Kent studies road train
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• A Belgian-built double articulated passenger vehicle which is able to run on both road and light rail is being evaluated by Kent County Council as a way of tackling its transport problems.
The 25.3m road train has either a 261 or 336kW (350 or 450hp) Detroit Diesel engine and is steered manually, but can also be run on a central tramline, electrically powered via an overhead cable.
The prototype, built by BN, is in service in the Ardennes. It was in Britain last week for the first time at a transport conference hosted by Kent County Council. Kent had to get permission from the Department of Transport to bring the vehicle into the country: UK legislation limits articulated buses to 18m.
The 26-tonne BN bus has four steering axles and two drive axles and can carry 51 seated and 147 standing passengers.
Commercial Motor has been able to evaluate the double artic. It can cope with the tightest corners and is surprisingly quiet and smooth.
As standard it comes in sections of 10m, 7m and 7.6m, but it is also available as a conventional artic bus, says BN, which is part of the Bornbadier group of companies. UK operators and local authorities have expressed an interest.
T(my Francis, Kent's assistant public transport planning manager, says the BN system is one of several options the county is considering. One possibility would be for the authority to buy the capital equipment for a transit network, but tender out the operation — he estimates that setting up a two-line system connecting Maidstone and the four Medway towns using BN's system would cost 250m.
LII To run BN's double artics in the UK would need dispensation from the DTp, and probably a change in the law.