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RUMBA - (Röhren-Untergrund-Magnetschwebe-Bahn or Tube Underground Magnetic Levitation Railway)

The vision:

I am on the balcony of my hotel downtown Munich. Yesterday I arrived here and had a calm night. The window was wide open the whole night, fresh spicy air was always to be felt. How beautiful this city is. The silence is overwhelming. Before the hotel is a large park, where in former times there was a road. Birds twitter in the air, one hears children somewhere, who play unimpaired. In the distance I hear sheep. Was the porter right, when he said to me that one of the three city shepherds would come by this morning with his herd? Now they come around the corner. A picture of joy.

I quickly get my video camera to capture this scene. This evening, I will show the pictures to my daughter. I have only a little time, until I have to be at a conference at the head office. To cross the city will take me only about eight minutes.

How could humans let themselves be so stressed over so many decades by car traffic? How long it took to end this stress. Now that the new transportation network is almost continuous, one hardly can imagine, how difficult it was in former times to get to work by car, the tram or with the railway.

Mentally I'm preparing the agenda of the day. The conference will last until 12:30; at 1:30 pm I am expected in Passau (approx. 160 km direct distance) for lunch in the old part of town and at 3 pm I shall present the last business data in Nuernberg (approx. 200 km) at a press conference. Around 8 pm I arranged a tennis match with good friends of mine in Frankfurt (approx. 200 km). I will transmit the results of the day to the office server during the journey to Frankfurt. A traveling time of 50 minutes is usually sufficient for this.

My discussion with the hotel manager yesterday impressed me. He told me that the automatic goods delivery system works perfectly. Two-thirds of the space formerly used for underground parking was converted to two guest stations and a delivery gate. Almost all arriving goods and the entire cargo now runs over the same transportation network as that used by passengers. All supplies arrive in time and loading and unloading is fully automated using standardized containers.

A large group of young people, who are obviously on the way to the school, arrives with their bikes at the hotel, where the first horse coaches wait to drive tourists through the city. This is not a dead city ,it is very lively. But the penetrating road noise, the smog, the stress and unrest of former times is missing. One hears women, laughing together and a church bell chimes in the distance.

A terrible noise reaches my ear. What could it be? Slowly I get back to reality. Yes, I am in the hotel. The ventilation system hums quietly, the curtains are half-way closed and windows are fully closed. But, from below, the loud road noise penetrates my room. The hotel alarm clock on the side board pulls me all the way back to reality. The pictures of my dream fly by, but they do not release me from my noisy reality. I rise and a new day begins.

The problem:

Each society, organized on the basis of modern, economic criteria, needs a functioning transportation system for passengers, for goods and heavy items. A sufficient mobility is regarded as an indispensable property for our leisure-orientated society.

As a consequence, our traffic increases ever more. Can the environmental impacts, which arise from it, be accepted any longer? People are more and more concerned by these burdens. They resist proposals for each new motorway and each road improvement. Also, new rail track proposals are fought, the building of the new Transrapid maglev in Germany is strongly opposed as well. Substantial resistance arises whenever negative impacts are likely to be produced by traffic improvement projects. On the other hand, most drivers complain about not having sufficient by-pass roads, roadways that are too narrow or persistent congestion and delays everywhere at all times of the day.

Many airports are operating at capacity and further expansion is frequently impossible. A fundamental change seems absolutely necessary.

What do people expect from a transport system?

• security,
• speed,
• economy,
• ittle negative impact on the environment,
• individual mobility,
• large numbers of stations,
• highly frequent service.

It is not the time for dense settled areas, as we find it in Central Europe, as well on the east and west coast of the US, in Japan, in Korea and other areas of the world, to find a transport system which guarantees an improvement of comfort and performance with a minimum of land consumption, with little or no negative environmental impacts and with minimal energy requirements? These objectives may seem, at first, incompatible. Do the intense efforts, to push the Transrapid through really lead to this desirable target? Is this transport system not too similar to existing systems? Are its impacts on nature and the habitat of humans acceptable to the general population? Does Transrapid offer sufficient flexibility? These questions should be examined again after reading this article.

The three most important demands:

Each new technological suggestion must be 1. compatible with the natural and man-made environment! Beyond that a system, which hopes to be competitive and meet high initial expectations, must offer substantial advantages. Therefore it must 2. be as straight-lined as possible and 3. you have to connect origin and destination points without transferring between modes of transport. In today's world, it is totally unnecessary to drive through parts of the distance at high speed, if the time saved is again lost by having to change the mode of transport which is often very slow. The following diagram shows this clearly. Here the journey from my residence in Waakirchen south of Munich to Wiesbaden in the industrial area Hagenauer Strasse is shown according to different means of transport.

In this diagram (not cached) the following three travel possibilities (car, train and airplane) were selected. As we want our future means of transport to provide an approximately direct connection between origin and destination, we have calculated a direct distance and have used an average speed with an allowance of 10% to include inevitable detours. This calculation produces a distance of approximately 400 km. With the airplane no waiting times for baggage check-in were included. Additionally no delays or traffic jams were included. All travel components for the conventional means of transport were rather optimistically calculated, as can be recognized by everyone who must make trips such as these occasionally.

By car: Using a moderate volume of traffic with a rest period of 15 minutes, a total travel time of 270 minutes results, giving an average speed of 89 km/h. Remember that the currently fastest route is approximately 500 km in length, thus the average cruising speed is higher than might be expected.

By Train: Travel by car to the station (about 5 min.), waiting time (10 min), travel on a regional train to the Munich main station ( 40 min.), waiting time (30 min), travel on the ICE to Mannheim ( 3 h.), waiting time ( 5 min.), travel on the IC to Mainz ( 40 min.), waiting time (5 min.), travel with the city express to Wiesbaden (10 min), waiting time (5 min.), travel by taxi to destination (15 min.) yields a total traveling time of 345 minutes and an average speed of 70 km/h. Remember that the currently fastest route is long approx. 500 km, thus the real cruising speed is higher than usual.

By airplane: Travel by car to the airport (about 60 min.), waiting time (30 min., including parking, is usually insufficient!), flight to Frankfurt ( 60 min.), waiting time (10 min.), travel by taxi to destination (45 min.) yields a total traveling time of 205 minutes with an average speed of 117 km/h.

If there was a means of transport that connected both points directly and had an average speed of 300 km/h, the journey could be completed in about 80 minutes. Unbelievable? Let us consider how it can be done.

The solution:

All passenger traffic and, with appropriate logistics also a majority of the goods traffic, must go completely (!) underground. A transport system would be created for both people and goods and it should be suitable for both long and short trips. The concept corresponds insofar as possible to our current individual transport system. That is, for a journey from A to B, one should not need to transfer. The destination should be very close to the station. The cabins would be available on call and used by individuals or small groups, up to 4 perhaps 8 persons. It is likely that public acceptance would be very high, since RUMBA would match today's car traveling habits insofar as possible, Other important advantages for the users would result. Shifting traffic underground is an almost ideal solution, even in areas with small earthquake activity. Investigation results have shown that earthquakes do not usually destroy underground installations.

The technique:

The RUMBA system is based on small, electronically controlled cabs which offer space for small travel groups. Propulsion is derived from magnetic levitation (i.e. a linear motor). The entire transportation network is in tubes of approximately 2,20 meters in diameter located underground. In the suburban areas, the tubes will have normal atmospheric pleasure and a maximum speed of approx. 80 km/h can be expected. For long-distance trips, the tubes would have low pressure (about 10 - 20 % of the atmospheric pressure) and a speed of up to 400 km/h would be possible.

FIGURE 1: Schematic cross-section through the tunnel with one RUMBA cabin.

The stations:

The station network would be include two different types of stations: public and private. Each station would have an identifier. Private stations could be used only by the owners and their guests that have an appropriate entry permission. It can be assumed that by using mass production techniques, the costs of a private stations will not be great. The space requirement of a private station will be equal to the space requirement of about 10 underground auto parking bays.

Public stations would be so numerous in an urban area that the distance between stations would not be more than about 200 meters. Department stores, banks, office building etc. could have their own stations. Large stations would be like today's subway station. Smaller stations would be accessed by means of an elevator which would be somewhat like large telephone booth at the surface.

The cabs:

It is clear that the cabs have to meet several demands in order to enable a confident, safe and comfortable travel. The cabs must be air and waterproof. The entrance would consist of a broad sliding door, which would be electrically closed and sealed from the inside. There would be small orientation windows similar to those in airplanes.

Each cab would be equipped, as are airplanes, with an air supply unit which could provide a fresh air supply from the tunnel atmosphere. For emergencies there would be oxygen containers on board and face masks, which would fall automatically in the event of a loss of cabin pressure.

The organization of the interior equipment would be selected in such a way that tunnel rage cannot arise if possible. So sufficient space in front of the passengers would be designated. In 4 person cabs, the passengers sit opposite, similar to a London taxi. The interior lighting, the colors and the form of the seats would be selected carefully.

All cabs are to equipped with information and communication systems, so that possibilities for working and entertainment are provided during the journey. Noise while underway would be quite small. Horizontal centrifugal forces should not occur during while traversing well-designed curves since they will be passed at a constant rate of speed. Overall, comfort would be very high.

Each cab has eight " magnetic wheels", four in the upper and four in the lower drive. Details about them may be found under "Points" and "Route Network". There is a compartment for luggage, as backrests can be turned down in each cab to allow the transport of bulky hand baggage.

The power supply for the cabs is provided in the low speed range by batteries and in the high-speed range by induction feed. The batteries would be charged during the high-speed phase and during waiting time. Cabs are normally not assigned to certain persons, but are available to all passengers depending on the location from which they are requested. Nevertheless it is possible that "private" cabs can be provided. Such cabs could be called only by its owner and in idle times would be parked anywhere and sent to a certain place at a certain time. This form of individual cab would cost more as might be expected for this superior service.

Likewise it is conceivable that different providers of cabs would compete with each other, allowing customers to select their favorite cab or the cab company they find to be most suitable and comfortable.

The operation:

If a passenger wants to use the system, he must possess an authorization card. Regular users can invest in the system by buying shares. For a certain amount, he becomes a part-owner of a cab. This user will receive a substantially lower travel fee than only occasional users. Anyone with a card would have access to the transport system. A patron selects the type of cabin (2 -, 4 -, or 6-seater) and the desired travel destination.

The use of the cab, measured by the booked distance, not the number of carried persons, determines the cost of service. Each cab may be filled with a maximum number of persons without any extra charge. The cab would arrive within 2 minutes of being called. The authorization card is inserted into the card reader in the cab. After all passengers are seated, the start button is pressed, the door closes and the control system assumes control of the vehicle until it reaches its destination.

If a trip has to be interrupted (for indispositions, food supply or toilet use), a service key can be pressed at any time. And the vehicle will stop at the next station. When desired, the stopped vehicle can be deactivated for as long as need by but a parking fee would be added to the cost of the trip. Or, one could also order a new cab for the rest of the trip. During the trip, central computers select a route that is continually optimized according to observed and/or expected traffic conditions.

A display in the vehicle shows the expected remaining travel time. Speech contact with the control center is always possible. Each vehicle is equipped with telephone and color display for information systems and entertainment programs.

The route network:

As it grows in extent, the RUMBA route network will become more dense. Since all connected routes of the long-distance traffic network must be maintained at a uniformly low pressure, sufficient atmospheric pressure gates will be needed in order to be able to allow maintenance work under atmospheric pressure or to supply only sections of the route network with atmospheric pressure for emergencies. Starting with an initial route layout, it will be useful to operate completely separated long-distance traffic networks (also to accommodate different competing operating companies). So, networks can be developed incrementally starting in a north/south direction or east/west as needed. Up to a length of 300 - 400 km, a through trip should be possible without having to pass an additional air lock.

A supply of fresh air to the tubes must be ensured and the quantity needed will depend on air consumption. The air quality would be monitored and regulated constantly. To deal with the pressure balance of the nose wave, an air connection with the tube serving the opposite direction of travel may be necessary. Attempts must be made to determine whether the balance of the air nose wave can be maintained by the air spaces between the cab and tube wall with tail suction. For tourists wanting to travel long distances, a route on the surface in glass tubes might also be possible.

The switching points:

There are two types of switch points. For the high-speed tracks, special requirements would be needed for the switches, since the cabs are moving close together. But, an individual routing for individual destinations must be possible without reducing travel speed so the cabs must be switched quickly from one route to another. Since the system runs completely underground, the third dimension must be included when thinking about this task. Each cab has two independent drive systems. One is located at the bottom of the cab (main system) and the other is mounted on the roof (auxiliary system) and each has four "magnetic wheels". When traveling straight ahead the cabs slide on the lower drive rail. If a cab approaches switch, and if the cab is in a bundle of other cabs, the distance between the adjacent cabs would increased (technical control is no problem). As the cab approaches the switch point a track from above feeds in to the upper drive and pulls that cab out of the bundle. The lower track is opened for that purpose. So the cab leaves the bundle and is positioned on its new track.

Using this technique for switching, many variations are possible, so many tests must be run to determine the ideal form. After the switched cab has been positioned on its new track, it is inserted into a main tube again. Besides the high-speed switches, there are also horizontal switches, which are used primarily in local networks and which correspond closely to today's rail switches. In addition, switching using the principle of the high-speed switches can be used in station areas, since the cabs which are going into a station are brought up to a higher level which is closer to the surface. In the stations the cabs are attached only to the upper rail, which enables them to match the level of the station platform for an easy exit to the pedestrian mode. This is important for aesthetic and passenger comfort and makes it easier to keep the stations clean.

The air locks:

The inputs and outputs to the long-distance tube must be sealed against the air supply. Because of the very frequent interruption of the air locks by constantly entering and leaving cabs it is necessary to have a particularly refined sealing. The cabs are airtight and waterproof. So an air lock that is based on water in the tube can be used. Driving through a water-type air lock can be done at a speed of approximately 30 km/h

The building of tracks:

Creating tunnels for tubes of about 2 meters in diameter would be done insofar as possible by computer-controlled drilling systems. The small diameter does not present a particularly difficult problem. Experience gained from the mining industry and the building of waste water duct systems provides sufficient experience for boring tunnels of this diameter. The overburden can be transported using methods developed for use in coal mines which use a coal slurry and pumps.

Many opportunities exist for storage of the excavated material. An example is the filling of open mining pits. If these possibilities do not exist hills can be developed , which can later be transformed into recreation areas, without significant adverse environmental impacts. One can construct a conical mountain of 100 meters in height with a base diameter of 150 meters from the material obtained from a tunnel that is about 180 km long.

A special machine would follow the boring machine directly to protect the tube using a Shot-Crete technology. A diameter of 2 meters is sufficient for the vehicles and enables humans to travel in an upright position through the tunnel system during construction and for later maintenance work. Bringing in the rail system takes would also be conducted insofar as possible with automated techniques. The quality of the tubes can be assured during their manufacture and the quality of the tunnel construction would be equally high. Since the tube walls along the long distance routes are to be created hermetically, an appropriate plastic film will have to be applied. This material can surely come from recycled plastic. And, if local conditions permit, it would be also possible to install the tube system in the open, above ground.

Security:

Clearly, the security of this transport system will have to be fail-safe and use redundant systems. Due to its mode of operation, no protection of passengers from impacts will need to be provided. Possibly forces resulting from acceleration and deceleration will be so low that it will not be necessary to require the passengers to wear seat belts. Bad weather can be ignored but the same thermal loads as those considered for precise rail construction have to be accounted for. Concerns regarding terrorist activities, as well as sabotage can be excluded almost completely, since the access is allowed only to authorized card owners and each entry to the transport system is recorded by a computer. Also, one can assume that, during times of civil unrest or war, as long as power supply works, this system would remain available since the tunnel runs several meters underground.

The energy balance:

This balance is already very favorable because the transport of cabs is nearly frictionless. For long-distance traffic distances the air friction is very small due to the low air pressure. A further reduction takes place, as cabs are brought together while driving with their spacing electronically controlled to just a few centimeters. Thus the following cabs drive in the lee. While today a car in the medium range weighs approx. 1,000 kg, a four person RUMBA cab will probably not weigh more than 400 kg, since all measures for passive safety systems can be omitted. For the maintenance of the low pressure in the tunnel system no additional power is needed except that needed to replace used up air.

Economic considerations:

There are many economic advantages and some, but not all, will be mentioned here. The most important are as follows:

• Energy: The energy necessary to operate the system is quite minimal and much less than for existing transport systems. The energy required to build the network is also far less than that needed for conventional road and railway transport systems. The balance becomes particularly favorable, if one considers the annual operating and maintenance costs, which are definitely less that those for conventional transport systems.
• Travel time: Today most journeys are made by car. Even business travelers frequently travel alone in a car. During that time they are not productive. A car journey from Munich to Frankfurt (center to center) takes about five hours of unproductive time. With RUMBA, it would take less than one hour of productive time. One must also add the time wasted in traffic congestion delays to the uncongested travel times. Recent investigations in Germany have shown that traffic jams costs have a time-lost value of about 202 Billion DM.
• Feed frequency: On a well used railroad line today, it is technically feasible to operate trains with headways of about 5 minute, each train having 10 cars, each having an average of 54 seats. If one uses a load factor of 70%, then 7,560 persons per hour can transported on that track. A comparison of this the train service, the auto (two lane motorway) and RUMBA (for a long-distance traffic route) is shown below:

• Accidents: On the roads many humans die every day or are injured and have undergo long and costly rehabilitation treatments. Apart from these negative societal impacts, one has to consider the tremendous cost reductions that RUMBA could provide by eliminating the needs for emergency services, hospital medical and surgical costs, rehabilitation treatments and disability pensions.
• Cabins: While today an average family possesses a car, RUMBA gets along, when optimally controlled, with about one cab for 10 - 20 families.
• Personal: RUMBA is operated insofar as possible automatically, i.e. no drivers, conductors, security personnel and service staff are needed. On the other hand, a number of qualified programmers, organization manager, etc. would be needed.
• Property costs: Very few property purchases would be necessary! Exceptions are the stations, which are usually provided by the property/house owners in return for an increase in value. Besides, a sufficient number of underground local train and railway stations are available, which can be integrated into the RUMBA network. The costs of costly and time-consuming planning, expropriations and court cases would be eliminated.
• Route distance: Today, transport routes must deviate to follow the terrain. With RUMBA the long distance routes will almost run in straight lines. This reduces the distance, construction costs and the travel time.
• Run performance: A passenger car is scrapped, if it is not already destroyed by an accident, on average at 150.000 km or after 10 years. RUMBA cabs will be able to achieve a substantially longer performance life.
• Environmental costs: So far the true costs of the environmental damage done by our transport systems are not paid by the users of the system. These negative impacts vary significantly and are difficult to measure. Examples of such damage include destruction of the ozone layer, health impacts of noise, air and water pollution, forest damage, erosion, groundwater contamination and more. Therefore one cannot expect to sustain a quality environment on a responsible and long-term basis without changing the way we think about expanding our transport infrastructure.

The charging system:

RUMBA charges would be based on the amount of service consumed. Using the authorization card, the driven distance and cab-time consumed is accounted for automatically. There can also be extra charges for services such as telephones, games, consumption at service points, parking times and more.

The deployment strategy:

Plans for new traffic facilities and their construction are always being planned. We regard RUMBA, in its initial phase, as means of transport with a transfer, like all other modes of public means. So, new underground, local train or long-distance traffic projects can be built using this new concept. Users currently use different means of transport in a single trip. RUMBA should be included in such planning studies, so that it can be integrated with existing transport networks later.

Some good examples where RUMBA could be used would be: Underground for Regensburg, renewal of the railway network of Berlin, city transport networks in cities of the new countries of Germany, new remote track between Munich and Berlin or the Brenner base tunnel underneath the alps. Even with the last example one can make clear, how a phased introduction of this new means of transport would be possible. The Brenner base tunnel could be planned to include RUMBA. An operating company would execute this project. The towns of Milan and Munich, with their millions of inhabitants would be connected by such a project. Travel times between them would be about 45 minutes, compared to 6 hours today. Branches to Innsbruck, Bozen, Verona and Meran should also be planned. In those cities companies could be formed which would later open the first regional networks. In addition, the carrier agencies for goods will have a large interest in such a network, because this is the only way they can maintain their required "just in time" supply services. It is to be expected that some facilities would be built exclusively for goods transport between distribution centers in the future.

The future:

There is hardly any individual means of transport (cars) in Central Europe. All surfaces, which are today used for parking can be renaturized and serve to aid the recovery and beautification of towns. New roads should be built only to carry heavy loads and for emergency services. The remaining old roads would also be renaturized and used for residential purposes or playgrounds. Even household waste (e.g. garbage) can be handled by RUMBA automatically. Air quality will certain improve and heavy pollutant loads of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, ozone, dust and above all noise will be terminated. Transport of passengers on the surface will take place exclusively for joy, in appropriate coziness, with pollution free vehicles (e.g. horse coaches, electric vehicles, bicycles).

The decentralization of the society will continue and be served with enhanced communications technologies. Offices and other working locations will no longer have to be visited daily as home offices will become the more frequent working place. That means however that rural areas must be connected to the traffic network. RUMBA offers this possibility as well. Goods movements could also be handled over RUMBA networks. Most consumer and many industrial goods could be accommodated in RUMBA cabs.

Apart from the extraordinarily fast speeds offered, further advantages would be gained by the use of standardized containers, with which be required for automatic loading and unloading. Thus, only particularly large, bulky or heavy goods would still have to be transported on the earth's surface. Even gravel and cement should be transported over RUMBA, if economical to do so. It may also be economical to install temporary surface links to building sites.

And now ...

...you have read my ideas. Probably you need some time to think about this concept. Are you convinced yet that this solution can be a useful way to relieve our traffic misery? If so, please refer as many people as possible to this web page. Let prominent persons from industry, politics or the media hear from you. If you want to pass on these ideas, please always cite their source. I am a little proud of my work. If you have any questions or want to give me your opinions and discuss the with me, then send me an e-mail message to cbruch@t-online.de.