Phileas (public transport)

Phileas bus

Phileas is a bus rapid transit, developed by Samenwerkingsverband Regio Eindhoven (SRE), Netherlands, along with some other companies for the Cooperation Foundation Eindhoven Region (most prominently; APTS and Bombardier). It is an advanced guided bus intended to deliver tram-like public transport at a very low cost: the infrastructure is much cheaper,^{[dubious – discuss]} because of less maintenance, and there are no rails and overhead lines.^{[citation needed]} The project was initiated in 1998 to keep knowledge about technology and innovation in the region and create jobs. The biggest feature of the bus is the recharging of the battery by means of electromagnetic induction; which means that the battery can be made much smaller, and thus less heavy and environmentally damaging.^[1]^[2] The project started in the late 1990s; there was a wish to demonstrate the high technology level and technical knowledge in the Eindhoven area and to create jobs. The project has cost more than two billion euros, including infrastructure changes.

Origin of name[]

Phileas is called after Phileas Fogg, the protagonist in Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne because of the high speed and ability to be on time.

Navigation[]

The Phileas mainly drives on a bus lane, following a pre-programmed route defined by magnets built into the road. The FROG technique used allowed driverless operation, though in fact for legal reasons a driver is always present - the budget prevented the Phileas from being completely separated from ordinary traffic. However several years ago^[when?] the regional authority for urban transport in Eindhoven (SRE) decided to stop using the magnetic guidance system.

Safety[]

The computer system inside the Phileas buses is designed according to Safety Integrity Level SIL-4. It controls the vehicle's speed and direction and has a triple-redundant, fail-safe architecture. This means that one system consists of three single-board computers in a 2-out-of-3 configuration. Each is installed in a different place in the bus, so as to avoid a complete system failure in case of a vehicle collision. Every single computer obtains data from all sensors via two CAN bus connections and compares them with the other two computers' results. In case of data mismatch, the bus is switched off and the entire system goes into safe state, which means that the bus stops and opens its doors.^[3]

License[]

KRRI Variant, also known as Bimodal Tram.

On 3 November 2005 a license & technology transfer agreement was signed between Advanced Public Transport Systems (APTS) and the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI). KRRI developed the Korean version of Phileas vehicle by May 2011.^[4]

In December 2009, APTS, the manufacturer of the Phileas Tram, signed a contract with Ballard Fuel Cells of Vancouver to supply zero emission engines for the Phileas.

The Phileas Trams are in successful operation in the Netherlands, Turkey, Korea and Israel.^[5] They were also in use for a time in Douai in France, but persistent unreliability led to their replacement by traditional articulated buses just 4 years after their introduction.^[6]

Challenges of the Metrobus project in Istanbul[]

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality purchased 50 Phileas bi-articulated vehicles for 63,278,650€ (1,265,573€ per bus) for the Metrobus project; which was the highest order for Phileas till that date. Due to faulty design, overcrowding of the bus lines (as many as 300 passengers were being crammed into buses that originally had been designed for 240), hilly and challenging terrain of Istanbul (over 7% slopes), weak traction axes of the buses frequently cracked. Buses needed modifications to continue the service. The modification cost for the stronger traction axles was quite high and it was more than 200,000€ per bus (competitor buses like Mercedes Conecto with 185 passenger capacity was sold around 400,000€ at that time). Changes were made to accommodate the higher passenger traffic.

One of the buses was lost to a fire on 25 March 2015 at E5 road. Around 32 buses are usable and 20 buses in light use (25,000km per year) due to their high operating expenses and high failure rates. Remaining buses are parked at Edirnekapı and Hasanpaşa garages of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. They are currently in unusable condition and used for source of spare parts.

Sources[]

This article incorporates parts of the Dutch Wikipedia entry, nl:Phileas (OV)

References[]

^ Electromagnetic recharging Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
^ Phileasbus using electromagnetic induction Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Driverless Bus Guidance Computer System". MEN Micro. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
^ Bimodal Transportation Research Center
^ See Metronit article.
^ La voix du Nord du 22 novembre 2014, édition du Douaisis Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
^ Another electric bus with recharging system at bus stops (bottom)
^ TOSA2013 The project aims to introduce a new system of mass transport with electric “flash” recharging of the buses at selected stops (overhead conductive charging)

External links[]

[1] Electromagnetic recharging Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine

[2] Phileasbus using electromagnetic induction Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine

[3] "Driverless Bus Guidance Computer System". MEN Micro. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2010-09-21.

[4] Bimodal Transportation Research Center

[5] See Metronit article.

[evea-6] La voix du Nord du 22 novembre 2014, édition du Douaisis Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine

[7] Another electric bus with recharging system at bus stops (bottom)

[8] TOSA2013 The project aims to introduce a new system of mass transport with electric “flash” recharging of the buses at selected stops (overhead conductive charging)

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