(Forbes.com posted the following Reuters article on May 5.)
MADRID — The world’s No. 1 passenger train maker, Canada’s Bombardier Inc. , unveiled a new design Monday which aims to cram more commuters into the same-sized train.
The 75 percent skinnier stainless steel and foam sandwich walls allow up to 10 percent more passengers to squash in, compared with conventional trains, but the overall size is the same, Bombardier said at Madrid’s International Union of Public Transport World Congress.
The “Fully Integrated Carbody Assembly System,” or “Ficas” — set to be used in Stockholm’s metro system from this June — also weighs less than conventional models. That means less energy is needed and tracks come under less pressure, the company said.