Re: What happened?

["Ron BEST" <ronbest@bigpond.com>]

The Sydney monorail has three operating modes:
1. Full manual.
2. Semi-automatic - still has  a driver, who is basically there in case
things go wrong and to open & close the doors.
3. Fully automatic - was intended to be the normal operating mode but has
never been implemented for various reasons.
(BTW, anyone remember the article in RD describing the proposed
"safeworking" for this system? It was said that the system would be OTS&T,
but, because the trains all run the same way, all trains would run "on the
ticket" and the staffs would never leave the stations! Very funny, I thought
at the time.)
Rgds
Ron BEST
Michael Van Baast wrote in message <36CC2D79.57D@NOSPAMacay.com.au>...
>David Bradshaw wrote:
>>
>> How does the Sydney Monorail operate? I have noticed that the trains do
>> have a driver (with an impressive array of controls in front!), however
>> the driver appears to only really open and close the doors etc.
>>
>> I have read that the trains are under computer control, however in a
>> monorail crash last year it was stated that a contributing factor was
>> the trains being run under manual control at that time.
>>
>> DB.
>
>I havn't looked at the sydney monorail but i guess it is the same as the
>Hotel conrad/oasis centre monorail on the gold coast where a little
>joystick type thing controls the doors and the train's speed (e.g.
>left/right = doors open/close , forward/backward = train
>forward/reverse)
>and the various buttons on the panel define specific functions like
>which doors open when the open button is pushed, i have a funny feeling
>that the extent of "automatic control" is limited to speed which is
>controlled by the little knobs on the track which, when say pulling into
>a station, slow the train down in preset steps whilst the driver does
>not change the throttle control but has the ability to stop if needed to
>by just letting go of the throttle control. Not reading anything about
>this prang i cant say weather the automatic/manual debate is realivent.
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