Energy efficiency due to external electric power and streamlining 

  • An overhead –powered electric bus uses 1/3 of the energy of a comparable diesel bus

  (Source: BC Vancouver Transit Electric-trolley Bus versus Diesel Bus) 

  • Similarly a Intermodal vehicle in rail mode (electric)  uses 1/4 of the energy compared to road mode (diesel)

  (Source: Japan Rail Hokkaido Dual Mode Vehicle) 

  • Rail based vehicles produce 1/4 of greenhouse gas (GHG) emmissions per ton-kilometre than road based trucks and considerably less air pollutants

  (Source: German Environmental Agency  - Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris)

  • Streamlining reduces consumption to 1/3 - 25l/100km versus 10 l/100km per single container - 20t Containertruck uses 25 l Diesel /100km, with 2 x20t Container 32 l/100km, with 3 x20t Container 37l/100km, 

  (Source: Gigaliner Study KBA & BAG 2003) 

  • Platooning (streamlining of trucks on the road) is being tested by for example the SATRE project - This is projecting  a 20% savings in consumption - this is due to the still fairly large gap required between trucks compared to the 1/2m gap possible between rail based vehicles.

 

Freight transport projections in Germany Road vs. Rail 

Rail usage has stayed fairly constant and is projected to rise slightly while road usage has risen dramatically and is projected to further massively rise

  ((Source: German Environmental Agency  - Transport Research Arena 2014, Paris)

 

 

  

 

Current Railway systems have 2 capacity bottlenecks.

  1. Long intervals between the trains due to external switching. In urban trains this means a train every 2 minutes, ie 30 trains per hour.
     
  2. Stations can only handle limited amounts of passengers.  The more centralized a railway system becomes, the larger the stations need to be. This leads to long interchange times, effectively inhibiting throughput.

 

Capacity (single lane) & Consumption Comparisons

DTS Train consists of max. 30 vehicles Max. No. of vehicles per hour Max. No. of Passengers per vehicle / Train Normal Occupancy rate / Max.No. of Passengers per hour Energy used per Passenger / ton - Diesel equivalent in l / 100km
         
Automobile 1800 4 33% / 2.400 3,2
DTS Train - Taxis 360 120 33% / 14.400 0,3
         
Long DistanceTrain 12 1.000 33% / 4.000 3,4
Subway / Urban Train 30 1.000 66% / 20.000 1,0
Bus 1200 80 33% / 32.000 1,2
DTS Train -Buses / Carriages 120 2.400 33% / 96.000 0,15
DTS Train on Road with Tramway -Buses  180 2.400 33% / 144.000 0,15
         
Containertruck 1200 20t 24.000t 1,5
DTS Train -Containers 120 600t 72.000t 0,15
DTS Train on Road with Tramway -Containers 180 600t 108.000t 0,15

 

Definitions 

  • DTS Tramway - Dedicated roads with DTS tramway rails - Allows Road vehicles with DTS technology to form Dynamic Trains on a low cost infrastructure- Braking Distance (BD) 1/3 of Rail
     
  • PRT - Personal Rapid Transit vehicles with DTS technology - 6 Passengers
  • ART - Automotive Rapid Transit vehicles with DTS technology - 1 Car
  • HDRT - Heavy Duty Rapid Transit vehicles with DTS technology - 1 Truck or Container (20t)
     
  • DTS Taxi - Battery powered Taxi with DTS technology - 4 Persons 
     
  • DTS-Linked-Rail - Up to 30 Intermodal Buses / Passenger Wagons (80 passengers) that can dynamically link on normal railway tracks. Maximum length = 30x11m+400m BD = 750m
  • DTS-Linked-Tramway - Intermodal Buses (with 80 passengers) that can dynamically link on DTS Tramway. Maximum length = 30x11m+150m BD = 500m
  • DTS PRT/ART - Up to 30 PRT /ART vehicles in a Dynamic Train on Rail. Maximum length = 30x5m+100m BD = 250m 
  • DTS-Cargo-Rail - Up to 30 Intermodal Trucks / HDRT in a Dynamic Train - Maximum length = 30x11m+400m BD = 750m
  • DTS-Cargo-Tramway - Up to 30 DTS Trucks in a Dynamic Train on DTS Roads - Maximum length = 30x11m+150m BD = 5000m

 

Comparison of different transport modes

  Cost Time  Comfort Ecology Utilization City Regional Long Distance
Private Car - - + -- 6% - + +
Car Sharing - - ++ - 5% + -- --
Taxi -- - ++ -- 33% ++ -- --
DTS Taxi + ++ ++ ++ 50% ++ ++ ++
Public Transport ++ -- -- + 33% + - -
DTS Rapid Transit ++ + + ++ 50% + ++ ++

Utilization is defined as % time driving and not parked