News & Discussion: O-Bahn

[bits]

Golden Grove Road was recently upgraded to have priority bus lanes through intersections out to the new area. Those buses directly feed in/out the o-bahn.
Perhaps the stables shopping centre will eventually have a bus interchange and a park n ride also.
The TTP/GG area has good bus connections to the City/Marion and to Salisbury/Elizabeth.
So PT for the area should be fine.

[bits]

Golden Grove Park n Ride at 9am on a Tuesday.

[baytram366]

You would think they would install some shade sails or protection up on that top level. That would be like an oven in summer

[[Shuz]]

Perfect spot for cooking up a massive BBQ in the summer up there!

[MT269]

Typical South Australian build now, think afterwards polly culture.

[1NEEDS2POST]

If you're going to electrify the obahn and have electric buses running on it, wouldn't it make sense to either have overhead wires, or a 'powered' rail down the centre at 'ground' level like some tram systems have to power them?
I'm sure with some government funding as an incentive, the firm that builds the buses here in Adelaide could develop a charging system. Perhaps even have it adaptable to be deployed across the road network in appropriate sections? Could be a potential export windfall considering the world is moving away from combustion engines.

Overhead wire systems are reliable and able to be used by anyone. There are systems for street level charging, but they are proprietary...and as Sydney is finding out, subject to lots of breakdowns. Plus, of course, if you install a proprietary system, then you are tied into that somewhat for upgrades and replacements. People have been trying for over 100 years to develop a reliable and safe road level charging system for transport. Often the problem is that the charging system remains "live" after the vehicle passes, making it unsafe. Otoh, if it is made safe enough for that not to happen, it tends to fail in the other direction, and vehicles get stuck on dead sections. At which point, they are advised to get bigger batteries. That begs the question of why bother with road level charging?

Unsafe for streets with pedestrians crossing. But the O-Bahn is in a dedicated corridor without cars or pedestrians. This is about the only place where a live fourth rail could be used safely. For obvious reasons there would be no fourth rail in the interchange.

This system already exists in Sweden, it's only powered when a vehicle is over that section of track.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_T ... ad_program

[MT269]

Is there any chance you could embed the info you linked to in a subsequent post? For some reason, the AV program isn't liking the link. Can't make sense of why.

[Waewick]

I heard somewhere about the obahn being at the end of its lifespan

The only thing i can find is an old indaily article from 2013

I assume they'll keep it running until the South Rd upgrade is done and the state has access to more money to rebuild it?

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[1NEEDS2POST]

I heard somewhere about the obahn being at the end of its lifespan

The only thing i can find is an old indaily article from 2013

I assume they'll keep it running until the South Rd upgrade is done and the state has access to more money to rebuild it?

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

What would make it end of lifespan? I don't see many cracks in the concrete.

[claybro]

I heard somewhere about the obahn being at the end of its lifespan

The only thing i can find is an old indaily article from 2013

I assume they'll keep it running until the South Rd upgrade is done and the state has access to more money to rebuild it?

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

What would make it end of lifespan? I don't see many cracks in the concrete.

Concrete cracks are not always visible on the surface, and there are other issues like subsidence from the footings. On my last trip on the Obahn probably about 3 years ago, after not having travelled for 15 years prior, it was a noticeably bumpier ride than previously- although i'm not sure if that was the newer buses not being the same quality as the old Mercs.

[Spotto]

I heard somewhere about the obahn being at the end of its lifespan

The only thing i can find is an old indaily article from 2013

I assume they'll keep it running until the South Rd upgrade is done and the state has access to more money to rebuild it?

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

What would make it end of lifespan? I don't see many cracks in the concrete.

Concrete cracks are not always visible on the surface, and there are other issues like subsidence from the footings. On my last trip on the Obahn probably about 3 years ago, after not having travelled for 15 years prior, it was a noticeably bumpier ride than previously- although i'm not sure if that was the newer buses not being the same quality as the old Mercs.

The Mercs served the O-Bahn for several decades and their wheels slowly wore grooves into the concrete tracks (normal wear and tear). The newer buses have different wheelbase widths so the tyres don’t line up with those wear grooves which make the ride bumpy. This is the reason why the speed was lowered a decade ago.

https://www.indaily.com.au/news/2013/1 ... nd-of-life

[Waewick]

That is what they were discussing.

I didnt take it as a knock on the obahn, more the discussion around how they were going to do works given its popularity.

I am assuming this is a potential project for after South Rd has finished and the state can get transport funding for another significant piece of infrastructure

[AG]

That is what they were discussing.

I didnt take it as a knock on the obahn, more the discussion around how they were going to do works given its popularity.

I am assuming this is a potential project for after South Rd has finished and the state can get transport funding for another significant piece of infrastructure

The approach to upgrading the O-Bahn should not be drastically different to renewing a rail corridor. The Gawler Line was closed for significant track renewal, station upgrade and electrification works for an extensive period of time not too long ago. Inevitably, the O-Bahn will need to close for an extended period at some point while renewal works of the concrete guideways, the bridges and the interchanges take place.

[abc]

they spent all that money on building a tunnel through Rymill Park, they're not going to completely neglect or phase out O-Bahn any time soon

[Nort]

I expect any refurbishment would happen in stages, so that up to half the existing route can be in use at any one time, minimising the time spent on alternate routes