Poma 2000

The Poma 2000 in the northern French city of Laon, is a driverless funicular system on rubber tires. The official name is " Poma de Laon in 2000 ." The system connects the railway station in the valley with the old town situated on a mountain; it overcomes to almost 1.5 km of track length, a height difference of 100 m. There are three stops: the valley station Gare ( " Station " ), the in-transit station Vaux and the mountain station Hôtel de Ville ( "Rathaus "). Operator is the municipal public transport company transport Urbains Laonnois (TUL ), which also maintains the inner-city bus service.

The system was opened on 4 February 1989. It was created as a successor of a rack railway, which had joined the Old Town 1899-1971 with the station. The system was made by the French company Pomagalski Voreppe ( near Grenoble ) constructed ( a manufacturer of ski lifts and cable cars, the joint venture POMA - OTIS Transportation Systems operates together with the elevator manufacturer Otis ).

The Poma of Laon, in comparison to classic funiculars several technical peculiarities: instead of steel wheels rail tires, the tracking has done through lateral boundaries of the U-shaped flat steel lanes. The route is in the shape of a large horseshoe and is thus predominantly curvy. The slope ratios are very unbalanced, on the shorter stretch (about 1/ 3) between the base terminal and Vaux, the route is only 2 % slope relatively flat, on the remaining 2 /3 of the distance between Vaux and the mountain station of the slope to 13%. The track is a single track with a Dodge station Vaux and halfway between Vaux and the mountain station. There are two separate drive cables for the sections valley station Vaux and Vaux- mountain station. It is closed cable rings ( infinite loops), which are always moved by the drive motors that are located at the stations in the same direction. The cars are not firmly connected to the drive cables, but can ( at standstill of the system) of the drive ropes off or couple and thereby switch from the upper to the lower stretch. This schedule can be used on the track three cars, with Vaux- mountain station and a are two in the upper section of the shallower and shorter section Vaux valley station. The individual cars travel the route in each case throughout ( and change at the station Vaux the drive cables ), so that the passengers do not have to change.

The car park of the web comprises four vehicles, usually one is at the base station as a replacement vehicle in the wagon shed. The travel time on the track is about 3 ½ minutes. It is, as required, a 2 ½ - to 6 - minute run. Each vehicle has 12 seats and 28 standing passengers.

On March 19, 2014, the operation of the Poma 2000 was interrupted after notice indefinitely. According to reports, prepares one of the cable problems, not for the first time.