Switching tracks on the Sapporo Subway

[Kiha66]

The Sapporo Municipal Subway runs with rubber tires rather than steel wheels. The various types of switches used are similarly unique! 

 

 

[Tony Galiani]

I am hoping to get to ride this in person at some point.  We want to go to the Snow and Ice Festival - hopefully next year.  I had brief hopes for this coming February but that does not seem realistic now.

Cheers,

Tony Galiani

[chadbag]

We rode this a bunch of times in 2019.   It was interesting to say the least.  Windows opened and you got a good amount of air (which was good since it was summer) and the sound of it running on the rubber tires is quite different.

 

[chadbag]

The part where the whole roadbed slides (vs  the vertical movement of the guide rail) was really interesting.  I wonder where they use each type and why the difference?  Maybe those areas that are high speed, not next to a station, get the sliding road bed sort so that they can withstand a curve at a higher speed (therefore force) as the guide rail is fixed to the road bed vs a sliding piece that would inherently be less strong (without a lot of extra cost to beef it up).

 

[bikkuri bahn]

The scenes are from the Namboku Line, the oldest line on the system built for the 1972 Winter Olympics.  The first type is apparently for a simple siding, while the second is a traverser type used at a stabling facility (it serves three tracks, like a conventional three-way point would).  The trains have to traverse the points at a low speed (to me the approach speeds seem lower than with conventional rail points- certainly for the passengers the trains rock more than conventional rail carriages- and announcements are made warning people to brace themselves).