Houston WEDway PeopleMover control and propulsion system

This paper describes the control and propulsion system of the PeopleMover at the Houston Intercontinental Airport. The basis of the Houston PeopleMover is the short stator, low speed, track mounted Linear Induction Motor (LIM), which propels up to six three-car urethanewheeled trains around a 2.38 km (1.49 mi) steel track with nine stations. Approximately 900 motors, controlled by hardware or microprocessor-based logic cards, are used in the system. Train collision protection is provided by a safety block system, which prevents a following train from entering an already occupied block. Each block is controlled by a pair of microcomputers, via a fully redundant set of motor inhibits and track-mounted caliper safety brakes. System supervision is provided by a programmable controller located in the central equipment area. This controller monitors system status, operates the central display board, and relays supervisory commands from central to the station microcomputers. A minicomputer monitors the programmable controller's input data to detect anomalous conditions and to create status reports and system logs. This system has been operating in Houston since July, 1981 with an availability greater than the contract-specified level of 99.6 percent.