THE INTERNATIONAL LIGHT RAIL MAGAZINE

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MAY 2020 No. 989 RIDERS STAY AWAY AS WORLD PAUSES

Pandemic devastates public transport as cities enter lockdown Operators respond to COVID-19 crisis CARES Act bail out for US transit Berlin signs biggest ever U-Bahn order

Doha Accessibility £4.60 Battery hybrid trams LRT’s lessons for for Qatar’s capital heavy rail networks Doha next-generation lrt: doha

Julia Wahnsiedler updates TAUT on TIG/m’s progress in ABOVE: TIG/m’s MRV-3 Tram operating in Msheireb delivering battery-dominant hybrid transit systems that reduce Downtown Doha, Qatar. capital and operating costs, including using hydrogen fuel cells All photos and illustrations for more sustainable, less intrusive urban tramways. by Brad Read, except where stated otherwise.

n the eve of 2020, Qatar’s Msheireb The trams complete a circuit of the loop in can generate zero pollutants. The company’s Properties launched an innovative 18 minutes, operating at six-minute system requires four essential energy 2km (1.2-mile) light rail line in its intervals, benefiting from virtual tram components to operate under municipal O newly-constructed and revitalised detection and priority at traffic signals, as well conditions: LEED Gold standard Msheireb Downtown as real-time passenger information, onboard 1. Onboard energy storage Doha development. As the world’s first CCTV, and Wi-Fi. 2. Regenerative braking sustainable downtown regeneration project, Each 15m MRV-3 series low-floor vehicle 3. Onboard power generation this 31ha scheme has been designed to has 33 seats and capacity for 100 passengers 4. A fuelling station for the onboard generators revive the city’s old commercial district by in total. They are fully air-conditioned and “All of our projects are bespoke,” explains combining traditional Qatari architecture incorporate special glass panels that inhibit TIG/m President and principal vehicle with the latest construction methodologies over 90% of the heat from Doha’s intense designer Brad Read. “We build custom and materials. sunlight. These modern single-body vehicles with the propulsion systems The USD5.5bn investment incorporates cars, unique to the Msheireb Downtown configured especially for the site conditions, a modern tramway circulator supplied by Doha tramway, are also ‘convertible’ with but the end goal is always the same: 20 hours TIG/m, that by early February had already removable windows – they can be operated as of continuous operation with no wayside recorded 40 000 riders. A fleet of three modern open-air trams during the cooler months. power requirement at all.” battery dominant/hybrid trams – designed For the Msheireb Downtown Doha and manufactured by TIG/m in Chatsworth, Removing the wayside supply tramway, the ancillary power supply to the California – circulate the TIG/m was founded in 2005 with the goal onboard batteries is provided by an LPG district counter-clockwise in a closed loop of eliminating wayside power systems by generator. “However,” Read continues, with nine stops, improving travel between supplying self-powered vehicles with enough “the generator set is self-contained and can be key locations, as well as providing a onboard stored energy for a revenue cycle of swapped in about an hour, with no impact at connection to the underground Central up to 20 hours without the need for in-motion all on the vehicle’s design. Our preference for Msheireb Metro station. This key interchange, or opportunity charging. To date, it is the the generator is a hydrogen fuel cell, but our directly below the streetcar route’s Nakheel only streetcar manufacturer to have achieved clients can choose between hydrogen, LPG, Square, is the largest in Qatar and serves as that goal through the design and manufacture or CNG as the fuel for this function. the network hub where all three of the city’s of self-powered heritage-style and modern “The overall configuration is project-specific new metro lines (Red, Green and Gold) low-floor streetcars that require no overhead and designed for uninterrupted passenger intersect. catenary wires, or wayside power stations and service during a duty-cycle, while maintaining

www.tautonline.com . www.lrta.org MAY 2020 / 173 Doha

a 25-30% surplus of power in the traction a key specification for sections of many new- wayside power supply system, meaning battery, thereby avoiding deep-cycles and build streetcar and tramway systems, as well additional costs to install and maintain, extending the battery service life.” as extensions to existing networks, that cross involving underground conduits and The system is still battery-dominant areas of visual or architectural significance. equipment enclosures. Again, dwell time at however, and each vehicle is equipped with With the trend to move away from catenary- stations is increased. two 375V dc 400A/hr LiFePO4 lithium-iron dependent power transmission systems, • Hydrogen fuel cell technology has been phosphate battery cells, which TIG/m vehicle manufacturers have employed a variety around for some time. Several tram builders guarantees for ten years. These are controlled of methods to get energy onboard vehicles, for are testing hydrogen-powered vehicles that by a proprietary battery management system example: rely solely on a fuel cell for primary traction which uses a generator to prevent them from • In-motion charging – intermittent contact power. But a traction system on a streetcar, deep-cycling and maintains a charge between systems – if incorporated into a tramway, depending only on a fuel cell, would need 30%-85% of full charge to extend their life. still requires a large percentage of the capital to carry over 20kg of hydrogen onboard “We eliminate all of the infrastructure and maintenance costs of a full overhead and a large 40kW fuel cell in order to required to distribute power, which consists catenary wire system. handle the loads of starting and stopping of about 40-60% of the initial infrastructure • Contactless in-track systems (contactless the vehicles. This would require cost,” says Read. He adds that, as steel wheels induction, for example) are very expensive relinquishing a lot of passenger space. offer only 15% of the rolling resistance and inefficient. If the vehicles were to carry less hydrogen compared with rubber tyres, they were • Contact-type in-track systems can be equally and a smaller onboard fuel cell, frequent also able to develop a specially-engineered expensive to install and are subject to refuelling stops would interrupt continuous propulsion system designed for the reduced damage and environmental degradation. revenue service. rolling resistance of steel wheel on steel rail. • Supercaps – onboard supercapacitors – can Most of these concepts are serviceable, Furthermore, the energy to power handle very large loads very quickly without but far from ideal, off-wire strategies. the vehicles can be 100% renewable and overheating, but they hold energy only for However, TIG/m’s fully self-powered emissions-free, as demonstrated with the a short period of time and require frequent propulsion system solution has demonstrated tramway line installed in Oranjestad, Aruba. opportunity recharging if used as a primary efficiency that has been lowering CapEx and In this case, both the power to charge the energy storage system. OpEx for over 20 years already. batteries and conduct the electrolysis process • Station-installed overhead opportunity In January 2015, a TAUT feature described to create the hydrogen is powered entirely charging, which employs top-down how TIG/m’s strategy of containing all using wind-generated electricity. pantographs that lower from overhanging traction power onboard the vehicle entirely conductive charging structures. While eliminates the lifecycle – and not just The range of off-wire solutions off-wire, this may expose passengers in monetary – costs of installing, maintaining, The move to off-wire operation has inspired loading areas to high-voltage output and and replacing overhead catenary, as well as many new, as well as long-established, light risk damage from birds nesting on and their requisite wayside power station. rail vehicle system promoters to explore inside the structure and, well... doing what Removing the need for the track system and introduce strategies for eliminating the birds do. Opportunity charging is also time- to act as part of an enormous electrical installation, operation, and maintenance consuming, increasing dwell time at stations circuit has other significant benefits. challenges – as well as the visual pollution by up to several minutes. The trackform itself can be less intrusive as – of the labyrinthine spiderweb of overhead • Station-installed in-ground opportunity the technology required to isolate and wires. Globally, off-wire capability is now charging units, while ‘invisible’ are still a ground the system is no longer needed, “We eliminate all of the infrastructure required to distribute power, which consists of about 40-60% of the initial tramway infrastructure cost.”

BELOW AND RIGHT: Accessing roof-mounted equipment and swapping out a generator set in the Doha depot.

174 / MAY 2020 www.tautonline.com . www.lrta.org ABOVE: TIG/m’s new MRV-4, a 200-passenger articulated tram.

LEFT: The HRT 1A operating in Oranjestad, Aruba. Richard Panse and the long-term maintenance and energy carrier. If a renewable energy The Oranjestad streetcar is one of the remediation of stray current is eliminated. source is used, such as wind or solar power world’s first light rail systems to utilise a Plus, with an onboard propulsion system, generators, it can be produced and consumed hybrid battery/hydrogen fuel cell traction dwell time at stations can be as brief as 40 with zero impact on the environment, power system, operating full 20-hour duty seconds, enough time for passengers to alight while reducing dependence on traditional cycles. Aruba is committed to a fossil fuel- and board. fuels. Its use is as safe – and in many cases free future, and its streetcar is thereby a safer – than that of gasoline or natural gas. groundbreaking example of zero-carbon rail Hydrail: An elegant solution TIG/m hybridised this technology into transit. Wind farms supply power to the grid, Hydrail is now a common descriptor for the rail-based transit systems designed and which then supply power to the batteries used rail-borne vehicles that utilise hydrogen as a built for the Downtown Dubai Trolley System on the streetcars, as well as the current used to primary or auxiliary power supply. in UAE, and for the Downtown Oranjestad electrolyse the water for hydrogen isolation, Hydrogen is the most abundant element in Streetcar System in Aruba, both delivered pressurisation, storage and delivery: it is a the universe and, like batteries, is classed as an in 2015. genuinely sustainable system.

whenever available

at peak hours

WHEN NECESSARY Renewable energy source

THE GRID Hydrogen generation at off-peak hours

once daily continual

TIG/m STREETCAR ADVANCED HYDROGEN PROPULSION BATTERIES FUEL CELL SYSTEM Hydrogen fuel REGENERATIVE storage and BRAKING dispensing

www.tautonline.com . www.lrta.org MAY 2020 / 175 Doha

TIG/m's tramway system is one of the core features of Qatar’s Msheireb Downtown Doha, transporting residents and visitors in an eco-friendly way around the world’s first sustainable downtown regeneration project.

“An entire hydrogen system can be produced and the battery systems are always maintained at an optimal state of charge and balance, installed for less than the cost of 1km of overhead line.” allowing them to double the battery manufacturer’s warranty for service-life. The hydrogen/hybrid streetcar utilises a production. This involves the electrolysis of Additionally, there is an answer to the high-capacity lithium-iron phosphate water using Millennium Reign Energy (MRE) by-product question: the only emission from battery system that is charged overnight by equipment, cutting the cost per kg by about this propulsion system is a small volume an onboard system. Battery banks located half. MRE, based in Englewood, Ohio, has of pure water, which can be collected for below the vehicle’s chassis keep the centre designed and developed a fully-automated reintroduction into the electrolysis cycle or of gravity low, and are configured as hydrogen generator, the AutoARK®, which simply expelled along the route. cassettes that can slide easily in and out is ideal for producing hydrogen as an energy on a rack system. supply for the vehicles. Passing current Keeping ahead of the curve This charger receives its energy from the through water, the generator splits water Doha’s tram fleet includes the advanced electric power grid. Energy stored in the via electrolysis into its constituent gases: systems expected now by most operators batteries is augmented while the vehicle is in hydrogen and oxygen. An internal membrane and their passengers, including virtual tram operation by regenerative braking and a fuel isolates the hydrogen, and the captured gas detection, ‘next stop’ (onboard) and ‘next tram cell that produces 12kW of power for a total is transferred into a larger tank for storage arrival’ (station) notifications, onboard CCTV, of eight hours. and pressurisation. The oxygen is purged into IP camera broadcasting and Cisco WAP. The fuel cell is programmed to operate the environment, actually improving the air TIG/m has spent the past 15 years whenever the PLC (programmable logic quality surrounding the unit. redesigning every system and sub-system in controller) requires energy to keep For dispensing hydrogen into the streetcars’ its streetcars to operate at minimum energy the batteries at a programmed charge state; onboard fuel tanks, TIG/m’s contracts consumption, while maximising power and the generator consumes about 2kg of included – in both Dubai and Aruba – the safety. Its streetcars require no overhead hydrogen during this period. This hydrogen installation of MRE’s SHFA (Scalable Hydrogen catenary or other type of external power is stored in a cylinder at 350 bar (5075psi) Fuelling Appliance), a renewable fuelling supply, operating entirely on an internal within the self-contained fuel cell generator. station providing three required functions for battery/hybrid system. A fleet of three vehicles, for example, would high-pressure hydrogen delivery: Along with many system designers who therefore require a daily fuelling capacity of • Transfer of hydrogen from the are reaching towards the next level of approximately 6kg of hydrogen gas. generating unit at 90psi (6.2 bar), up technological advancement, the California Regardless of the type of fuel used to power to 375psi (26 bar) pioneers are likewise developing software to an onboard generator, a system to store and • Compression of gas to 5000psi (345 bar) allow its MRV-3A to be outfitted as an dispense the fuel to vehicles is required. • Storage of pressurised hydrogen in steel APM (automated) vehicle to run on This is essentially a storage container (a tank vessels within the cabinet, with capacity dedicated alignments. or cylinder), which must be replenished by up to 6kg (additional storage is provided The company is also manufacturing an external supplier, and a pumping station in adjoining sheds). scalable tram configurations, as well as located trackside at the entrance to the depot The entire system can be procured and systems installed with a virtual coupling to dispense the fuel to the vehicles – once per installed for considerably less than the cost of system. Virtual coupling wirelessly connects day – before the start of revenue operations. 1km (0.6 miles) of overhead line and, being a two or more trains, so that the consists run in However, with the use of hydrogen gas as the single point ‘return-to-base’ system of getting sync without being physically connected, and fuel, rather than CNG or LNG that must be energy on-board the vehicles, it is far more at much closer proximity (at absolute braking transported from distant production facilities, cost-effective to maintain than a far-flung distance). This helps to reduce coupling time another option is available: the fuel can be wayside electrical distribution system. and excessive driver costs, and eliminates produced right at the pump with the proper So, by sizing the fuel cell generator to deadheading empty seats. specialised equipment. provide the additional energy required After researching available suppliers for a specific duty cycle, the system can be Thanks to TIG/m for its assistance with this and comparing the options of purchasing customised to maintain a nominal 25-30% article. TIG/m provides a full turnkey service, hydrogen from a third-party producer and surplus usable energy in the battery banks. from feasibility and full system studies, design transporting the gas in pressurised cylinders, This eliminates deep-cycling and ‘hot and manufacture, through operations and TIG/m concluded that the most cost-effective charging’ of the banks. The comprehensive maintenance. AutoARK® is a registered trademark means of supplying hydrogen is onsite EMS (Energy Management System) ensures of Millennium Reign Energy, Ohio, USA.

176 / MAY 2020 www.tautonline.com . www.lrta.org NO WAYSIDE POWER SYSTEMS Reduced infrastructure costs • Lower O&M costs • Increased system resiliency

TIG/m is an innovative turn-key design/builder of street-running public transportation rail systems commonly known as streetcars or trams. We are changing light rail transit: there is no longer any need for overhead wire or any other type of wayside power systems, resulting in savings of up to 50% in infrastructure construction and lifetime system maintenance costs.

Each of our vehicles is self-powered by a battery-dominant propulsion system and can operate for 20 hours on a single charge.

TIG/m • 9160 Jordan Avenue, Chatsworth, CA 91311, USA • Tel: +1 818 709 8500 • Web: www.tig-m.com

TIG/m ad May 2020.indd 1 06/04/2020 09:23 Minimise Disruption The design and implementation of urban and light rail networks in busy towns and cities presents signi cant engineering challenges. At the same time, the pressure to minimise disruption and cost has never been greater.

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Rosehill Rail – Setting New Standards

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Road Crossings // Pedestrian Crossings // Tram Stops // Depots // Anti-Trespass

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