From: John Wayman
Date: Mon, 14-Dec-2009 4:17 PM
on social network TramsDownUnder http://tdu.to/111656.msg
This seems a ridiculous concept to me. I can’t see how it could compete against conventional light rail….For it to work at all there probably isn’t any airconditioning either. Cheers John Wayman
SCHILTEC:
Waverail’s standard way of electricity supply is through overhead wire. Battery is only an option in certain favourable circumstances. It is thus not correct to say that Waverail relies on batteries.
Waverail was not conceived with battery operation in mind. The battery option only came when it was discovered just how low Waverail’s energy needs were. We find battery operation suitable on the flat or slightly undulating courses. The limit of battery operation is not exactly known at present.
Battery Waverail will work very smooth for a suitable course, because:-
1 (acceleration) Energy needed is only 10% (average, compared to conventional tram); send an email to team@waverail.ch if you want kW figures
2 recharge time at station is around 15 minutes on average followed by a less or similar drive time
3 During drive only the fan of the air-conditioning works but not the compressor (‘high inertia’ air-conditioning)
4 Deceleration is 95% of the constant power type, allowing perfect energy regeneration
Direct comparison of battery suitability between Waverail and traditional light rail does not make sense because the two system are too dissimilar with respect to energy use. One has to look at it case by case.
If, and sooner or later it would happen, that the batteries of a car fail, then that car would just be pushed along. If then, at the station charger, the batteries still refuse to fire up, the car is obviously faulty and cannot accelerate when it should. The following wave then would have to slow down, connect, and push it out to the shed siding.
