Dutch working on superbus - aerodynamic bus that can also be a high speed train It is an electric bus designed to be able to switch seamlessly between ordinary roads and dedicated “supertracks”, on which it can reach speeds of 250kph (155mph). It could thus present an alternative to much more expensive magnetic-levitation trains. It is as wide and long as a standard city bus, the Superbus is only 1.7 metres high, or roughly the same height as a sports-utility vehicle. There is no middle aisle. The low-riding Superbus, in contrast, has a separate door for each of its 30-odd seats. The individual doors also allow for rapid loading and unloading of passengers

The low ceiling and the use of lightweight materials make for a far more streamlined vehicle, which in turn requires only a modest electric motor: though engineers have not yet decided whether the Superbus will be powered by fuel cells or batteries, they estimate that it will be able to accelerate from rest to 100kph in a leisurely 36 seconds.

Technische Universiteit Delft

September 25th, 2006 at 12:14 am


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