Daegu Line 3: a new automated line for South Korea
Daegu Line 3 train
Sky Rail, the Line 3 monorail of Daegu’s urban railway system and the third metro line in the city of Daegu, South Korea, opened on April 23.
The automated line is 24 kilometer long, has 30 elevated stations and runs ten meters above the ground from Chilgok in the northwest to Dong-A Suseong in the southeast, intersecting with Line 2 at Sinnam (formerly Seomun Market) station, and with Line 1 at Myeongdeok Station.
The line is operated by the Daegu Metropolitan Transit Corporation (DTRO).
Trains by Hitachi and Woojin Industrial Systems
The contract for the construction of the 28 three-car driverless trainsets was awarded to Hitachi, Ltd., Transportation Systems in 2008 and construction began in June 2009.
The first vehicle on the line is a Hitachi model produced in Japan and the remaining vehicles have been produced by Woojin Industrial Systems in Korea. Though the driverless vehicles are able to reach a top speed of 70km/h, they will travel at a much slower average speed of 30km/h. In the event of an emergency, the vehicles are equipped with special emergency “spiral chutes” which drop down so passengers can quickly evacuate to the ground below.
Special glass to protect privacy
The highlight of the Daegu Monorail is the “mist or smart glass”, which automatically activates when passing close to apartments or other residential buildings to help prevent invasion of privacy.
Trains run every 3.5-4 minutes and admit up 265 people (398 at maximum in pick hours). They are 2.9 meters wide, 15 meters long, and 5.24 meters high.
Video: Timelapse of Daegu monorail
Sources: