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LIGHT RAIL VEHICLE

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PedestriansandotherroadusersatLightRailVehiclelevelcrossingareboundtowaitandnotcrossitevenifthelightisflashingasatthisparticularspot,theLightRailvehiclehaspriorityoverallotherroadusers.

Ifthetramhasalreadycrossedthelevelcrossing,donottakeitforgrantedthatthecrossingisfreeandjustenterthelevelcrossingasanothertrammaybecomingfromtheotherdirection.Sobeverycareful.

Thefactthatthebrakingdistanceandtimeofatramareverylongcomparedtoanyothervehiclesduetoit’ssizeandweightandthestructureoftherailtrack,longertimeisrequiredtocompletelystopthetram.Henceotherroadusersshouldbearthiselementinmindbeforeusingthetramlevelcrossing.

Atarailwaystation,passengersmayberunningorwalkingcarelesslytocatchthetram.Sodriversandridersshouldbealertanddrivetheirvehiclesatareasonablespeedtoavoidunexpectedmishaps.

TRAM HIGHWAY CODE & RULES

1. Ifaroad,alane,oranyotherrouteisreservedfortrams,youMUSTNOTenterit.

2. Use extra caution where trams run alongside the road especially whenovertakingit.

3. Avoiddriving‘directly’ontopoftherailsasthisaffectsthetyres.

4. Takeparticularcareanddonotfollowthetram,leavingthemaincarriagewaytoenterthereservedroute.

5. Tramlanesaremarkedoffbywhitelines,yellowdots,andadifferenttextureontheroad.Thus,theroadsurfacedistinguishesthewidthtakenupbytrams.

6. Takeextracarewherethetrackcrossestheroad.Usecautionwheretheroadnarrowsandthetrackscomeclosetothekerb.

7. Tramdriversgettheir instructionsfromtheirownappropriatetrafficsignals.Alwaysgivewaytotramsastheymayhavepermissiontomovewhenotherroadusersarenotauthorisedtodoso.

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8. Never try to raceorovertake trams.Donotdriveon thewholepart of thetram’srailtrackanditsreservepath.

9. Parkingordrivingintramtracksisdangerous.Tramdriverscannotsteeraroundan obstruction. You should not stop on any part of a tramline, except in adesignatedbay.Thelocationofthebaywillbealongsideandclearofthetrack.

10. YouMUSTNOTparkavehicleonanypartofthetramroad.

11. YouMUSTfollowtherouteshownbytheroadsignsandmarkingswhereatramstopsataplatform.Itwillbeeitherinthemiddleoratthesideoftheroad.Adoptadefensivedrivingattitudetocopewithanunexpectedmishap.

12. Drivers should look out for pedestrians, especially children, who may berunningtocatchatramasitapproachesastop.

13. Alwaysgivepriority to trams,especiallywhen they signal topull away fromstops,unlessitwouldbeunsafetodoso.

14. Rememberthatatrammaybecarryinglargenumbersofstandingpassengers.Theycouldgetinjuredifthetramhadtomakeanemergencystop.

15. Cyclists andmotorcyclists should takeparticular carewhendriving or ridingcloseto,andwhencrossing,thetracks.Thisisespeciallyimportantiftherailsarewet.Youshouldtakeextracautionwhencrossingtherailsatshallowangles,onabend,andatajunction.

16. Itissafesttocrossthetracksatrightangles(perpendicular).Otherroadusersshouldbeawarethatcyclistsandmotorcyclistsmightneedmorespacetocrossthetrackswithsafety.

17. As a rule, tramway wire regulations determine overhead power wires at acertainminimumheightaboveanycarriageway.Buttheymaybelowerinsomesituations.Alwaysensureyouhavesufficientclearancebetweenthewireandyourvehicle.

18. Loadyourvehicleinsuchawaythatyouareverysafefromtheoverheadwires.

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19. Ensure that equipment is fully lowered if you drive vehicleswith extendingcranes,booms,tippingapparatusorothertypesofvariableheightequipment.

HOW DOES THE TRAM BRAKE WORK?

Thegripofsteelwheelsonsteelrailstendstobelessthanisthecasewithrubbertyres, though sanding (dropping grittymaterial on the track) does compensate ifwheelslippageoccurs.

Therefore,whenlight-railsystemsortramssharespacewithpedestrians,automobilesandotherroadusers,orwherethevehiclesoperateonsteeptracks,safetydemandsthatthetrambefittedwithelectromagnetictrack-brakingforemergencyuse.

Thepowerofelectromagnetictrack-brakescomesfromelectromagneticattractionbetweenthebrakeandthetrack.

Theyareintendedtoprovideretardationbeyondtheadhesionlimitofthewheelsalone,whichultimatelyislimitedbytheweightofthevehicle.

Bogiemeanschassisorframeworkthatcarriesawheelsetofthetramandassuchtrackbrakesarefittedonthebogiesbetweeneachpairofwheelsandinlinewiththerunningrails.

Inoperationtheyarefirstdroppedintopositionontherails,usingairactuators,andthencurrentisappliedtostrongelectromagneticcoilswithintheshoes.

Thispulls thebrakeshoeshardagainstthetrackwithaforcethatcanexceedthevehicle’sweight,andstrongbrakingforcesresult.

Trackbrakesaretypicallyrecommendedforuseonlyinemergencysituations,addingtheirforcetothemainbrakes(electricbrakesanddiscbrakes)–especiallyvitalifatramortrainlosescontrolandapplicationofsandisineffective,orthediscbrakeshavefailed.

Theriskofdamagetothetrackworkatrailroadswitchesisgreat.

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Inpractice,somerailsystemsusethemmuchmorefrequently,tocompensateforrailsmadeslipperybyweatherconditions,orasaroll-backpreventionmeasureonhills.Trackbrakesareusuallyoperatedbyadriver’semergencystopbuttonmountedseparatelyfromthenormaltraction/brakecontroller.

Systemswhichusethemfrequentlymayhaveaseparateswitchtoactuatethetrackbrakewithoutactivatingotheremergencystoppingmeasures.

Onsomesystems,permanentmagnettrackbrakesareusedasparkingbrakes.

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE OF MAURITIUS NO. 115 OF 31 OCTOBER 2019

THE ROAD TRAFFIC ACT hasbeenamendedtogivelegalframeworktoLightRailTransitSystemcommonlyknownasMetroExpressintroducedin2019byLocalAuthority.

Thedangerwarningtrafficsignfor“Levelcrossingwithoutgateorbarriers”whichwaspreviouslydisplayedasbelow

ishenceforthamendedanditwillbedisplayedassuch

TRAFFIC SIGNS (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2019 - GN NO. 236 OF 2019

A32

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WarningoflevelcrossingwithoutgatesorbarrieronaroadonwhichtherearelightrailvehiclescrossingaheadshallbegivenbysignA32.

ThismeansthatdriversofallmotorvehiclesarewarnedthatLightRailVehiclesmaycrossatjunction.Further,therewillbenobarriertoseparatetheflowoftraffic.Thusdriversarewarnedtostoptheirvehiclesatthestoplineandtheyarenotallowedtocrossthestoplinewhenthelightrailiscrossingthejunction.

SINGLE TRACK – RAILWAY LINE – WARNING SIGN SHOWING LOCATION OF LEVEL CROSSING WITHOUT GATE OR BARRIERS

Thetrafficsignsupplementedwith“GIVEWAY”signshallbeplacedintheimmediatevicinityoflevelcrossings.

Basicallythissignindicatesthattherailwaylinecomprisesonlyonetracktobeusedsolelybyonelightrailvehicleatatime.

TWO OR MORE TRACKS - RAILWAY LINE - WARNING SIGN SHOWING LOCATION OF LEVEL CROSSING WITHOUT GATE OR BARRIERS

Thiswarningsignisusediftherailwaylinecomprisesatleast2tracksormorethatmaybeusedbytwoormorelightrailvehiclesatatime.

Thesignshallbesupplementedwith“GIVEWAY”sign.

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ADDITIONAL SIGNS THAT GIVE WARNING TO ROAD USERS THAT THEY ARE APPROACHING LEVEL CROSSING FOR LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES AT NEXT JUNCTION.

Threecountdownmarkers,shownbelow,willindicatethedistancefromthelightrailvehicle’slevelcrossingahead.

Thesesignsmaybeusedatdifferentintervalstokeeptheroaduserinformedaboutthedistancelefttoapproachthelevelcrossing.

Eachslashrepresents80metres.

Numberofslashesonthemarkermultipliedby80metresgivesyouanindicationofthenumberofmetreslefttoapproachthelightrailvehicle’slevelcrossing.

A. Thistrafficsignwith3slashesonthemarkerrepresents(3x80)=240metresdistanceawayfromapproachinglightrailvehiclelevelcrossing.

B. Thistrafficsignwith2slashesonthemarkerrepresents(2x80)=160metresdistanceawayfromapproachinglightrailvehiclelevelcrossing

C. This traffic sign with 1 slash on the marker represents (1x80) = 80 metresdistanceawayfromapproachinglightrailvehiclelevelcrossing

Local Information sign with the mention “Keep CrossingClear”maycomplementtogiveadequateinformationtoallroaduserssoasnottoobstructthefreepassageoflightrailvehicleonthelevelcrossing.

300

900

A B C

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Edge of road linesParagraph1 Edge of road line to give warning of the edge of the main

carriagewayshallconsistofeitherofthefollowing—

(a) alongitudinalmarkingconsistingofbrokenwhitelinesontheroadwithonemetrepaintedandonemetregap.Itshallbeusedasawarningline(H.3.2);

or

(b) a longitudinalmarkingconsistingofafullwhite lineandribspaced0.5metreontheedgeofaroad.Itshallbeusedasawarningline(H.3.3).

Paragraph2 The width of the lines shall vary from 100 millimetres to 200millimetres.

Paragraph3 Edgeofroadlineshallalsobeusedtoindicate—

(a) edgeofthecarriagewayataroadjunctionoralay-by,oratanexitfromprivatedriveontoapublicroad;

(b) edgeofthepartofthecarriagewayalongsidethelightrailcorridorusedbylightrailvehicles;

(c) theboundarybetweenemergencyrefugeareaandanactivelymanagedhardshoulderortheedgeofacarriagewayofamotorway;or

(d) thedivisionbetween themaincarriagewayandacycle lane throughajunction.

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Paragraph4 Where longitudinal lines are used to mark the edge of a road,and longitudinal lines connected to transverse lines are used todemarcateparkingspaces,busstops,taxistands,etc.ontheroad,theprohibitionspecifiedinparagraphIshallnotapply.

WORD MARKINGS FOR PROHIBITION OF ROAD TRAFFIC ON LIGHT RAILS

Thefollowingwordmarkingsmaybeusedonaredbackgroundfornotificationthatentryisprohibitedforallvehiclesotherthanlightrailvehicles.

TRANSVERSE MARKINGS FOR DELIMITATION OF CLEAR ZONE FOR ROAD TRAFFIC AT LEVEL CROSSINGS

Transversemarkingsconsistingofyellowbrokenlinesofawidthof200millimetreswithstrokesofonemetrelongandgapsof600millimetreslong(H.5.3),placedontheroadatalevelcrossing,shallbeusedasawarninglinebeyondwhichapersonoravehicleshallnotcrosswhenalightrailvehicleiscrossing.Suchmarkingsshallalsobeusedtoindicatethesweptpathfortheguidanceof lightrailvehicledrivers.

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YELLOW BROKEN LINE AND BOX ON RED BACKGROUND

RoadmarkingsatalevelcrossingconsistingofyellowbrokenlineH.5.3andyellowboxmarkingH6.onaredbackground,shallbeusedtoindicatea‘keepcrossingclear’zoneforpedestriansandvehiclesotherthanlightrailvehicles.

ENTRY TO A PARKING ZONE OF MOTORCARS NEAR LIGHT RAIL STATION

To indicate,neara light rail station, theentry toa zonewhere parking of motorcars is authorised, whethersubjecttopaymentornot,signC22maybeused.

C22

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QUESTIONS1. Thesignindicates A.Theschoolbusisnotallowedhere. B.Routereservedformotorbusonly C.Nearalightrailstation,theentrytoazonewhereparking

ofmotorcarsisauthorised.Ans:C

2. Traffic Light sign has permitted LightRail Vehicles (1) and (2) to proceedaheadwherebyprivate car and schoolmotor bus have to stop as the trafficlightisdisplayingredlightintheirlane.Between the school motor bus andprivate car,which vehiclehasproperlyandlegallystoppedattherightplace?

A.Theschoolbusasithasnotcrossedtheyellowdemarcationline.

B.Theprivatecarasithasnotcrossedthestopline

Ans:B

3. Whichroadmarkingsignindicatesi Notification that entry is prohibited for all

vehiclesotherthanLightRailVehicle?ii Warning line beyond which a person or

a vehicle shall not cross when a light railvehicle is crossing and it also includes theswept path for the guidance of light railvehicledrivers?

iii Transverselinethatisusedtodemarcateparkingspace,busstop,taxistand,etc...?iv Edgeofroadlinetogivewarningoftheedgeofthemaincarriageway?

Ans:i–Dii–Ciii–Biv–A

Private car

Light rail vehicle (2)

Light rail vehicle (1)

ABCD

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QUESTIONSWhichsignindicates ABC

1. 240metresdistanceawayfromapproachinglightrailvehiclelevelcrossingaseachstripeonthemarkerrepresents80metres,sothreeredstripesamountto(3X80)=240metres?

2. 80metresdistanceawayfromapprochinglightrailvehiclelevelcrossing?3. 160metresdistanceawayfromapproachinglightrailvehiclelevelcrossing?

Ans:1–A2–C3–B

Whichsignindicates

ABCD1. Localinformativesignastonotenterthecrossingiftheexitisnotclear?2. Dangerwarningsign–Levelcrossingwithoutgateorbarrier?3. Givewaytotramcirculatingonasingletrackrailwayline?4. Givewaytotramcirculatingonadoubletrackrailwayline?5. GivewaytoTramatlevelcrossing?

Ans:1–D2–A3–B4–C5–BCD

ELP Highway Code