Is it coming or going? It's difficult to tell as this 'push-me pull-you' bus looks exactly the same going forwards as backwards

Vehicle designers are perfecting the extra-long bendy bus with a cab at each end so that it can be driven in either direction without having to turn around.

Dubbed AutoTram by its German designers, the bus is a vision of public transport for the future. With diesel engines at both ends, the AutoTram can even divide in half to serve side routes along smaller roads. The two halves then rejoin for main routes to create a single 24-metre long bus.

An extra section can also be slotted into the middle to accommodate even more passengers and make the AutoTram one of the longest vehicles on the road, at a massive 36 metres. All of the bus's axles are steerable to help it negotiate tight bends, while hi-tech CCTV and sat-nav systems help the driver pilot the extra-long vehicle around corners.

To boost its green credentials, each section of the AutoTram comes with a flywheel underneath which is designed to absorb some of the braking energy. Then if the engines fail, a fully charged flywheel can power the bus for up to two kilometres.

A stvar radi

The AutoTram is a high sophisticated traffic system, developed by Doppelmayr (Switzerland) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (Germany). This concept offers an attractive, economical alternative for communities, traffic enterprises or private carriers in comparison with conventional train and bus systems or known People Mover Systems. The vehicle joins its development in intermediaries vehicles like Phileas, Civis or Translohr.
Depending on application (e.g. Intermediate Transport System or People Mover at airports, fairs and parking areas) the advantages of the AutoTram how

simply arranged roads in different levels
vehicle clearance envelope
innovative vehicle design
one and two direction traffic
zero-emission propulsion technology
large transportation capacity at a flexible succession of trains
high switch flexibility and
high safety and availability standards are effective differently.
Besides these technical features it is justified primarily both into the low infrastructure and operating costs, that one of the AutoTram promises a considerable market potential in transit and sub-transit-applications.

The AutoTram is based on a light vehicle construction which is similar to a tram train in design as well as in transportation capacity. The vehicle, however, does not use the classic wheel/track system but guides on rubber tires automatically or semiautomatically and drives on conventional concrete or asphalt roads.
The AutoTram connects alternative solution flexibility and cost advantages of a joint or double articulated bus with motoring comfort, automation standard and transportation capacities of a smaller train, light rail or a People Mover System.

The AutoTram was developed on the basis of reasonably priced small profile elements.

System qualities of the AutoTram to be highlighted are:

transportation capacity adaptable the need in two or increase-limbed trains
variable length as an increase vehicle system analogous a train
flexible traffic at ground level as an one or two direction vehicle on conventional bus lanes
driver assistance system for the lateral and longitudinal vehicle guidance
high-precision and fail-safe cross and lengthways guidance of the AutoTram at the "virtual track"
high safety standard by multiple redundancy and mechanical emergency level
zero-emission drive from onboard electrical high energy storages
during the stops or station stays recharge of the drive energy from docking stations.
Due to the alternative solution flexibility the AutoTram achieves a very high system availability in comparison with track-bound systems with considerably lower effort.

Vehicle construction

The vehicle length of the bipartite trains of the AutoTram is 18 m, the width of the vehicle is 2,53 m. The three axle of the bipartite train are driven separately and electric hydraulically steerable one by one.
The rubber tire sets have limp-home function as it is stipulated for People Mover Systems. The drive performance per axle is approximately 45 kW. The AutoTram reaches a maximum speed of 70 km/h with that. The load per axle is between 5 and 10 t. Measures and equipment of the AutoTram in the previous version correspond largely to the admittance regulations for busses in the public traffic. A first concept vehicle is tested at the moment. A trinomial train design is provided for high capacitive shuttle for traffic over exclusive roads, for vehicular traffic on airports, fairs or parks. This vehicle-type could have four axes and one 6 m-middle section.

Guidance system

The concept of the AutoTram assumes in principle that the vehicle control is accepted the responsibility of a driver who is supported at a vehicle length of > 18 m and for rise of the journey comfort by a contactless guidance system in terms of a driver assistance system.

In the city traffic the AutoTram is provided with energy by a fuel cell with less power and total zero-emission.
Power peaks are covered by an energy storage in the form of a flywheel with great capacity. Alternatively to the fuel cell the AutoTram can be equipped with a diesel-engine. The vehicle can be managed totally without electrical generator on-board by working in docking station mode. Here the on-board energy storage is charging during the entry and exit of passengers at the regulary scheduled stops with enough energy to move the vehicel to the next stop.



Fast energy exchange at a docking station from the SuperCap booster to the board side storage