Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit
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| Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit | |
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| Locale | Morgantown, WV United States |
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| Transit type | People mover |
| Began operation | 1975 |
| System length | 8.2 mi (13.2 km) [1] |
| No. of lines | 1 |
| No. of stations | 5 |
| Daily ridership | 16,000 [2] |
| Operator(s) | West Virginia University |
The Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit project is an experimental people-mover in Morgantown, West Virginia, in the United States, by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Boeing Vertol in the 1970s. The system connects the three Morgantown campuses of West Virginia University.
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[edit] History
In 1974, Boeing Vertol began construction of the first major PRT project, designed for West Virginia University in Morgantown. The Morgantown campus is disconnected; the system was designed to link the three separate parcels. In particular, Health Sciences near Evansdale is situated on a plateau above the Monongahela River valley.
During construction, the program's director was changed several times, causing bureaucratic problems and some system peculiarities are thought to be the result of the management problems.
The WVU PRT began operation in 1975. There was an interruption in service during the 1978-9 school year to allow system expansion from the "Engineering" station to new stations at the "Towers" dormitories and the WVU Medical Center/Mountaineer Field. During this time, WVU provided bus service between the campuses.
[edit] Operations
The system connects the university's disjointed campus through five stations (Walnut, Beechurst, Engineering, Towers, Medical) and an 8.65 mile (13.9 kilometer) track.[2] The cars are equipped with eight seats, four in the front and four more in the back, and four poles for standing riders to grasp, and run on a cement track with rubber tires and are powered by electric pickups on the sides of each car. On one or both sides of the track are electrified rails and the wheels turn slightly toward whichever side is powered so the cars stay in contact with the rails. When a car approaches a station it can either continue straight and bypass the station or the wheels will turn and follow the electrified rails on the other side.
As of November 2007, the PRT transports about 16,000 riders per day.[2] The record for most riders in a day is 31,280, set on August 21, 2006. The system uses about 70 vehicles, with a design capacity of 20 persons each (8 seated, 12 standing).
The Morgantown system demonstrates automated control, and operates in two modes. During off-peak hours (primarily evenings and weekends) it runs as an automated people mover, like a bus, from one end of the line to the other stopping at every station. During peak hours cars are dispatched as needed and take passengers directly from one station to another, bypassing stations in between. Morgantown vehicles weigh about as much as an SUV and run on a track above ground, over intersections and congested areas, though most stations are on ground level.
Each car has a capacity of 20 individuals. However, during Mountaineer Week, an event called the Mountaineer Cram takes place in which student organizations try to pack as many individuals as possible inside a PRT car. The record of 97 was set in 2000.[3]
In the 2006 fiscal year, the PRT system broke down a total of 259 times for a total of 65 hours and 42 minutes, out of a total of 3,640 hours and 15 minutes scheduled running time, which equates to about 98% availability. Of those 259 breakdowns, 159 were caused by vehicle-related problems. The PRT system has recently received funding to improve efficiency by reducing this vehicle downtime.[4]
Since the system's completion in 1975, technology for such systems has advanced considerably, while the Morgantown PRT has changed very little. The control room is said to resemble a NASA mission control room from the 1970s, though the underlying electronics are more complex. Despite these factors, the overall availability of service (98%) exceeds the original design specification of 96.5% availability.[5]
[edit] Rolling stock
The PRT system includes 73 vehicles,[6] each capable of seating eight riders and accommodating approximately a dozen additional people standing. Resembling miniature buses, the vehicles feature automatic doors on both sides (opening as necessary for the platform) and are handicapped-accessible. The vehicles are carpeted and climate-controlled, although the air conditioning system is deficient in many vehicles.
The cars are powered by three-phase 575-volt alternating current rectified to drive a 70-horsepower direct current motor.[6] Each car has four-wheel steering to help negotiate the tight turns in the PRT trackways, especially around stations.
The PRT cars are driven on rubber tires and largely follow predefined paths with the help of the steering system and guides built-in to the side of the trackways.
[edit] Trackways
In contrast to many other automated people mover systems, the PRT relies on rubber tires rather than rail for movement. The track itself consists of concrete pathways with magnetic induction loops for providing system data. Due to Morgantown's snowy winter climate, the concrete pathways feature embedded piping containing a glycol solution used to melt snow and ice. Several stations along the track help to heat the glycol solution.
While portions of the PRT track are at or below ground level, much of the system is build on bridges. The spans average approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) in length. There are two distinct styles of bridges in use on the system, with those constructed for the first phase being noticeably heavier-duty than those built for the second phase.
[edit] Control Systems
The PRT was originally controlled by DEC PDP computers installed in 1971. Due to difficulty in procuring replacement parts, these older computers were replaced in 1997-1998[6] with Intel Pentium computers.
[edit] Photo gallery
 Approaching Beechurst PRT Station |
 Beechurst Maintenance Depot |
 Beechurst Station Platform B |
 Interior of a PRT car |
 Descending the hill beside Monongahela Boulevard |
 System Map at Beechurst Station |
 Ground level track near the Health Sciences Center |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://admissions.wvu.edu/undergraduate/discover/prt.asp
- ^ a b c Booth, Colin. "The rails of Morgantown; PRT beginnings", The Daily Athenaeum, 2007-11-01, pp. 1-2. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ Wolfe, Billy. "PRT Cram", The Daily Athenaeum, 2005-11-01. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ Gregory, Kathryn. "PRT system to receive 1.6 million a year", The Daily Athenaeum, 2007-01-30. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ Wright, Jeff. "PRT sets trends across the globe, transports thousands at WVU", The Daily Athenaeum, 2005-11-10. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ a b c Gibson, Tom. "Still in a Class of Its Own". Progressive Engineer.
[edit] External links
- WVU's Morgantown PRT, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, US (Boeing)
- WVU's Campus Map includes PRT Track, Morgantown, West Virginia, US
- Jon Bell's personal PRT page, with pictures, Morgantown, West Virginia, US
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