Say hello to the MiniMetro - a modern urban transport solution

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You’ve heard about the metro, especially if you live in a densely populated western city. But what about the MiniMetro? Is the concept new to you?

Well, a European company called Leitner has developed an innovative MiniMetro solution for conveying less considerable number of people in an unmanned capsule moving on fixed rails.

In their own words, the MiniMetro is dubbed an “Intelligent people mover systems for local transport services”.

Defined as a “light rail system” for its agility, space efficiency and easy integration within the urban context, the Minimetro constitutes the most appropriate solution for predominantly historic cities where a “regular” metro system is impractical. Furthermore, the MiniMetro can be setup to link less populated areas with the main metro lines.

Here’s a comprehensive description of the MiniMetro system:

“LEITNER has developed an intelligent solution for local public transport services – the MiniMetro®, an automatic people mover for short and medium-distance operations.

This APM is designed for use as the primary means of transport in towns and small cities and as a transit system for park+ride services or links to busy locations like shopping centers, universities or interchanges.

The LEITNER MiniMetro® offers outstanding flexibility for integration within the urban infrastructure. The compact design of the cars means a minimum footprint for the system as a whole and optimum harmony with existing buildings and structures.

The APM technology also handles demanding routing requirements, with such features as a 12% hill-climbing capability, and the availability of overhead guideways or underground sections.

The APM operates with its own guideway and is available in two versions – with the cars permanently attached to the haul rope or with cars that detach automatically.”

Here’s how the Minimetro works, technically:

The Minimetro system usually consists of 25 cars accommodating up to 50 passengers each. The cars run on rubber wheels along a pair of steel tracks.

The cars are not self-propelled. Instead, they are hooked for traction to a steel chain rope that is driven by an electric motor. In addition, because the cars run on rubber wheels, the system’s noise level is below normal environmental values.

The cars move in sequence at a frequency of under a minute and for this reason, the system is labelled as “semi-continuous”.

When a MiniMetro car reaches the end of the line, it is rotated by an inversion platform so that it can resume its run in the opposite direction.

Leitner also offers like-minded transport solutions, such as: