Sky Bus

- A paradigm shift in Urban Transportation

M. Mayur
Abstract:
Sky bus is a modern suspended railway invented by Indian technologist, Er. B Raja
Ram. It is an eco – friendly, noise free and economical operation, which makes it interesting
not only in cities in India, but also in different cities in Europe and America. Sky Bus falls
under tramway category, according to the Constitution of India. Since it operates along and
parallel to existing roadways and within municipal limits, it is excluded from the Indian
Railway Act. Sky bus is economical than metro rails and other means when considered within
the city limits, in the view of transportation and safety.
What is Sky Bus? Challenges of transportation:

Sky bus is a suspended railway 1. Urban space remains frozen

system, can never capsize nor collide due
to its design and construction technique. 2. Population shifting to urban
This is noise free, pollution free and habitats, resulting in mass
economical with no points and crossings. transit capacity
In short, sky bus is “A unique mass transit
system which than can be put up within 3. Should be free from pollution
any two years in any crowded and
congested city for safe transportation 4. Should be affordable by
without loss of time.” common people

5. With point to point connectivity

6. Better quality of travel:

a. Air conditioned

b. Virtually no wait
service

c. Safer than existing

systems – in view of
value of human life.

Though, some of the challenges are

met by other means of
transportation, Sky Bus is efficient
Why sky bus is safe? in meeting all the above specified
requirements and challenges and
The present Railway Technology
serves the public.
used in metros, suffer from a fundamental
technology defect of derailment and Some of Salient points of Sky
separation of travelling coach from the Bus:
railway track, falling down on the ground
killing people. So long as wheels are on 1. Sky bus is innovative solution
rail, the coach runs, but failure of rails, to the problems of derailments
obstruction or even heavy wind force can and collisions of conventional
create a dangerous situation. But when metros.
wheels climb the 25 to 30 mm flange, go
2. The core functionality of
over the rail and derailment occurs. Such
dynamics of suspended coaches
capsizing can kill people inside the coach
has been tested and proven
as well as those on the road below.
according to international
safety norms in the year 2004.
3. The costs also are demonstrated
to be most competitive. Hence
Rs. 50 crores + / - per route
kilometer is practical
commercial cost for executing
a sky bus project.
4. Each and every technology
element included in sky bus
project is tested and proven in
live harsh environments and all
the test limits exist in safer
boundaries that are laid down
by international standards.
5. Sky bus comes to state with no
financial risk to Government,
being financially viable.
6. Sky bus may be constructed
within 24 months and people
will be travelling in sky bus.
7. It is affordable for a common
man with least rate possible,
according to the city
constructed, including air
conditioned travel, pollution
free and high quality of life
protection for people.
8. The construction and execution
of sky bus occurs with least
disturbance to daily city life.
9. No demolition of existing
structures is needed, and no
extra land is to be utilized.
10. Adds additional urban space
every at 9000 m2/per km
between stations, a special
feature distinguishing sky bus.
11. Transportation of goods can be
handled by the Sky Bus, which
is unique advantage of Sky
Bus.
12. Employment is also provided in
the construction purpose of Sky
Bus @ 250 persons for every
10 km.
13. Coaches are made maintenance
free in case of Sky Bus system.
14. The advantage of Sky Bus is
that polycarbonate sheets are
fixed around it to take care of
any vandal activity.
15. The Sky Bus is fully –
computerized:
a. Self – identification in
need for attention ,
b. Need based
maintenance with very
high degree of
reliability ,
c. Minimized cost for the
bogies and track is
maintenance free.
16. The Sky Bus costs about 2500
crores for a length of 50km, but
current elevated metro option
using conventional railway
system costs about 5000 crores,
which is nearly 2 times the cost
of construction of Sky Bus.
Fact about Sky Bus:
Sky Bus is the technology
breakthrough that India has achieved. Sky
Bus is an improved Railway Technology,
eliminating the problems of existing metro
rail systems like derailments, collisions,
capsizing and crushing people, which they
suffered for decades.
Why Sky Bus is so popular?
If it is invented by a student, or a
research scientist who has no experience in
any railway field or no knowledge of
railway sciences, then it may be not so
popular.
But it is invented by such person,
who is a bureaucrat, engineer, scientist,
manager and inventor. The inventor is first
class first Distinction Engineering
Graduate and an M. Tech from prestigious
IIT Kharagpur. He served a decade in
railway open line in various capacities,
another decade in railway research at
RDSO & IIT, worked in abroad as a
consultant till 1990.
His inventions cover Railway
Technologies, Anti – collision devices,
Sky Bus.
He is Mr. B. Raja Ram, the
inventor of Sky Bus Technology.
He holds degrees namely Bachelor
of Engineering, Master of Technology,
Fellow of National Academy of
Engineering, Fellow of Institution of
Engineers. He is a member of Indian
Railway Service of Engineers.
He is the recipient of prestigious
FICCI national award for
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO
KNOWLEDGE BASED INDUSTRIES,
as adjudged by Justice Bhagawati
Committee.

He is involved in Konkan Railway

project from the beginning i.e., 1990. Then
he was promoted to cader Managing
Director and Director of many projects
related to Konkan Railway Corporation
Limited (KRCL) till January 2005.

He has own original contributions

of new theories regarding rail – wheel and
track – vehicle interactions, which are
Mr. Raja Ram Bojji
recognized and published by many World
Forums.
Life member of
He has several patents (nearly 50),
around the globe, and in India for his
Computer Society of
valuable inventions. India
 He believes it is in the realm of
reality to make food, travel,
communication and dwelling virtually free
to all humans on the plant through bold
application of science and technology to
infrastructure development.

He wants India to lead the world

in transportation, with Sky Bus
Technology, which makes railway systems
safer and financially affordable by even a
common man.

Technology of Sky Bus:

The basic concept of Sky

Bus is derived from the concept of Sky-
Wheels presented in 1989 at World
Congress for Railway Research.
In the Sky Bus technology, the
median in the middle of road is used to
raise columns to support 9.4 m wide
concrete box 2.4 m high, which houses
sky-guides and a powered bogie and can
run on the sky-guides at speed up to 100
kmph .The coaches are suspended from the
bogie frame running overhead and thus are
designed for lighter crush loads as
compared to normal railway coaches.
Tremendous savings are achieved in
systems design.
Advantages of Sky Bus over other In the view of Safety:
modes:
1. Sky Bus is derailment proof
These advantages are categorized in and by design can never get
different kinds: separated for the railway tracks,
so there is no capsizing of
1. Performance coaches.
2. Safety 2. Sky Bus is protected from
3. Land & Protection to existing collisions, as it travels at higher
buildings levels than roads.

4. Capital and running costs In the view of Land & Protection to

existing structures:
5. Construction
1. Sky Bus has short stations of
6. Charges 50m length, adequate for next
50 – 75years of traffic growth,
7. Financial viability
combining the local bus stop.
In the view of Performance:
2. Occupies only the road divider
1. Sky bus can be scalable to with 1m wide pillars, the Sky
handle 20K to 80K pphpd, bus is travelling about 6m
which mono – rail and metro above the roads.
rail cannot.
3. The Sky Bus can be designed
2. Sky Bus handles cargo for the to take 20m radius curvature,
city – in containers as well as hence no buildings will be
trucks as a whole lifted and affected which are following
delivered to required points. So existing roads.
truck pollution is eliminated.
4. These can reach the places,
Existing metro’s cannot. Mono
where buses can reach, but the
– rails cannot even be
point is somewhat at a distance
compared.
higher in level.
3. Speeds are same and somewhat
5. If Sky Bus unit of 20m length
better than railways i.e., 100
is designed, then it can carry
kmph to 110 kmph, depending
300 – 430 pphpd, while other
on inter – station distances.
metros cannot.

6. Least land utilization, almost

nothing compared to others is
needed.

7. Even the depot areas etc., Sky

Bus can make use of space
 above existing Bus depots –
without fresh land acquisition.
8. Sky Bus is a railway
technology, with maximum
feasibility options like Bus –
while other metro options
cannot help in this.
In the view of Capital and Running
Costs:
1. The capital cost per km of
double line route, including
rolling – stock and train control
is Rs. 50 crores on average + / -
10%.
2. Maintenance costs are much
lower in the Sky Bus –
components are smaller, tracks
are maintenance – free, the
coach bodies are designed to be
maintenance – free.
3. The energy in Sky Bus, is used
to carry more people than in
Metro Rails, which carries
more dead loads.
In the view of Construction:
1. Sky Bus uses factory produced
pre – fabricated technologies
with post tensioning and causes
least disturbance to the daily
life of city during construction.
2. It takes around 24 months to
complete because of minimum
problems of land and parallel
activities of pre – fabricated
structures.
3. Other metro rails take 5 to 7
years in construction.
In the view of Charges:
1. At Rs. 250.00 only, per person
per 500 km of air – condition
travel anywhere to anywhere,
in a month, it is affordable for
regular city commuter.
2. Minimum entry charges are of
Rs. 5.00 only will apply and
floating or occasional users will
be charged Rs. 2.00 per km.
3. Other modes of transportation,
do not offer such low rates.
In the view of Financial Viability:
1. Fare – box collections coupled
with commercial exploitation at
the additional urban space
created by Sky Bus, produces a
15 – 20% return to the investor.
2. The Sky Bus returns the capital
of construction within 7 to 10
years.
3. “The Sky Bus construction
goes on without Government
funding component”.
Components of Sky Bus:
The system Sky Bus
consists of several conventional and some
new proven technologies, which makes the
Sky bus more efficient. These are designed
so that to keep the sky bus moving without
any defect and to give the passengers the
ultimate comfort along with other
luxurious facilities which they cannot get
in the local buses or in trains.
Components are:

a. Sky Way

b. Sky Bogies

c. Sky Coaches

d. Sky Stations

e. Traverser arrangements at
terminals

Sky Way:
Sky Bogie:
1. In the middle of the road way,
1. Standard two axle bogies used
pile foundations support 1 m
in metros for speeds of 100
dia column approx. 8m high,
kmph are used, which gain
and spaced at 15m all along the
speed up to a maximum of 160
road way.
kmph of standard gauge.
2. The Sky way consists of a
2. Linear induction motor
concrete box structure carried
technology is incorporated,
over a series of piers at a height
with 3 phase AC motors with
of 8m above the existing road
regenerative power capability.
level.
3. Braking - bogie mounted.
3. In short, Sky Way is the way in
which the Sky Bus travels a. Disc Brakes are
along the road, but at higher provided.
level.
b. Emergency mechanical
4. Sky Way consists of two rails brakes are also
fixed with appropriate provided, in case of any
fastenings with in concrete box emergency.
support and guide the Sky
Bogie.

Sky Coaches:
1. Double walled light shells with
wide large windows are
suspended from the sky bogies.
2. Air – conditioned and with
automatic doors are provided.
3. Audio visual information is
provided to passengers, for
easy understanding of sky
stations.
4. Special 4m wide or 2m x 2m
wide sliding doors are provided
for quick entry and exit of
passengers.
5. Each pair carries 300 persons.
6. Service is possible in every 30
seconds or one minute.
Sky Station:
1. Unlike conventional mass
transit systems, Sky Bus needs
smaller stations.
2. Totally computerized control,
access control is also electronic
by prepaid cards being swiped
in.
3. Stations act as only access
facility, and not as passenger
holding area.
Traverser:
1. Traverser is the system which
automatically shifts the Sky
Bus units for balancing the
loads / changing routes too as
well as shift units to depot lines
etc…
For Designing purpose:
Even in case of designing, the Sky
Bus is easier to design in structural point
of view.
The design loads are:
a. Weight of bogie : 5t
 b. Tare weight of coach : 6.5 t hence is safer than existing rail
– based system.
c. Passenger load :
9t 4. The system is noise – free,
pollution – free with
d. Weight of equipment : 2t 18000pphpd to scalable to
e. Axle load : 12 t 72000 pphpd as required.

f. Total for a bogie : 24 t 5. It is a unique mass transit

system which can be put up
within two years in any
crowded and congested city.

6. In addition to moving people,

Sky Bus can carry 20 ft
containers, boosting its
capacity utilization to double
that of other existing systems.

Description of Sky Bus:

1. Heavy 52 / 60 kg /m rails
placed at standard gauge
floating in elastic medium and
damped by inertia of measured
mass held at 8m x 2m box
enclosure, supported over a 1m
dia columns placed at 15m
distance from each other.

2. The fixed structure at 8m

height above road level is
aesthetically pleasing and there
is no concern of claustrophobic
feeling for road users.

3. Aesthetic and eco – friendly,

the Sky Bus can never derail,
capsize nor collide, by design
as well as by construction,
 Working Principle of Sky Bus

Our Country’s Technology, Sky Bus is an improved railway technology. It can carry
18K to 72K pphpd, with 100kmph and air – conditioned travel.

The two problems suffered by railway technology are derailment and separation of
travelling coach from the rails.

As long as the wheels are on the rails, the coach runs.

But failure of rails / obstruction by a heavy wind force may

create dangerous situations.

When the wheels climb 25 to 30 mm flange, then derailment

occurs.
 If derailment occurs, then there is nothing to hold the coach,
then the coach just topples.

Such falling of coach can kill people inside the coach and
also people on the road, if any.

EVOLUTION OF SKY BUS TECHNOLOGY

Suppose a standard railway coach running on a railway

track…
 The under frame with standard railway wheel – set running
on a railway track…

The under frame remains the same, railway wheels run on

the same track, coach is firmly attached to under frame
positively

The under-frame with wheels and railway traction

motors & railway track enclosed in the concrete
box- travel on the railway track , carrying the coach
below outside the concrete box- now the coach and
the track are positively held together- cannot escape
from rails!

• The railway bogies in conventional

Safety Measures:
• Compared to conventional railway
systems, the centre of gravity of the
mass being carried on the wheels is
brought down to be closer to the
wheel support. Hence dynamic
safety is many times improved.
• In conventional railway wind can
topple the trains. In Sky Bus wind
cannot topple- there is positive link
between the rail guidance system
and the Bus Coaches- with 400%.
system have propensity to lose
control on derailment, but
additional safety in Sky Bus bogie
is that we have derailment
arresters, which prevents the wheel
from jumping off the rails. So we
are ensuring that there is no
derailment. Safety factor built into
multiple suspenders.
In Future:
After the successful test run
of the sky bus in its test track in Madgaon
Goa, The Indian Railway has recognized
its work efficiency and found it as the
future of mass communication in the urban
areas. The Sky bus has proved its
our cities, take out almost 10 million road
vehicles in the cities and make the cities
livable, improving quality of life and
attract and sustain economic activity to
generate wealth.

effectiveness in various sectors in all the

tests it has gone through. Hence the Sky
bus has proposed by the Railway
department in following cities
of India, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi,
Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pondicherry,
Ranchi, Shimla, Thane, Bhubaneswar,
Bangalore, Chennai Coimbatore Delhi,
Goa, Gurgaon and Hyderabad.

Conclusion:

The Sky bus is the technology

breakthrough that India has achieved. Sky
bus is an improved railway technology,
eliminating the problems of existing metro
rail systems, like, derailments collisions,
and capsizing crushing people. Old
conventional railway men, who remained
basically operating and maintenance
experts, may take a little time to
appreciate, but the fact remains. Sky bus is
an improved railway technology
eliminating their fears of derailments and
capsizing from which they suffered for
decades!

Financially Sky bus Metro makes

urban transport a dream come true for
administrators- virtually free gift to people
without Government fund in

What needs to be done is to

eliminate the doubting Thomas in our
minds, and adopt the Sky bus, if we want
to really solve the urban transport crisis.
The Sky Bus metro is one single
technology which can change the face of