Tunnel Bus - for Liverpool?

[Waterways]

More a tunnel tram than bus. I doubt this would work in Liverpool. Great idea though.

I can see this working, doubling up on rail tracks. One normal train going one way and the tunnel tram going the other. Or both going one way to double up capacity on the line.

The thought of cars underneath is frightening.

Incredible bus is also a tunnel

Chinese designers have come up with an innovative cost-effective public transport system: the tunnel bus.



The remarkable bus straddles two lanes of traffic, allowing cars to drive underneath while it carries up to 1,200 passengers.

It's environmentally sound too because it runs on electricity, using a state-of-the-art charging system. Called relay charging, the roof of the bus conducts electricity and contacts special charging posts as it moves along.

It's cost-effective because there are two ways it could operate: first off, special tracks could be laid into each side of the road, like a tram.

Or secondly, simple coloured lines could be painted onto the road for it to follow automatically on conventional tyres. There'll be a driver on the bus at all times, though.

Elevated bus stops will be erected to allow passenger to embark, or where there's no room for those the bus will have ladders. The emergency exits will be inflatable slides.

And if the straddling bus seems all to futuristic to be true, amazingly it isn't - a pilot scheme involving over 115 miles of tracks in Beijing will begin before 2011.

The trials will focus on traffic management and safety. Managing traffic flow is an issue: how, for example, to guarantee a bus can turn off a road safely while there is no traffic underneath.

The advanced stage of the plan suggests this is not an insurmountable issue. Then who knows - it could revolutionise public transport outside of China. London, perhaps?

While it may look like an idealistic pipedream, China is taking the tunnel bus concept very seriously. Moreover, a pilot scheme involving more than 115 miles of test track will launch in Beijing before the close of 2010.

[anonymouse]

If you're driving underneath when the thing stops at a 'bus stop' it'll be bit disconcerting when you feel you're accelerating when in fact you are not ..then you instinctively brake ...cruuunch! A recipe for disaster, methinks!

[Waterways]

If you're driving underneath when the thing stops at a 'bus stop' it'll be bit disconcerting when you feel you're accelerating when in fact you are not ..then you instinctively brake ...cruuunch! A recipe for disaster, methinks!

That is why I think it is best to have trains underneath it. It would only be the width of one track, as trains would run under it. It could be for peak time only running both ways on normal two track lines. Ideal for the two football stadia being proposed in the city, if they are both on one line, say either Canada Dock Branch or Outer Loop.

[Leon]

If you're driving underneath when the thing stops at a 'bus stop' it'll be bit disconcerting when you feel you're accelerating when in fact you are not ..then you instinctively brake ...cruuunch! A recipe for disaster, methinks!

And how many accidents will happen when the bus starts to turn. The movement of buses is only possible in a straight line or for each rotation and for each stop is necessary to make a bridge.
p.s. btw idea looks nice.............