strong environmental adaptability.
The Baoshan Skytrain Demonstration Line project uses a new generation of lightweight suspended monorail system, which is based on the German prototype system with zero accident rate and safe operation for 39 years. After nearly five years of independent research and development and iteration, the localization rate of the whole system has reached more than 90%. The project is located in the Shanghai Robotics Industrial Park in Baoshan District, with a planned total length of 940 meters, 2 stations, 1 maintenance workshop, 1 to 4 carriages, and a maximum design speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
Baoshan Skytrain will adopt the world's highest level GOA4 unmanned driving system, which will bring passengers a new travel experience full of technology after it is put into operation.