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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................iii

1.1 MODES OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION......................................................................iv

1.1.1 BUS TRANSPORTATION...........................................................................................iv

1.1.2 RAIL TRANSPORTATIOn..........................................................................................vi

2 INTRODUCTION TO SKY BUS TRANSIT SYSTEM...........................................................vii

2.1 CONSTRUCTION OF SKY BUS AND ITS COMPONENTS........................................viii

2.1.1 SKY WAY..................................................................................................................viii

2.1.2 SKY BOGIES................................................................................................................ix

2.1.3 SKY COACHES.............................................................................................................x

2.1.4 SKYBUS STATIONS....................................................................................................x

3 SALIENT POINTS ABOUT SKYBUS METRO SYSTEM.......................................................x

3.1 STANDARD RAIL GAUGES AND POWER REQUIREMENTS.....................................x

3.2 DRIVING BOGIES AND BRAKING SYSTEM................................................................xi

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3.3 CAPACITY OF 20 M LONG TRAIN UNIT.......................................................................xi

3.4 ROUTE CAPACITY, SECURITY AND SAFETY.............................................................xi

3.5 TRACK CHANGES AND REVERSALS AT TERMINALS:...........................................xii

3.6 ON LINE MAINTENANCE OF ROLLING STOCK AND TRACKS:.............................xii

3.7 TERMINAL CONCEPT:....................................................................................................xii

3.8 LAND REQUIREMENTS FOR ROUTE, STATIONS AND AT DEPOTS:....................xii

4 TEST TRACK AT GOA AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SKYBUS......................................xiii

5 COMPARISON OF SKY BUS AND METRO..........................................................................xv

6 ADVANTAGES OF SKYBUS................................................................................................xvii

7 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................xviii

8 REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................xix

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1 INTRODUCTION

Road traffic conditions in India are getting worse day by day. The average number of vehicles in
India is growing at a rate of 10.16 percent annually, since last five years. About 65% of freight
and 80% of passenger is carried by roads (“Modal shift”<
http://www.nhai.org/roadnetwork.htm>) and spending hours in traffic jam has become part of
metropolitan life style, leading to health and environmental hazards. The vehicle penetration in
metropolitan cities like Mumbai is suffering from about 590 vehicles per km of road stretch and
Bangalore with around 5 million of vehicles ply over a network that extends up barely up to
3000 kms (“Statistics”,< http://www.neoncarrot.co.uk/h_aboutindia/india-statistics>).

The problem of acute road congestion, rising air pollution and a high level of accident risk faced
by metropolitan cities of India is taking serious dimensions and worsening the people’s quality of
life. Without vigorous action, this problem would intensify as rising population over the coming
decades and the goal of growing economic prosperity put more pressure on the system and it
requires a comprehensive strategy. This increase in mobility of individuals can be managed in
two ways. The first approach is by the addition of infrastructure and the second by the efficient
management of this demand. Addition of infrastructure involves building wider roads, flyovers,
bypasses and expressways. But for developing countries like India money and space are serious
concerns, also it is a temporary solution regarding the life span of structures. It could also lead to
induced demand that means people who are not using personal vehicles may start using personal
vehicles with the improved road conditions which in turn creates road congestion, increased air
pollution etc. Second one is to go for public transportation systems; it is a much more sustainable
form which provides many mobility, safety and economic benefits to people. It should be
designed in such a way that it reduces the need to travel by personalized modes and boosts public
transport system. So a complete overhaul of public transport system is required. Jawaharlal

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Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) is a massive city-modernization scheme

launched by the Government of India under Ministry of Urban Development. It envisages a total
investment of over $20 billion over seven years. Many projects are funded by JnNURM
including procurement of more than 10000 buses for intracity transportation, intelligent transport
management systems (ITS). The important and most commonly used modes of public transport
in India include buses, trains and metro rails. The choice of mode of transportation depends on
the place utility and time utility that is the capability of having men and materials at places where
they are wanted and when they are wanted. A brief description about the different modes of
public transportation is presented in the following section.

1.1 MODES OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Public transportation system is a shared passenger transport service which is available for use by

the general public. The carrying capacity is very high in case of public transportation so it has
dominance over other systems. By reducing the growth in private vehicles, easing congestion
and supporting more efficient land use patterns, public transportation can reduce harmful
greenhouse gas emissions. It represents the beginning of public transportation’s potential
contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote energy conservation.
Implementing public transportation attracts more people to it which in turn create lesser road
space

1.1.1 BUS TRANSPORTATION

Currently buses are the cheapest way to get in and around cities in India and. Services are fast
and frequent, and buses are the only way to get around many mountainous areas. Buses run by
the state government bus companies are usually the safest and most reliable option. People who
ride the bus are also sharing the service as they are not using separate cars this in turn cause less

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emissions and less impact on atmosphere. Buses enjoys certain benefits against other modes of
transport, these are:

 It can provide door- to-door service

 It is cheaper than railway transport over short distances
 It is beneficial for carrying light as well as perishable goods
 It is more flexible than railways that is it has got no fixed route
 Less maintenance charges

In big cities buses are generally overcrowded and people find it hard to get a foot hold in the bus.
Long queues at bus stops where everyone rushing to get in is a common thing seen, usually the
buses being jam packed there is no question of moving left or right, front or back. Reliable
service means keeping buses on schedule, maintaining uniform headways and minimizing the
variance of maximum passenger loads (Levinson 1991). Reliability affects the waiting time of
passengers at a stop for a bus to arrive and it also affects the total trip time of a passenger.
Furthermore it influences the mode choice of passengers (Abkowitz et al. 1978). Reliability is
influenced by traffic conditions, road construction, maintenance and quality of vehicles,
evenness of passenger demand, route length and number of stops (TCQSM 1999).

Bus rapid transit system (BRTS) is adopted in major cities of the world in order to increase the
reliability of bus transportation. The system has got specialized design, services and
infrastructure to improve system quality and remove the typical causes of delay. The BRTS
includes most of the following features: dedicated lanes, bus way alignment, off-board fare
collection and intersection treatment .Moving onto carrying capacity of buses, carrying capacity
is an indicator of the sizes of the buses in use. It can vary considerably, from around 10
passengers in a minibus to around 200 passengers in a single deck bus. Carrying capacity

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includes both seated and legal standees (www.ppiaf.org). It has lesser carrying capacity in
comparison with trains and the reliability varies as it is subjected to road conditions

1.1.2 RAIL TRANSPORTATION

The railways have their greatest utilization in the transport of large number of passengers.
Intracity transit involves lower speeds, shorter routes, and higher frequency (especially during
peak hours). (“Practical Guide to Railway Engineering”AREMA, 2003). However, their use can
be reduced by lack of flexibility, due to the unavailability of feeder systems. Authorities often
encourage the use of cargo rail transport due to its environmental profile. (“Environmental Issues
“The Environment Blog.3 April 2007). The rail transport has got many advantages over road
transport some of them are

 Safety: railway ensures safety for the desired goods because unlike road transportation a
train only stops at desired station
 Chances of accidents and break down are minimum compared to other modes
 Cheap bulk quantity transportation
 Increases mobility of labour and enhances job opportunities
 Width of right of way is lesser for railways
It suffers from the following limitations
 Door to door service is not possible
 Right of entry is not free to all

A light rail can carry 260-900 passengers per train (Cervero, Robert, The Transit Metropolis - A
Global Inquiry 1998.) for trains reliability can be defined as the continuity of correct service
(avizienis, laprie, randell 2001) from the passenger’s point of view reliability can be divided into
regularity and punctuality. Regularity is the variation in head ways while punctuality relates to

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the deviation from scheduled arrival and departure time (van Oort 2005). Monorails are having
shortest turning radius, suits very well for narrower roads. It runs on rubber tyres, so less wear
and tear. Have smaller foot print since the piers are smaller since monorails are lighter than their
counterparts metro.  There are monorails built to run on solar energy as well. This is more
expensive in terms of investment compared to BRT or LRT, but faster since it runs on rubber
track. It does not depend on the traffic signals since it runs elevated. Metros elevated are
expensive than Mono to implement since the Piers needs to be wider and larger in area. Needs
straight lines preferably since the turning radius is larger which needs land acquisitions thereby
increasing the cost. Underground Metro is the most expensive and highly time consuming
because of the viaduct construction 

2 INTRODUCTION TO SKY BUS TRANSIT SYSTEM

Sky Bus is based on the concept of Sky Wheels presented in 1989 at the World Congress for
Railway Research by Mr. B Rajaram, Managing Director of KRCL at Bologna University, Italy.
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. It is a unique mass transit system which can be put up in any congested and
crowded city within two years for ease and safe transportation, without loss of time .SkyBus is a
greener way to travel and it operates 24 hours/7 days a week- over 250 trips a day moving in
excess of two million passengers.

2.1 CONSTRUCTION OF SKY BUS AND ITS COMPONENTS

The fixed structure at 8 metres height above road level provides the support and guidance.
Bogies can run at 100 kmph, with the coach shells suspended below. They carry passengers in air
conditioned coaches, in existing road routes without any hindrance to the existing traffic on

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roads continue. It is aesthetically pleasing and there is no concern of a claustrophobic feeling for
road users. Aesthetic, and eco-friendly, the Sky Bus is protected against derailment, toppling or
collision – by design as well as by construction, hence is safer than the existing rail based
system. The system is noise–free and pollution–free with a capacity to transport 36000
passengers per hour (pph), scalable to 72,000 pph as required. With no signaling and having no
points and crossings, it is a unique mass-transit system. In addition to moving people, the Sky
Bus system can carry standard 20 ft. containers, boosting its capacity utilization to double that of
other existing systems. Since it operates along existing roadways and within municipal limits,
SkyBus metro falls under tramway category, under Art 366(20) of the Constitution of India.

The main components of the sky bus system are described below:

2.1.1 SKY WAY

The sky way consists of a concrete box structure 9.4 X 2.4 m. carried over a series of piers at a
height of 9–10 m. above the existing road level. In the middle of the roadway, pile foundations
support 1 m. diameter columns approximately 8 m. high, and at a spacing of 15 m. all along the
roadway. It has two heavy 52 – 60 kg/ metre rails fixed with appropriate fastenings within the
concrete box support at standard gauge that guide the sky bogie. There are no points & crossings.

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Figure 1: Schematic arrangement of SkyBus

2.1.2 SKY BOGIES

Standard two axle bogies can be used in metros for speeds of 100 kmph (but can have higher
speeds if required, up to 160 kmph) of standard gauge. Linear Induction motor technology is
incorporated with 4th rail driving, which is above the bogie and 3 phase AC motors with
regenerative power capability are used. Third Rail is used for current collection. Braking – Since
the bogie is mounted, 3 levels of braking namely – regenerative, disc brakes and finally,
emergency mechanical brakes are provide to ensure the safety of commuters.

2.1.3 SKY COACHES

These are double walled light shells with large wide windows suspended from the sky bogies.
Curves with radii of 50 m. can be negotiated. The coaches are air conditioned and fixed with
automatic doors. They have audio visual information to assist the passengers. They also have

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special 4 m. wide sliding doors for quick entry and exit of passengers. Each pair of coaches
carries 300 persons and service every one minute or 30 seconds is possible. Controlled banking
on curves is possible

2.1.4 SKYBUS STATIONS

Unlike conventional mass transit systems, Sky Bus needs smaller stations about 50 m. long.
Stations can be constructed at every 1 km. It is a natural footbridge across the road. .The
frequency of service is very high that makes the service available at every one minute. It is
totally automated without drivers; access control is electronic by prepaid cards being swiped in.
Stations act only as an access facility, and not as passenger holding area.

3 SALIENT POINTS ABOUT SKYBUS METRO SYSTEM

3.1 STANDARD RAIL GAUGES AND POWER REQUIREMENTS

60 kg rails fitted with double elastic fastenings, with Standard Gauge on sleepers designed and
are tested for 20 t axle load norms forming maintenance free tracks. Provision of standard gauges
helps in continuity of goods and passengers; there is no breakage of goods. Also coaches can be
effectively used on all tracks if a uniform type of gauge is adopted. Typically for tropical climate
conditions, for a module of 10 km route, 15 MW power needed covering traction and all services
including comfort air-conditioning loads at stations.

3.2 DRIVING BOGIES AND BRAKING SYSTEM

100 kmph standard gauge 12 ton/14 ton axle load powered bogies –same as used in metro rails
with 4×110/115 Kw asynchronous 3 phase AC motors with power-regeneration and capable of

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peak 1.3m/sec acceleration. Electrical re-generative braking, coupled with compressed air disk
mechanical brakes and emergency/ idling mechanical brakes for stabling.

3.3 CAPACITY OF 20 M LONG TRAIN UNIT

Each Sky bus unit is 20m long having two compartments (3.25m x 9.5m) of 9.5 m connected
through vestibule door, can carry almost 300 persons at 5 persons/sq.m density peak. The 20 m
units can be attached to form a 3 unit, 60m long train of 1200 people’s capacity.

3.4 ROUTE CAPACITY, SECURITY AND SAFETY

A Sky bus route can thus be designed even at 60 sec headway, to carry 20,000 to 70,000
passengers per hour per direction in peak period. Continuous computerized central monitoring
and control with provision of audio/visual access for each coach for security. Distributed
intelligence systems with redundancy to provide protection against swinging under wind
loads/emergency localized control/ prevent over-loading/ emergency evacuation guidance.

3.5 TRACK CHANGES AND REVERSALS AT TERMINALS:

The reversal for the Sky buses at terminal points, to change tracks or go to depots happens
through traversers – mechanical auto driven systems capable of handling 60m consists of Sky
bus units.

3.6 ON LINE MAINTENANCE OF ROLLING STOCK AND TRACKS:

Maintenance is through continuous monitoring of vibration signatures, and directed by need

automatically by computerized systems- much more advanced than existing manual inspections

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only and periodic checks. All the sub-systems /elements are to existing UIC/Indian Railway
codal practices applicable to railway transport.

3.7 TERMINAL CONCEPT:

Current concept of a railway terminal replaced in this “grid” system, by a multi-point distributed
discharge and access-almost eliminating inter-modal transfers. Each station designed for
handling whatever commuters can arrive on a 4m wide foot-path- with waiting time less than one
minute.

3.8 LAND REQUIREMENTS FOR ROUTE, STATIONS AND AT DEPOTS:

All along the route the alignment is typically located on the median ( 1.2m diameter columns at
about 20m spacing) of the road, needing right of way at 6.5m above the road, the fixed structure
carrying railway tracks located at about 11m- thus avoiding claustrophobic effect for road users.
Typical road widths normally of 10m all along and at station locations 20m width for 60m length
desirable. Depots will be outside the urban areas, needing about 25 hectares land for services for
every 10 km route. Stations are located with access from existing footpaths, and over and above
existing roadways

4 TEST TRACK AT GOA AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SKYBUS

Test track allows testing new railway technologies in operational conditions, improving the
quality and the performance of rolling stock or infrastructure components, and putting reliable
and safe systems into service.

 Length : 1.6 KM
 Maximum Test Speed : 100KMPH

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 Steepest Gradient : 1 in50

 Radius of Sharpest Curve : 105 m
 Radius of Flatter Curve : 875 m
 Maximum Radius of vertical curve : 3375 m
 Power Supply :750 V DC through third rail

The pilot project was to connect Mapusa to Panaji. It was supposed to be a 10.5 km route in the
first phase. Rajaram’s concept got a nod from the PMO in May 2003. Tests were conducted at a
1.6 km long test-track at Madagaon, Goa, with grant of Rs 50 crore from the Railways.

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Table 1: Riding Characteristics

Speed Braking Vertical Transverse Longitudinal

Distance

Kmph Metres Max accn RI* Max accn RI Max accn RI

(g) (g)

60 136 0.036 1.703 0.026 1.788 0.053 2.136

70 174 0.122 2.692 0.04 2.003 0.077 2.395

comment Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent

*RI-Riding Index

Permissible limits: Max.Acceleration 0.3g going up to 0.35 g if no resonance is observed.

Riding Index(RI): 3.25 normal, can go up to 4

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5 COMPARISON OF SKY BUS AND METRO

From an economic point of view, SkyBus offers profitable proposition to the operator. Almost
24% of the investment can be recovered in the very first year of implementation. The operating
cost of Sky bus is about Rs 0.5 per km and that of metro is about Rs 2 per km, making the former
a cheaper mode of transport. Proposed Sky bus in Mumbai would cost Rs.60 crore per km, which
is less than 1/3rd of the cost of Delhi metro (Rs 215 per km). The total project cost for SkyBus is
about Rs.6000 crore, almost 1/12th of the cost incurred for metro. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) is said to fall in the trap of loss making corporations with losses amounting to 76.33
crore annually, as reported by The Financial Express a leading E-paper. Government of Andhra
Pradesh is in advanced stage of talks with Ministry of Urban Development and Konkan Railway
Corporation Limited for pursuing SkyBus project for its capital city Hyderabad. SkyBus works
on the principle of smaller units carrying smaller loads but at a high frequency, easily accessible
from roads

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SKY BUS AT A GLANCE 

Gauge Standard Gauge - 1435 mm

Gradient 1 in 60 max ( 1 in 50 compensated)

Curves     Minimum radius of curvature 100/250 m.

Platform Access
Automatic turnstiles

Automatic doors
Coach Access

Three phase power supply- converted to 750 V DC - 3rd rail

Power Supply current collection

Moving Block, Auto Driving Device,Anti Collision Device

Type of Signaling developed  by Konkan Railway

36 to 47 Km/h depending on Station intervals

Average Speed

100 Km/h
Max. Speed

150 * 2 passengers at 5.6 persons /sq. m

Capacity Maximum

1.3m / sec/sec (max)

Acceleration

Frequency of service 2 - 3 Minutes

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Max. 48 T (loaded)
Weight (Twin car)

0.5 Km to 1.2 Km
DistancebetweenSky Stations

0.5 Km to 1.2 Km
Stations

Coach Air - Conditioned comfort

Length*Width 9.25m * 3.15 m

Height 2.40 m

Material Steel + Poly-carbonate

Type of propulsion 3 ph AC asynchronous motors

Motor Rating 4 * 115 KW

Commuter rate of flow from300 Nos. in 15 seconds

Bus

Differently enabled persons Special access facility & audio- visual information.

6 ADVANTAGES OF SKYBUS

The advantages of Sky Bus are discussed below

 Fast transportation
 No land acquisition problem
 No demolition of structures
 No vandalism

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 Fire protection
 No capsizing
 Low operational cost
 No interference with normal road traffic
 Low capital cost
 Better capacity
 Fast execution
 No pollution
 No traffic jams and less waiting time
 Comfort, amenity and luxury

7 CONCLUSION

The Sky Bus technology offered by Konkan Railway Corporation meets the above requirements,
and re-defines the thinking and planning for urban transport being an Eco-friendly Mass urban
transport system revolutionizing urban life. It is a patented technology developed for the new
millennium and will cause a paradigm shift in urban transportation all over the world. Being an
indigenous technology, it will place India on the forefront of the Rapid Transit Industry all over
the world while providing the much needed alternative transportation solution, which is
financially viable, environment friendly, synergizing well proven existing cutting edge
technologies.

The SkyBus is the technology breakthrough that India has achieved. It can be put up in any
congested and crowded city within two years for ease and safe transportation, without loss of
time. Each Sky bus unit is 20m long having two compartments (3.25m x 9.5m) of 9.5 m
connected through vestibule door, can carry almost 300 persons at 5 persons/sq.m density peak.

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It is equipped with safety features such as derailment arrestors which is a unique feature which
other systems lack, swing arrestors to withstand wind forces and thus preventing toppling of
coaches. It is an improved railway technology, eliminating the problems of existing metro rail
systems, like, derailments collisions, and capsizing crushing people. At the cost of Rs. 50 Crore
per km. in India, the system is noise – free and pollution–free with a capacity to transport 36000
passengers per hour (pph), scalable to 72,000 pph as required. Sky bus is an improved railway
technology eliminating their fears of derailments and capsizing from which they suffered for
decades!

Finally SkyBus Metro makes urban transport a dream come true for administrators- virtually free
gift to people without Government fund in. What needs to be done is to eliminate the doubt in
our minds, and adopt the Sky bus, if we want to really solve the urban transport crisis. The Sky
Bus metro is one single technology which can change the face of our cities, take out almost 10
million road vehicles in the cities and make the cities livable, improving quality of life and
attract and sustain economic activity to generate wealth

8 REFERENCES

1. Drupad M.Dodiya,Mahavir A.Chopra and Prof.V.J Chitaria(2013)."Feasibility of Sky Bus in

Urban Area”. Indian Journal Of Research, Vol: 2,Issue:4,187-189.

2.Laura Cecilia Cham(2005). "Understanding Bus Service Reliability". M.S Thesis,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,U.S

3. Sanjay Kumar Singh(2012). "Urban Transport in India: issues, challenges and way forward".

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European Transport,Vol:2012,Issue 52,9

4.Cervero and Robert(1998), "The Transit Metropolis - A Global Inquiry".

ISBN-10:1559635916

5."Statistics”,< http://www.neoncarrot.co.uk/h_aboutindia/india-statistics>.

6."Modal shift”,Indian Road Network < http://www.nhai.org/roadnetwork.htm>

7.B.Sudhakara Reddy and P.Balachandra(2010)."Dynamics of Urban Mobility".

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research,Mumbai

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