There are many projects which involve revolutionizing the public transport sector in the world like the Hyperloop, driverless automobiles, passenger carrying drones, etc. Among all the methods of transport that the future holds, the one which is right around the corner to be implemented is the skyTran researched and developed by NASA and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is as costly as taking a bus ticket, is extremely fast, energy efficient, elevated and the most important, eco-friendl𝚢.
What is skytran.
The skyTran consists of automated capsules which are magnetically levitated on elevated rails, accelerated through electric and magnetic fields.
Scope in India.
The Mukesh Ambani-led company Reliance has increased its shareholding to 54.46 per cent on a fully diluted basis. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries, said, “Our acquiring majority equity stake in skyTran reflects our commitment to invest in building futuristic technologies that would transform the world. We are excited by skyTran’s potential to achieve an order of magnitude impact on highspeed intra and inter-city connectivity and its ability to provide a high speed, highly efficient and economical ‘Transportation-As-A-Service’ platform for India and the Rest of the World. We firmly believe that non-polluting high speed personal rapid transportation system will help facilitate environmental sustainability through efficient use of alternative energy and make an impactful reduction in air and noise pollution.
Speed of skytran.
The skyTran transportation system would allow passengers to zip past crowded roads in towns at speeds of 50 to 100 mph and in outskirts at up to 150 mph in space precision streamlined capsules which would be readily available to any passenger who would just have to step into the vehicle and key or voice in the destination where they want to go.
Cost of skytran.
For passengers fare of skytran will be as nominal bus fare. The setup of the skyTran system is estimated to cost around US$8 million per kilometer. Apart from these costs, each skyTran car would price between US$25,000 to US$30,000. Also, the skyTran project saves a large amount of money since it does not involve the purchase of prime city real estate to build rails or stations but just the area of an 18 inch diameter pole.
Safety
First of all, the passenger carrying capacity is at 2 per capsule which reduces the risk of a terrorist attack since it is basically a personalized public transport. Also, a passenger who enters into the capsule is required to submit a form of identification in form of fingerprint, smartcard, smartphone etc.capsules have emergency protocols built in to tackle emergency situations, like crisis avoidance or immediate stoppage functions. In the case of a power outage in the line, the capsules have enough reserve energy which can provide enough backup to power the capsule to the nearest station. The rails can be repaired easily in case of anydamages without interrupting regular service.
Conclusion
The skyTran is actually really flawless on paper.It has a light infrastructure with a really minimalistic type of construction with its thin poles and lightweight aluminum components leaving behind a tiny footprint which hardly takes up any space on the ground.it completely runs on green energy, it virtually leaves no trace of pollutants. The efficiency is so high that the energy required to power two hairdryers can run the capsules at 62mph.
References.
- Internet.
- Ckgsb knowlege.
- Google.
- Livemint.
- Economictimes.