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Personal and Public Transport
Quick questions on Light rail and public transport engineering: HSC Engineering Studies Personal and Public Transport
7short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is what light rail and metro are?Show answer
Light rail vehicles (LRVs) are articulated electric multiple units that share urban streets with road traffic at low speeds, or run on segregated track at moderate speeds. They draw power from an overhead catenary or, in some sections, from ground-level conductors. Sydney's CBD and South East Light Rail uses ACS (Alstom Citadis) trams with ground-level current collection through George Street to protect the streetscape.
What is capacity and energy?Show answer
Passenger capacity per vehicle:
What is why public transport is more efficient?Show answer
1. Steel-on-steel rolling resistance. A loaded steel wheel on a steel rail has rolling resistance about 1 to 2 N per kN of vehicle weight, ten times less than a road tyre on bitumen. 2. Regenerative braking with grid return. Energy from decelerating trains is returned to the catenary and reused by accelerating trains nearby (or stored in trackside capacitors).
What is engineering reports?Show answer
For HSC engineering reports, students should be able to identify the system, list its components with their role, perform a passenger-capacity and energy calculation, justify the engineering choices (steel wheel, electric traction, regenerative braking), and compare with a private-vehicle alternative.
What is ignoring grid emissions?Show answer
Electric trains use no fuel on board, but their emissions depend on the grid mix. On a coal-heavy grid the lifecycle benefit shrinks (but is still positive thanks to efficiency).
What is forgetting infrastructure cost?Show answer
Light rail capital cost is about A300 to $500 million per kilometre. The energy efficiency only pays off at high passenger volumes.
What is not naming Australian examples?Show answer
NESA marker prefers specifics: Sydney Metro, CBD Light Rail (CSELR), G:link, Adelaide Glenelg tram, Melbourne tram network. :::
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