Mass Transit - 32

A New Age for

Streetcars
While technology innovations contribute to
a safe and clean vehicle, rethinking existing
solutions, like seating material and seating
configurations, can also help address
newfound safety concerns.
By Megan Perrero, assistant editor

P

UBLIC TRANSIT IS ALways focused on providing
clean, efficient and, above
all, safe transportation
to its riders; and now, in
the midst of a global pandemic, safety has come to
the forefront and is being
addressed in a more holistic way.
For streetcars and light-rail
vehicles, this means considering
how existing solutions can help
mitigate the spread of COVID-19
while also buckling down on technology and safety improvements
such as air filtration and remote
capabilities. Although suppliers
report there has not been much
change to existing orders, they
are already exploring new features
that not only address concerns of
today, but also anticipate what
agencies and passengers will need
in the future.

Ensuring Quality Air
Flow, Cleanly Surfaces

The pandemic has spurred recent
innovations to not only ensure surfaces are thoroughly cleaned, like
applications with UV light, but also
to improve the cycling of air within
transit vehicles, such as solutions
with advanced filtering integration.
At Siemens Mobility, the company is testing a new cleaning

32 |

concept that provides continued
air and surface treatment that has
successfully removed COVID-19
particles in previous testing within ships and buses, explains Marc
Buncher, president and CEO of
Siemens Mobility in North America. This is incorporated into the
HVAC systems and uses charged/
ionized particle cleaning.
" [The technology] is referred to
as Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization
technology and it reduces the level
of airborne particles, which can
act as a transport mechanism for
viruses, pathogens and bacteria
by creating positive and negative
ions, " said Buncher. " The technology is certified as ozone-free and
100-percent safe to humans. "
Siemens Mobility is also considering a heat treatment that would
heat a car to 133 degrees in areas
where there's enough time to cool
down before it's used again, and
how it can use air flow simulation
studies to better design equipment
layouts to optimize air quality.
Noah Heulitt, vice president,
Rolling Stock Business Development, Alstom North America,
shares Alstom is also in discussions with its customers who have
existing orders about how the design of certain systems, such as air
flow and filtration, can be adjusted.

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | NOVEMBER 2020

" [Additionally,] where many
agencies have adopted UV lightBROOKVILLES'S
ing as part of cleaning operations,
STREETCARS can
Alstom is actively investigating
come equipped
permanently embedded UV-C
with real-time
lighting within the interiors of
data connectivity
rolling stock, " Heulitt said.
and GPS location
that can be paired
Bombardier Transportation is
with automatic
also improving its HVAC offerpassenger counter
ings with a new series of antiviral
systems.
filters that capture virus carriers,
like water, dust and aerosols,
while eliminating the virus itself with a unique impregnation
technology, explains Ian Hodkinson, head of Technical Sales
and Marketing - Transit Systems,
Americas Region, Bombardier
Siemens Mobility
Transportation. The filters are
available in a range of sizes and
thicknesses, allowing them to be
integrated with existing HVAC
SIEMENS MOBILITY
systems or new car builds.
is exploring a
" Their effectiveness has already
heat treatment
that would heat
been tested in a laboratory envia car greater
ronment and further pilot prothan 100 degrees
grams are ongoing, " Hodkinson
in areas when
said. " When combined with the
there's enough
frequent door openings and clotime to cool
sures on light-rail vehicles and
down before it's
metro vehicles, passengers can
used again.
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
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