GERMANY: A Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr tram has been fitted with weather monitoring sensors to complement static equipment which municipal transport, energy and digital technology company Smart City Mannheim is installing at 400 fixed locations throughout the city by the end of 2023.
The equipment includes two air parameter sensors and a wind and rainfall sensor on the driver’s cab roof, and infrared sensors to record the temperatures of the track bed and surrounding land.
‘Since the trams travel on the same routes at regular intervals, the data can be recorded and analysed over time’, said Mayor Christian Specht on April 6. ‘The knowledge gained from this will help us to develop further measures in the future to improve the climatic conditions in our city.’
He said routes 1 and 3 were chosen for their high proportion of grassed track, which would enable ground surface temperatures to be recorded to assess the effects of the different forms of planting.
The pilot project is planned to run for a year, and if successful it could be expanded to other routes and the collection of additional data.
