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The former Birmingham (UK) Tracline 65
Kerb Guided Busway.
This was Britain's first kerb guided busway. Operated by the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive ('Centro') it featured six 'passenger stations' which were equipped with
shelters, tip-up seats and electronic information displays advising passengers when the next bus would be due. Access to the stops was by ramp, so even though the vehicles were
not 'low floor' they were still more easily reached by people with special needs.
The busway trackage consisted of a concrete road surface into which steel guide-walls were set,
with the centre strip between the bus' wheels 'rough surfaced' to deter cars from using it and overall landscaping designed to deter pedestrians from wandering where they were
not wanted. Technically it was treated like any other bus lane, ie: a part of the normal highway that had been made subject to a Traffic Regulation Order restricting access to
buses only - in effect this meant that construction and maintenance were the responsibility of the local highway authority, and not the bus operator.
Promoted as Tracline 65, it featured a dedicated fleet of specially adapted brand new Mk2 Metrobuses. Because the guide wheel assemblies had the effect of making the
vehicles wider than the legally permitted maximum width a special dispensation was obtained to allow these vehicles to be used on the public highway. To help make them more
visible to other road users these assemblies were fitted with white reflectors on the front, red reflectors on the back and on the outer edge amber lights which were linked
into the traffic direction indicators.
Driver training was carried out at the test track at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) where at a press demonstration it was shown that guided operation could
actually be safer than 'normal' mode. For instance on emergency stops it would not matter if the front wheels locked as it was impossible for the bus to loose steering control;
when bricks were placed on the track the bus shattered them and continued as if nothing had happened.
This busway was only a small part of what effectively was an experiment in bus transport. The larger picture was to see if by a program of concentrated improvements
along a specific route that led to faster journeys and a generally higher quality of service to passengers it would be possible to attract more people to bus transport.
The guided section of Tracline 65 was just a 600 metre strip at the very end of the route in an area where traffic congestion was not an issue; elsewhere new bus lanes
were created, parking restrictions introduced / stiffened, more and better bus shelters erected and there was much media publicity. As far as guided operation was concerned
the experiment was always meant to be of limited duration and closure came in 1987 when following bus deregulation a rival bus company won the contract for the Sunday service
and with it not willing to spend money equipping vehicles with guide wheels the situation arose whereby there would have had to be different stops (on the parallel dual
carriageway) for different days of the week.
Within the parameters set for it this experiment was proven successful. Bus patronage on route 65 rose by 29.3% compared to a more modest 4.2% within the West Midlands
area as a whole. The guidance system proved both safe and reliable in operation, the initial fears that the protruding guide wheels might prove hazardous - especially to
unwary pedestrians - were proven unfounded (although one did snap off when a bus that had been diverted away from its normal routing hit a kerb) and although little now
remains of the Birmingham installation much valuable information was gained.
These images were taken on a quiet Sunday afternoon when unfortunately the lighting conditions were not the best.
Birmingham kerb guided bus at a bus stop.
The bus stop platforms were designed for single-door buses, requiring accurate stopping by bus drivers. The sign asks passengers to stand clear of
the edge when a bus approaches, partly for safety but presumably also to allow alighting passengers to pass first.
A closer view of the bus stop platform.
Traffic signal controlled entry / exit point at the Birmingham end of the line.
Note 'dripping oil' deposits from where buses halt at signals / bus stop.
Same location as above but looking in the other direction.
The entry point at the 'far' end of the busway complete with information board and one of several saplings planted along the route.
A closer view of the information board. The writing is legible on the largest version of this image. Click here to see
the largest version of this image in a new window. Note that it is 1250 pixels wide and just under 700kb in file size. If using Internet Explorer you will need to expand the image to see it full size.
Roughly the same viewpoint as above but seen in 1997 - when the busway had been (almost) completely removed and partially converted to extra car parking space.
By 2008 the trees had began to grow, creating a pleasant linear grassway. Seen from within the car parking space seen above.
At the far end the busway ended at a traffic signalled junction after which the buses used a private (driver steered) road protected by normal "no entry" road signs and a qualifying plate
which read Except Guided Buses on the pole.
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This view was taken in 1997 - more than ten years since closure - and the pole on the left still has this sign. Technically unguided buses should not be using this road!
A closer view of the sign mentioned above.
This sign was still there in May 2008!
Driver steered bus at a bus stop.
A side view showing some of the route specific branding and the guide-arm and wheel protruding proud of the side of the bus.
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© Copyright 2001-2009 Simon P Smiler and named contributors.
