Solid & Resilient Wheels | Gear Boxes | Axles | Gear Box & Wheel Set Repair Solid & Resilient Wheels That Outperform the Others Penn Transit Solid & Resilient Wheels set the standard for excellence. Our proprietary manufacturing process allows us to make lightweight Steel Wheels that require less energy to operate. What’s more, our 300,000+ Resilient Wheels in service worldwide offer these features & benefits: > Rubber or Ring Elements with Precise Elasticity > Superior Damping Properties > Increased Rider Comfort > Longer Operating Life By using ultrasonic and magnetic particle testing, and conducting dimensional checks, we produce the quality wheels you need to move forward. To find out how we can help, call 724.459.0302 or visit www.pennmach.com 310 Innovation Drive Blairsville, PA 15717 724.459.0302 APRIL/MAY 2017 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 27 to travel, but don’t necessarily want the overhead catenary infrastructure installed in the area.” Cahill said that Siemens also has received interest from energy storage. He said that while not every agency is interested in it, they are seeing a rise for it on a case-by-case basis. In the future of transportation – not only in rail, but also with bus and cars – is developing automation. Th ibault explained that Bombardier has been steadily increasing its manufacturing of automated vehicles. Around ten years ago Bombardier had a few automated trains running, but now the interest is booming. “Automated metros are clearly a trend, people are asking for it, mainly because a large cost for agencies and an important liability is their staff . Automated trains give fl exibility in operation and obviously reduces their cost in the long run.” Agencies that utilize automation don’t require as many people to run their rail lines. Th ey can have a person dispatch a train without needed to have an actual operator on-board. “What I’ve seen in the United States is that they’re moving doors and train control systems that are allowing having unmanned train operation in the future, but they are not moving right away,” Th ibault said. “For multiple reasons, one of them of course is that they still have to deal with unions and keeping certain types of jobs. Th e other one is public perception of seeing a train arriving with no driver on it.” Th ibault said to go around those issues Bombardier works to further enhance the agencies current operations along with new rail lines. “Typically (we’re) reducing the workload of the driver and the accountability of the driver when stopping the train. Automating this process is preventing human error. Existing authorities are not making the move to fully automated yet, so it is a gradual process,” Th ibault explained. “In the United States there are not that many new metro lines, but for example the Second Avenue System in New York will be much more automated. Th e driver will have less to do to make the train start and stop. Th e driver will basically just have to acknowledge to start the train and the train will actually stop itself.” Improving Safety One area in which the industry is constantly keeping an eye out for developments is safety. In the event of a rail accident – the important factors are protecting both the train operators and the passengers. Siemens has been developing crash energy management that is featured in almost every rail vehicle. “Nobody wants to crash and everybody does what they can to avoid it, but in some cases the fault is beyond the agencies behalf,” explained Cahill. “When there are accidents and the key focus is on absorbing that energy correctly so that you keep everybody safe. In the front of the train with the drivers and operators we put a bunch of safety elements in there so that www.pennmach.com For more information, visit www.MassTransitmag.com/10065912
MassTransit_AprilMay_2017
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