The deployment of the “Thusnelda” test vehicle, which is more than five meters long, marked the official launch of the MONOCAB campus rail system. As part of the MONOCAB research project, the team is developing a monorail transportation system with small passenger cabins designed to carry four to eight people. Thanks to gyroscopic stabilization, the vehicles remain balanced on a single rail. In the future, they will be able to operate autonomously—that is, without a driver—on both reactivated rail lines in rural areas and on newly built lines in urban areas.
The 20-meter-long track section is the first test setup and is therefore not a scaled-down version of the Campusbahn. The combination of the rail and the newly developed track structure is what makes the Campusbahn possible in the first place.
“The planned campus railway begins immediately with an incline, later runs through curves, and crosses Campusallee,” says Professor Thomas Schulte, overall project manager of the MONOCAB research project. Before this more complex route is built, the interaction between the new rail structure and the vehicle needed to be tested and optimized under conditions that were as simple as possible. “Only once we know that the system works reliably on a straight section will we take the next step toward the Campusbahn,” explains Schulte.
“The most important result was that the MONOCAB runs on the new single-rail structure,” says Sören Lux, project manager for the Campusbahn at TH OWL. He still sees opportunities to save material in the concrete troughs for the rail.
On the first day of testing, the Thusnelda started later than planned. After being transported, the MONOCAB had to be technically recalibrated. It then became apparent that the hard-rubber track groove guards on the right and left sides of the track were generating more friction than expected. As a result, Thusnelda did not get up to speed as planned on the first day of testing.
There was exactly one week left until the second day of testing. With minor adjustments to the track groove guards and the software, the “Thusnelda” team attempted the course again. This time, the MONOCAB ran. Back and forth. Over and over.
In the sunshine, the team celebrated their success—with an ice cream in hand and the certainty that it works. “The MONOCAB’s torque is sufficient to overcome the frictional resistance from the track groove guards,” explains Sören Lux. The profile of the track groove guards still needs to be fine-tuned so that it can be used for the campus rail system.
These rubber profiles are indispensable for the future campus tram. “They prevent wheels, walking sticks, or feet from falling into the gap next to the track. At the same time, they must be designed so that the MONOCAB has to overcome as little additional rolling resistance as possible,” says Lux.
The stopping procedure was also tested on the new monorail test track. The team positioned a specially prepared trailer at boarding height as a platform in front of the MONOCAB to examine its behavior during approach and stopping—everyone involved was satisfied with the result.
The test track in Lemgo was developed in close collaboration with several industry partners. Many components were specially adapted to the requirements of the MONOCAB system and the planned route.
Based on the findings from the tests, a roughly 300-meter-long campus rail line is to be built on the Innovation Campus Lemgo. According to the current plans, it will run from Building 9 along Campus Boulevard West, across Campusallee, and between the main building and CIIT toward Liebigstraße.
With the successful test runs, the team has reached an important milestone—but the actual work toward the campus rail line continues.“I think it’s great to turn an idea into reality and to be able to actively help shape the Innovation Campus of tomorrow. That gives me a lot of motivation and energy personally,” says Sören Lux.
The Campus Train will serve as a real-world laboratory in the future. Researchers plan to use the test track to investigate how the MONOCAB reacts while in motion when cars, pedestrians, bicycles, or wheelchairs cross its path. The findings will be incorporated into the system’s further development. Passengers are not yet permitted to ride.
The goal is to begin construction work on the first phase of the Campusbahn this fall. Until then, the track structure must be approved, further optimizations to the superstructure must be made, final permits must be obtained, bids must be issued, and coordination with concurrent construction work on the Innovation Campus must be completed.
A new generation of MONOCAB vehicles is currently under development and is slated for use on the Campusbahn and other test tracks in the future. For Thorsten Försterling, the originator of the MONOCAB concept, the successful test run is therefore a particularly special moment: “The idea has since grown and is widely accepted; in the best sense of the term, this upcoming innovation has many fathers.”
Just under one million euros in funding is available for the development of the campus rail system as part of the ongoing project. The campus rail project is part of the MONOCAB research conducted by TH OWL, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, the University of Bielefeld, and Fraunhofer IOSB-INA. It is funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as well as by the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Transportation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
