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Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit
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The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit (WVU PRT) system is an experimental people mover system in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States.
The system connects the three Morgantown campuses of West Virginia University (WVU) and was built by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Boeing Vertol in the 1970s, the first of its type in the World.
History
In 1974, Boeing Vertol began construction at West Virginia University in Morgantown. The Morgantown campus is disconnected; the system was designed to link the three separate areas. In particular, Health Sciences near Evansdale is situated on a plateau above the Monongahela River valley.
During construction, the program's director changed several times, causing bureaucratic problems and some system peculiarities stemming from the management problems.
The WVU PRT began operations in 1975. There was a later interruption in service during the 1978–1979 school year, to allow for system expansion. The expansion added a length from the Engineering station towards new stations at Towers (dormitories) and the WVU Medical Center/Mountaineer Field. During the extension works, WVU provided bus service between the campuses.
Operations
The system connects the university's disjointed campuses with five stations (Walnut, Beechurst, Engineering, Towers, Medical) and an 8.65 mile (13.9 kilometer) track.[2]
Vehicles are powered by electricity and use rubber tires running on a grade separated concrete guideway.
Electric pickups are fixed on both sides of each car, which connect to electrified rails on one, or both, sides of the guideway. The vehicles wheels steer slightly toward whichever side is powered, so the cars stay in firm electrical contact with the rails.
When a car approaches a station it can either continue straight past, bypassing the station, or the wheels can turn and follow the electrified rails into the station.
The cars contain eight fixed seats; four in a 'U' shape at the front of each vehicle and a matching four at the rear. In the centre of the cars is standing room designed for twelve passengers, who are provided with four poles to grasp. Each of the 73 vehicles used on the system weighs 8,760 pounds (3.97 t)[3] and can reach 30 miles per hour (48 km/h)[3].
As of November 2007, the PRT transports about 16,000 riders per day.[2] The record for most riders in a day is 31,280, set on August 21, 2006.
Times of day
The Morgantown system uses automated control and operates in two modes. During off-peak hours (primarily evenings and weekends) it runs as an automated people mover, like a bus service, from one end of the line to the other and stopping at every station. During peak hours cars are dispatched as needed and take passengers directly from one station to another, bypassing all stations in between—this is the personal/group rapid transit mode.
Performance
Each car has a design capacity of twenty individuals. However, during Mountaineer Week, an event called the Mountaineer Cram takes place in which student organizations try to pack as many individuals as possible inside a PRT car. The record of 97 was set in 2000.[4]
In the 2006 fiscal year, the PRT system broke down a total of 259 times for a total of 65 hours and 42 minutes, out of a total of 3,640 hours and 15 minutes scheduled running time, which equates to about 98% availability. Of those 259 breakdowns, 159 were caused by vehicle-related problems. The PRT system has recently received funding to improve efficiency by reducing this vehicle downtime.[5]
Since the system's completion in 1975, technology for such systems has advanced considerably, while the control equipment for the Morgantown PRT has changed very little. The control room is said to resemble a NASA mission control room from the 1970s, though the underlying electronics are more complex. Despite these factors, the overall availability of service (98%) exceeds the original design specification of 96.5% availability.[6]
Rolling stock
The PRT system includes 73 vehicles,[7] each capable of seating eight riders and accommodating approximately a dozen additional people standing. Resembling miniature buses, the vehicles feature automatic doors on both sides (opening as necessary for the platform) and are handicapped-accessible. The vehicles are carpeted and climate-controlled, although the air conditioning system is deficient in many vehicles.
The cars are powered by three-phase 575-volt alternating current rectified to drive a 70 horsepower (52 kW) direct current motor.[7] Each car has four-wheel steering to help negotiate the tight turns in the PRT trackways, especially around stations.
The PRT cars are driven on rubber tires and largely follow predefined paths with the help of the steering system and guides built-in to the side of the trackways.
Trackways
In contrast to many other automated people mover systems, the PRT relies on rubber tires rather than rail for movement. The track itself consists of concrete pathways with magnetic induction loops for providing system data. Due to Morgantown's snowy winter climate, the concrete pathways feature embedded piping containing a glycol solution used to melt snow and ice. Several stations along the track help to heat the glycol solution.
While portions of the PRT track are at or below ground level (35%), much of the system is build on elevated bridges and viaducts (65%). The viaduct spans are approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) in length. There are two distinct styles of viaduct in use on the system, with those constructed for the first phase being noticeably heavier-duty than those built for the second phase extension.
Control Systems
The PRT was originally controlled by DEC PDP computers installed in 1971. Due to difficulty in procuring replacement parts, these older computers were replaced in 1997-1998[7] with Intel Pentium computers. These computers run imaginary cars around the loop nonstop all day. The actual cars on the track mimick one of those imaginary cars. This is done so that the cars are never too close to each other.
Photo gallery
Approaching Beechurst PRT Station
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Beechurst Maintenance Depot
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Beechurst Station Platform B
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Descending the hill beside Monongahela Boulevard
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System Map at Beechurst Station
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Ground level track near the Health Sciences Center
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See also
References
- ^ West Virginia University - PRT
- ^ a b c Booth, Colin (2007-11-01). "The rails of Morgantown; PRT beginnings", The Daily Athenaeum, pp. 1-2. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ a b University of Washington, Morgantown Group Rapid Transit (GRT) System, retrieved 2008-06-22.
- ^ Wolfe, Billy (2005-11-01). "PRT Cram", The Daily Athenaeum. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ Gregory, Kathryn (2007-01-30). "PRT system to receive 1.6 million a year", The Daily Athenaeum. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ Wright, Jeff (2005-11-10). "PRT sets trends across the globe, transports thousands at WVU", The Daily Athenaeum. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ a b c Gibson, Tom. "Still in a Class of Its Own". Progressive Engineer. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
External links
- WVU's Morgantown PRT, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, US (Boeing)
- WVU's Campus Map includes PRT Track, Morgantown, West Virginia, US
- Jon Bell's personal PRT page, with pictures, Morgantown, West Virginia, US
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