RNV, the tramway operator in the Mannheim and Ludwigshafen area of Germany, has equipped one of its Bombardier Variobahn to act as a rolling weather station, to support the cities’ programme for collecting weather and climate data throughout the conurbation.
The test tram, used on lines 1 and 3, has sensors that collect mobile data that is particularly good because the tram travels over the same routes at regular intervals. There are two air parameter sensors and a wind/rainfall sensor, each installed on the roof above the driver’s cab, while infrared sensors on side panels record ground temperatures on the track bed.
Mayor and IT Director Christian Specht, who is Chairman of the RNV Supervisory Board, said ‘the knowledge gained from this will help us to develop further measures to improve the climatic conditions in our city. We chose lines 1 and 3 because they have a relatively high proportion of green track, so we can determine how the thermal effect off green light rail track works. With the new sensors the effects of different forms of greening, such as classic grass track and the Sedum that has been newly used in Mannheim can be evaluated’.
The mobile data is merged with data from stationary weather stations and flows into the data platform of sMArt City Mannheim GmbH. The pilot project will run for one year initially.
Link to the article & to see photo of tram on the grass median