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Neither technocrats nor bureaucrats are able to solve Chennai’s growing traffic problems. But listen to B Rajaram, managing director, Konkan Railways, who has the best alternative.

In an interview to Chennaionline, he explained in brief about the sky-bus technology, which the European countries have adopted as an alternative to traffic congestion problems.

What is the need for sky bus, when a train on land can be operated with more passenger capacity?

Rajaram: Congested urban areas have only roads and we cannot accommodate trains on land. Elevated or underground railway metro is an option, but cannot be flexible to follow roads, past century technology prone to derailments with loss of lives!

Sky bus provides the same capacity as railway trains and is safer than them and flexible to adapt to existing roads. It adds further to urban space on the sky top and costs only half of what an elevated metro or only one-fourth of an underground metro!

How did you select sky bus as an alternative for transport?

Rajaram: Sky bus is our patented technology developed for the new millennium and will cause a paradigm shift in urban transportation all over the world.

Will sky bus be beneficial for cities like Chennai?

Rajaram: Sky bus makes the urban transport economically viable and financial returns of 15 per cent only with fare box collections. A family needs to pay only Rs 500 per month to travel 2,000 km in the city and this makes it affordable without subsidies from the government.

What is the cost factor involved in this?

Rajaram: Sky bus is our indigenous technology, more cost-effective than any other solution and it will be ready within two years of financial closure.

From where do you import the sky buses?

Rajaram: These are made by our own industries. Sky bus is world-class technology from our country.

Please explain the sky bus technology.

Rajaram: The same rail-based mass transit capacity is achieved without derailment of coaches, by taking the rails guiding and supporting the wheels of the bogie into a concrete box supported by columns in the middle of roads on the dividers, and suspending the travelling coaches below the wheels bringing down the centre of gravity. Also each set of sky bus unit is hardly 20m long and at every minute can carrying 300 persons. It provides air-conditioned travel at 100 kmph in an eco-friendly manner.

At what stage is the sky bus project now?

Rajaram: Cleared as technically sound by none other than the President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. The Ministry of Railways have allocated Rs 50 crore to put up a 1.6 km test track in Goa, which will be commissioned by the end of June this year for trials and proving the technology.

All sub-elements of the technology which make up the sky bus have been well-tested and proven beyond doubt. What needs to be tested is only the system integration.

When is the sky bus to be launched?

Rajaram: By June 2004 the test track should dispel the small number of doubting experts and then onwards, without government support by way of funds, private industry will put up the sky bus as it would be financially viable.

Your reaction to those who are against the sky bus project?

Rajaram: Naturally, the foreign technology promoters feel threatened and they will lose the opportunity to sell the most expensive un-affordable metros, nicely packaging with promises of foreign loan assistance because they are not financially viable.

Sky bus makes urban transport a financially viable proposition and our country will be challenging the supremacy of foreign companies and the beneficiary is the common man sweating it out on the roads. Being first of its kind, one should expect resistance. It should be dispelled with the demonstration of the technology with the test track being completed.

Have any proposals been given to any state governments?

Rajaram: We have received positive responses and we await final decisions from the governments.

At what stage is the anti-collision device (ACD)?

Rajaram: It is now a national project of Rs 1,600 crore, to be implemented in five years.

What is the reply from Southern Railway to the use of ACDs. Have they asked you to manufacture the ACDs?

Rajaram: It is part of the national project to be taken up after we complete the Northern Frontier Railway work sanctioned at Rs 63 crore.

A small note about Konkan Railways and its future plans?

Rajaram: With new technologies invented by Konkan Railway, a value addition of Rs 10,000 crore in terms of royalties has taken place. So, the next five to seven years the corporation is expected to work towards unlocking this value and realise the benefit.

In the Konkan Railways website, I saw some of your inventions waiting for patents, please give me a list of your inventions?

The Konkan Railways Corporation has filed for patents in India, the US, UK and European countries, for its innovative technologies like ACD, sky bus, self-stabilising track system, intelligent signalling and transport system, rail fastener.

These new technologies invented by Konkan Railway have the potential of earning Rs 10,000 crore for it in royalties.

I believe that our country’s strength lies in our intellectual strength and through technology we should improve the quality of life of humanity while lowering the cost of services, eventually realising a cherished dream of mine to see that each and every human on the planet gets free communication, travel, food and shelter as a right of being born on this planet.

Some facts about sky bus

Sky bus is based on the concept of Sky Wheels presented in 1989 at the World Congress for Railway Research. This innovative alternative transportation solution completely eliminates any possibility of vandalism, derailments and is virtually maintenance-free.

The sky bus uses pre-fabricated latest construction technologies, which save time and money resulting in easy execution of the project in busy urban areas without disturbing the existing traffic pattern. These structural engineering methods are well-proven and do not have any project execution risk attached. They have IT tools for economical communication and control.

Sky way

In the middle of roadway, pile foundations support 1 m diameter column approximately 8 m high, spaced at 15 m all along the roadway.

The sky way consists of a concrete box structure carried over a series of piers at a height of 9 m to 10 m above the existing road level. Two rails fixed with appropriate fastenings within the concrete box support and guide the sky bogie.

There are no points and crossings.

Sky bogies

Standard, two axle bogies of standard gauge used in metros for speeds of 100 kmph are used (but speed can be raised, if required, up to 160 kmph).

Sky coaches

• Double walled light shells with wide large windows are suspended from the sky bogies.

• Controlled banking on curves - even 100 m radius curves can be handled.

• Air-conditioned with automatic doors.

• Audio-visual information to passengers.

• Special 4 m wide sliding doors for quick entry and exit of passengers.

• Each pair carries 300 persons and service every one-minute or 30 seconds is possible. 

Sky stations

• Unlike conventional mass transit systems, sky bus needs smaller stations.

• Service is every 30 seconds or 1 minute and there is virtually no waiting time for passengers.

• Totally automated without drivers or guards-and access control is also electronic by prepaid cards being swiped in.

• Stations act as only access facility, and not as passenger holding area.

Traverser

There are no points and crossings. The traverser is the system which automatically shifts the sky bus units for balancing the loads/changing routes as well as shift units to depot lines, etc.

• Stations are available every 1 km. It is a natural footbridge across the road. From up line to down line the station provides natural access, which is easy. At sky top one can change to different bus routes too!

• Sky bus units going to airports and railway stations can carry luggage. In addition, during off-peak period, containers can be transported.

• Sky bus units can provide nodular growth. For next century needs, it can expand from 40,000 passengers per hour to 80,000 per hour, per route km.

N Arun Kumar