Whether it is possible and how to build the transcontinental platforms of non-stop movement of trains and cars?
(Great association of road lines, cables and pipelines inside single volume)
Abstract
New two-level pile highways on a steel frame for transport corridors, providing non-stop movement of trains, cars, characterized by relatively low costs and capable to combine in one volume the non-stop movement of railway transport, motor transport, transfer of raw materials on pipelines, information on cables.
Key words: movement, transport, traffic jams, highways, overpasses, buffer lanes.
Existing approach now in the world suggests a separate move along transport corridors of motor transport, railway transport as well as laying pipelines, communication systems, electric power lines, that is expensive and inefficient in many respects. This approach often takes away fertile lands from users, pollutes a surrounding environment, outdated methods of movement of vehicles are applied in practice.
Revealing of shortcomings of this approach gave the chance to develop the new compact road designs providing unceasing movement of vehicles in single volume of the combined transport pile platform on the basis of a steel framework at the expense of introduction of the through buffer lanes for trains and other vehicles, as well as the interstorey crossings for vehicles.
The construction can also be used for an attaching on it of cables and pipelines. The similar construction can be used as the overpass. These and similar constructions will give the chance to intensify sharply commodity turnover, they will be a additional sales market of metal rolling and cement, will allow to master desert territories, as well as they will increase significantly mobility of population and will improve life of population.
For movement of various freights, materials on long distances still traditional ways are used now, namely: shipping, railway transport, motor transport and aircraft.
All these types of transportation have essential shortcomings: shipping occupy the long time, air transportation is too expensive as well as mostly transportation of freights by motor transport, rail transportation are limited to weak network of the railroads in the majority of the countries of the world and - by rather small channel capacity of the railroads for freight transportation.
Now China is world factory of all goods practically. Each two containers with freights are being transported from it to the different countries of the world in enormous volume.
Therefore, the problem of cheap and fast transportations of containers from China and to China rises to the utmost.
If to organize such transportations, they will replace substantially sluggish shipping.
Our concept promoting the solution of this problem, consists in creation of extended, inexpensive roads for delivery, in particular, of containers without overload from loading point to the destination by the organization of unceasing movement of trains with containers on the pile highway-platform with use when movement in one party of two tracks.
One path, or track is used for movement of trains, another track is reserve, or buffer [1].
Thus, trains will be able to move on track of movement with minimum possible intervals as there is a reserve track near this track, regularly bound to a movement track on which thereof it is possible to move out for a stop, unloading or at accident in the allocated places and at any time, not to obstruct movement of other trains.
As a result, trains follow one after another along the movement track with a small gap that is provided by the automated loading (unloading) of trains by containers in the corresponding terminals.
It means that effectiveness of transportations increases significantly, expenses are cut multiply. Thereby they are approaching the cost of Maritime transportations outstripping them on the time spent of freights in a way several times.
Similar inexpensive pile highways can be carried out quickly in any district and on any soil as they are formed from standard metal blocks on a framework from metal pipes. They can be used in all directions of transportations which are absent nowadays or in that case, if the channel capacity of available railway lines is insufficient.
These directions can be such.
Transport corridor Western Europe – East and Western China. This corridor can replace substantially transportation of freights by courts through the Suez Canal. In this case the main transit country, Russia, will receive considerable material benefits from transportation of freights through its territory. And Russia can use this through transport artery for own internal needs in the presence of the corresponding branches from it to various regions. Importance of it for Russia is undoubted owing to its immense territory, enormous quantity of different remote deposits and, at the same time, lack of a dense road network, or in general lack of any road network.
In particular, the Baikal-Amur highway prolonged to the North as the majority of large-scale deposit of Eastern Siberia is not developed still can be one of such branches. Relevance of the technical solution proposed by us is caused in addition to having noted above by that, unlike long and laborious construction of the bulk railroad, the pile platform can be quickly mounted from standard blocks in the closed option in order to the temperature changes (winter frosts, summer heat) practically did not influence a condition of tracks and the train rolling stock. Besides, the condition of the pile road is not influenced by existence in this territory of permafrost. And the closed platform can be used partially at the bottom level and completely at the second level for movement of the motor transport in stable temperature environment. If necessary pipelines and cables in the same place can be suspended and fixed. Thus, the highway turns out combined, reliable, multipurpose and uncontested as it is impossible in Siberia to construct other roads or they will be unreliable and inefficient. This design allows also quickly and reliably to connect the Trans-Siberian corridor to Yakutsk, Magadan, Chukotka, Kamchatka of what earlier even could not think.
Similar branches from the Trans-Siberian corridor can be made towards the countries of Central Asia up to Iran through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
The transport corridor on the basis of the offered combined pile two-storey highway-platform of unceasing movement on the basis of a steel framework can be quickly and rather cheap carried out, for example, in the north of Russia from Arkhangelsk through Perm to Solikamsk.
This highway will reduce considerably distance of transportations between Scandinavian-Baltic and East Asian regions as well as it will allow to master number of large-scale natural deposits. This route will create the shortest exit of the Komi Republic to the Urals, and from Ural – to Arkhangelsk, Karelia, ports of Finland. About advantages of installation of a new design in severe northern conditions we already wrote above.
Perspective transport corridor for realization of the offered design is Trans-Amazonian Highway which length makes 5.5 thousand km and which represents mainly a dirt road. The pile combined platform can solve all main problems of movement of freights and vehicles from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and back.
The enormous and poorly occupied territories of Canada as well can be mastered substantially by means of offered metal structure.
It should be noted also possibility of application of a similar pile two-storey design as the overpass for unceasing movement on it practically any number of vehicles, trams in city conditions and railway transport together with vehicles in places of crossing of highways, over natural obstacles, etc.
Volumes of installation of the extended combined highways on a steel basis and application as a paving steel-fiber-concrete on many directions will demand the considerable volume of metal rolling and cement that in itself, except, of course, intensification of a cargo transportation, will sharply recover metallurgical and cement branches and will serve as an important factor in mitigation of existing crisis.
The metal pile structures of the inexpensive compact transport and transporting highways (CTTH) quickly under construction, uniting in one volume railway tracks, automobile lanes, pipelines, communication links and etc. are still unknown. Similar CTTH could provide, in particular, the continuous conducting of container freights from Europe to Asia and back, from South America to North America, unceasing movement of vehicles along the corridor in any weather and at any loading of the route, transfer of fluid environments on pipelines and information transfer on wires.
As for the separate railroads, highways, communication links, pipelines, even situated in one transport corridor, they have number of essential shortcomings.
Transport corridors withdraw from circulation the grounds which in number of regions is the only source of existence of many thousands people.
Transport corridors substantially break an ecosystem both during of laying of roads and other communications, and at operation.
Transport corridors can be easily blocked, for example, because of a soil subsidence under the road, earthquakes, drift of corridors by sand, washouts by rains, collapses of designs owing to frost, heat, temperature differences, etc.
Conducting of corridors on any soils and in any conditions isn't provided, beginning from permafrost and finishing deserts.
Movement by Rail traffic isn't coordinated with movement of vehicles on highways. In particular, the choice for drivers of vehicles isn't provided – whether to move them independently or to download the vehicle on a platform and part of a way to do together with the vehicle by train.
Traffic jams emerge at an overload of a highway here, and the railway line of similar corridor has low throughput.
Whether these difficulties are insuperable or nevertheless it is possible to develop the designs, giving the chance to overcome the specified shortcomings?
The specified difficulties and shortcomings of traditional road systems are quite surmountable if to use the simple pile two-storey road design on a steel framework, with steel spans, buffer lanes and bound storeys [1].
This design can be used and as the city unloading overpass [2], and as the city elevated highway providing movement without traffic jams [3], and as the compact thoroughfare uniting in own volume the systems for non-stop movement of trains, cars, fluid environments on pipelines and etc. [1].
Thus, the transport corridor may contain not separate ground transport systems, but it may contain the combined on height and width pile CTTH which in the conditions of frigid or rainy climate is carried out in the form of the two-level construction covered from above or closed also on each side.
It, on the average, contains on two lanes for cars in each direction at the bottom level and on one railway line in each direction party at the same level (only 4 automobile lanes and two railway tracks) at two-way traffic.
Along with lanes mainly for the trucks, two buffer (reserve-technical) lanes are situated at the bottom level. Buffer strips are applied on the highway only to entrance, exit of cars and a detour by them places of accidents or repair.
There are on one reserve (buffer) track in each direction of movement of trains at the edges of a platform at the bottom level. These lanes are generally used for transfer of trains on them in case of the accidents planned and compelled stops, than unceasing movement of trains on tracks of movements is provided.
Thus, four railway tracks are provided at least on the bottom level, and the buffer track and the movement track anyway through particular intervals are connected among themselves by crossings with the corresponding automatic equipment.
There are on the top level on three lanes in each direction for cars and on one buffer lane on the edges of the platform.
In total there are at both levels: 2 tracks for movement of trains, 10 lanes for cars, 2 buffer tracks for trains and 4 buffer lanes for cars.
The design is steady during earthquakes it is not overflowed at floods and quickly gathers from the standard sections. The resource of this metal pile frame structure – about 100 years. The economic assessment of expenses for installation of a compact two-level platform from metal rolling as bases of a transport and transporting corridor showed that expenses make for described above option about $10 million (on 1 km) on condition of manufacture of the standard sections of the structure by production way and their assembly by screwing together (on bolts) with a welding minimum.
Ecological safety of the design is provided in case of need by the regular installation in its closed space of exhaust fans with dischargers-converters of harmful exhaust.
The similar design can be installed and over the main city highways at the expense of what two additional levels arises there, connected among themselves and ground level that by 3-4 times increases throughput of highways regarding cars. Cars can move on it without congestion and jams, and the cargo and public transport, for example, can move on ground highways. At the same time the design, if necessary, can serve for conducting in the most loaded directions of cheap elevated road-train or electric trains, some kind of analog of the subway [3,4,5].
The design, allowing to unite in one compact volume streams of the main ground vehicles, pipelines and cables, at the same time divides them in volume – one transport stream in the form of passenger cars goes generally on the second level of CTTH, other transport streams in the form of trucks and trains go on the bottom level, where for them on a metal platform the corresponding lanes, at least, one for auto trucks are allocated, another – for trains, and on each edge of a platform is placed reserve-technical lanes serving not for journey, and as the buffer.
Passenger cars can drive in the corresponding entry-ramps on the first storey and move on it together with trucks. Cars also can move to the second and the subsequent storeys intended by the most part for them on interstorey external crossings [1] or internal crossings executed in shape of a wavy lanes with flattening [5], and if lanes of the first storey are filled by transport to drive at once from the ground road on the second storey or the subsequent storeys of CTTH and to move down from them respectively along entries and exits.
Nearby, at least, with both lanes of the second storey are placed buffer lanes serving for ensuring unceasing movement of cars on lanes without congestion and traffic jams. They are used as reserve and technical lanes, i.e. only for entrance on lanes, departure with them, moving on other storeys as well as at bypass of places of accidents or repair [5,6].
Throughput of CTTH depends on number of lanes on each storey and on number of storeys, and the construction with internal and/or external crossings provides fast distribution of vehicles on storeys. Besides, in procedure of moving of passenger cars and - to some extent - trucks on CTTH there is a choice: they can move not only as it was told above, on the lanes of CTTH, but also to drive at a stop of trains on open platforms for transportation of vehicles on the distances which are defined only by a place of stopping trains.
CTTH in the form of a multilevel highway-platform is characterized also by possibility of coordination of inflow of vehicles from lateral entries to it with its throughput and preliminary coordination of outflow of vehicles from CTTH with throughput of roads near CTTH. Therefore, the maximum loading of CTTH, for example, in rush hours won't lead to suspending of entrance of vehicles on CTTH and suspending of departure of vehicles from it. Besides, at force majeur situations it is possible to use improved by us technique of controlled entrance of vehicles on CTTH (ramp metering) providing high-speed unceasing movement of vehicles along lanes of CTTH practically at any number of vehicles aiming on CTTHL [7].
The uniformity of sections of CTTH, possibility of production of all its elements in industrial conditions generally from rather inexpensive rolled metal provide fast assembly and installation of CTTH as well as its low prime cost.
Possibility of placing of all lanes of CTTH in the closed volume with use of ventilating fans and converter-neutralizers of a harmful exhaust allow reducing noise and air pollution outside CTTH, to reduce air pollution inside CTTH. There is also no noise out of limits CTTH. Lanes are protected from environment influence. Life cycle of lanes is significantly extended in comparison with life cycle of road coating of usual open highways.
Similar multilevel highway-platforms for new road routes do unnecessary construction of usual ground highways with formation of an expensive multilayered road cloth and its subsequent expensive repair. Besides, it is possible to install highway-platforms and at low height over the surface of the ground, raising their level only at intersection with other highways and constructions. The two-level CTTH besides is cheaper of a ground highway, having the same number of lanes. CTTH has higher throughput in comparison with a ground highway of the same width and can be installed at rather small expenses in places where to construct roads difficult or expensively.
The considered design of CTTH allows also entries, exits, interstorey crossings for vehicles to mount so, how it is dictated by a situation and at any distances from each other, for example, is rather frequent for the densely populated district and is rather rare for long-distance routes.
Possibility of installation of entries and exits with outer sides of CTTH not only from ground roads to the first storey, but also, for example, from ground roads directly to the top storey, provides fast entrance and departure of cars as well as their fast passage on lanes of the top storey less loaded by cars [1,3].
Costs of installation of CTTH of two-way traffic for transport-transporting corridor with ten automobile lanes and four buffer lanes, two operating railway tracks and two railway buffer tracks below than costs of building only six-lane ground highway.
Besides, the closed space of CTTH allows to be organized with application of already known means movement of cars and trains without participation of drivers.
Compact transport and transporting corridors of this type can be carried out depending on conditions to both directions in the form of separate highways of one-way traffic or in the form of uniform highways of two-way traffic.
Taking into account the specified items of expenditure the cost of 1 km of the equipped two-level CTTH will make $10.1mln.
In particular, the construction of such a compact and efficient KTTM between St. Petersburg and Moscow (650 km) at a cost will cost only $ 6.5 billion, that is, 2.6 times cheaper than the projected land highway (550 billion rubles or $ 18 billion) with fewer lanes. It is also necessary to take into account the speed of its installation (about one year).
The ground highway has the following known shortcomings of ground highways: frequent repair, traffic jams, insufficient throughput, practical impossibility of expansion, etc. And the two-level CTTH (10 lanes) provides without emergence of traffic jams on it throughput about 20 thousand vehicles per hour (480 thousand cars per day). Besides, design provides unceasing movement of vehicles at a speed not less than 40 (60) km/h. Buffer tracks provide unceasing movement of trains on operating tracks with minimum possible intervals between them. It will allow to be increased, in particular, more than by 10 times the volume of transported containers with freights.
Weight of the two-level CTTH on the basis of steel framework, putting pressure upon supports, makes: 5700 (steel) + 6040 (concrete) = 11740 tons.
To this weight mass of pipelines can be added. If number of branches of pipelines makes 4 with diameter of tube 1 meter and thickness of tube wall about 10 mm, mass of pipe ducts without contents will make 1000 tons, and with contents (water) - 4200 tons that will increase load of bearing parts to 15940 tons.
Up to 300 cars on the average on 2 tons every can be at the same time in movement at the top level (6 lanes) of CTTH of the specified construction, or 600 tons. Up to 200 trucks on the average on 10 tons every can be at the same time in movement at the bottom level (4 lanes) of CTTH of the specified construction, or 2000 tons. The maximum mass of vehicles on 1 km of the construction can make about 2600 tons.
Loaded trains can be on two lanes and two reserve (buffer) lanes of the bottom level. Mass of the standard covered carriage is 30 tons, the loading capacity – 70 tons, lump – 100 tons. On one kilometer (the carriage length makes 14 m) in hitch can fall about 66 carriages. Thus, in limit case 26400 tons are on four tracks of the bottom level.
Mass of a two-level CTTH with the specified limit loading makes about 45 thousand tons.
This weight puts pressure upon 100 steel supports-columns with diameter of each 50cm, cross section of each 44300mm;. Thus 450 000 000 newton puts pressure upon the total area of columns on cross section 4 430 000 mm;, or one square millimeter is exposed to pressure 101n/mm;. The design has approximately 6-fold safety margin at limit of durability of steel 600n/mm;.
In summary we will tell: the main thing for movement of trains on transport corridor with use of CTTH and respectively with use of buffer tracks is its continuousness. It is favorable to transfer on long distances practically any volume of container freights in the presence of the corresponding terminals from an economic position. Therefore, if to install CTTH over the operating railway line, having low throughput, or near it, for example, near the Trans-Siberian Railway, it is possible to use already ready railway infrastructure, having been modified it and having been increased its terminals.
At this to use available in CTTH of the tracks of movement in this case it is the most expedient only for unceasing conveyance of trains with containers. Other passenger and cargo trains can be passed, as before, on a ground railroad.
The thesis statement of material assumes at the corresponding interest more detailed acquaintance with this problem, for example, on the websites www.proza.ru and www.ecolife.ru
List of reference
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