MANNHEIM, GERMANY-Instead of
depending on local rail and roadway-based infrastructure to monitor Light Rail
Transit vehicles and provide passengers with real-time data, Mannheim has successfully
tapped the U.S. global positioning satellites to operate a pilot system.
A new 12-stop, 3.6-kilometer line
with 15 articulated LRTs is being managed with GPS information that is continually updated
and overlaid on the city's geographic information data base. By using a sophisticated
two-channel signal decoder developed by Alcatel, and a sophisticated set of communication
devices detailed in a technical report on the pilot project, the Mannheim Transit
Authority (MVV) has been able to keep positioning information errors to an average of 9.4
meters throughout the entire line.
Moreover, the streetcar position
information is relayed to interactive touch screen display terminals in streetcar stops
along the line. Passengers can get real-time information, not only about the arrival of
the next tram at that specific stop, but also about the position of the train units along
the entire length of the line.
According to the authors of the
technical report, the pilot project has provided proof that the GPS system, linked with
local decoding and correction devices to overcome line of sight problems, can actually be
used by municipal transit networks to improve their attractiveness to users at a far lower
cost than would be required by the installation and maintenance of a city-wide network of
locational beacons and associated infrastructure such as transponders and induction coils.
Return To International Focus
Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. Please download the Adobe PDF reader if you have not already done so.
