Questions and Answers  Explain guideway placement and construction?  The System  requires only a 5' X 10' plot of land every 100' for supporting T-columns.  The land used is publicly owned right-of-ways along freeways.  The guideways are modularly constructed off site and trucked over the freeway during low drive times.  Guideways are then placed on either side of T-columns for bi-directional travel.   The results:  faster construction, lower costs, less disruption for drivers.  Why is High Passenger Capacity Important?  21’ wide cabin with 65-75 mph cruise speed has the highest capacity per linear measure of guideway for a given time period.  Important because this provides the operator the highest passenger load factor and lowest passenger or seat cost. What is the system power?  Electric power.  Important for meeting EPA requirements plus in selected locations, optional photovoltaic panels can be placed on guideway.  Why is Superior Passenger Comfort needed in urban transit?  Or, Why the Big Box?  To attract and hold the discretionary traveler (reference the Vision page on this site).  The passenger is offered a wide comfort seat.  Every seat is accessible directly from 1 of 3 aisles.  WiFi and Plasma TVs are available.  The Goal is to provide a positive atmosphere and a like experience found in coffee houses and executive offices.  Important because it attracts transit riders.  Develops positive talk.   What Secondary Benefits are derived with wide the cabin, "Big Box", interior?  (1) The flat entry from the station into FasTran's passenger cabin benefits wheelchair movement.  (2) When permitted by the transit agency, bicycles and personal electric vehicles can be boarded.   The "Big Box" cabin benefit closes the transportation loop to and from home, work, shopping, entertainment and other desired destinations. How is the vehicle propelled?  Off-the-shelf Components.  Systems and subsystems are light rail.  Important because operators can continue to use proven components, have excellent availability and match current parts inventory and training. How is aerial safety addressed?  (1) The Vehicle is geometrically impossible to derail from guideway.         (2)  Vehicle's balance wheel structure has two built-in emergency egress slides that deliver egressed passengers to a dedicated  walkway between the bi-directional guideways.  Egressed passengers are positioned away from the third rail.  Is an earth quake design available?  The best in current earth quake design and guidebeam attachment technology has been incorporated. How can this widebodied vehicle turn within the confines of existing city streets?  (1) The vehicle is mounted on two light rail trucks that operate independently in the turn (like a street car).  (2)  The guideway is slanted at 17 degrees, thus the guideway's super-elevation (slope design) aids both right and left turns.  How is the vehicle switched from one guideway to a second?  Robotic "functionality" is used to move guideway segments.  Right turns,  left turns and  “through the guideway”  are accomplished using this design.  Fast, safe, quiet.  How will the aerial vehicle operate in ice, rain and sleet condition?  Excellent.  Compression between the steel wheels and the steel rails provide drive wheels traction.  Also, the 17 degrees of guideway slope allows water and snow to run off.  Will this system be able to aid recoveries like those after the New Orleans Hurricane disaster?  Yes.  Equipped with a back-up power generating capability and the system's aerial guideway, the system will be capable of operating above the destruction and water to aid recovery.	Technology Designing a vehicle's size, there are three axes that come into play:  (1) the longitudinal axis, or length. Example of extending the longitudinal is adding additional length to a bus, as in the articulated bus.  (2) The vertical axis, height, is seen in the double deck bus and rail car.  (3) The final axis is the horizontal, or width.  Until now, no transit system addressed increased vehicle width as an advantage.  The widest transit vehicle in the U.S. is BART's 10.5' commuter rail car.  Why?  Because all transit systems built today have the Center of Gravity between the wheels and this, in turn, requires wider acquisition of urban land, wider bridges, greater cost, etc.  In contrast, the FasTran designs and controls the Center of Gravity outside the wheels and cantilevers the vehicle into the "free-air-space" from a relatively narrow guideway.   The vehicle's Center of Gravity (CG) is defined and controlled as no other surface transit system.  The design defines the CG range and maintains the CG range outside the wheels points of contact with the guideway.  The empty CG is loaded with a designed factor which also aids passenger comfort.  The main support/drive wheels are steel and roll on welded steel rails.  The balance wheels are composite and roll on smooth sheet steel.  The result is a smooth passenger ride through all vehicle speed ranges. With CG outside the points of contact, the result is a cantilevered monorail system.  A system that replaces conventional transit systems’ rectangle support with the FasTran’s patented triangle support system.  When incorporating this design, the results are the world’s widest-bodied, highest capacity, premium comfort transit system for urban and special use areas that physically and financially fits urban centers.    Why is the triangle a better structure than the rectangle?  Because of the unique force/structure, the triangle design produces perpendicular (right angle) relationships between the wheels and the running surfaces.  At the same time, this design defines the enlarged Center of Gravity and controls the vehicle’s CG range and movement. The guideway is constructed in a controlled environment, off site.  The outer frame is made of steel and the rails are attached.  The rails are constructed using laser aiming and measuring.  The guideway is trucked down the freeway at night and lifted to one side of two supporting T-columns.  In the upper "V" of the guideway, steel rods are added along with concrete,   This action will counteract guideway compression.  Below the inverted "V", tie bars address expansion.  Lastly, the two guideways are "cradle & braced" together to counter act the vehicle's torque input.  In urban centers where structures limit bi-directional guideway, single guideways structures are used. All guideway and vehicle forces are "boxed". The switch uses computer driven robotics for switch movement and controlled.  The structure is assembled offsite and is a combination of steel and composite materials.   The actuation is fast and provides system designers with unlimited switching functions and variants. FasTran’s wide-bodied benefits & features are targeted to attract a new class of commuter, the middle and upper income business person, who desires a better quality and higher class of the transit ride.  FasTran also provides this type of rider the ability to reclaim personal time once lost when using conventional automobile commuting.  In January, 2008, Fastran was awarded two patents.  Currently, the American designed and engineered FasTran has one patent pending and anticipates seven additional applications to be filed.