Transpolis

A shared innovation platform

The consolidation of transport is a key factor for progress towards achieving more  sustainable cities. The use of public transport for people or goods, using commercial vehicles, reduces energy consumption by a factor of 4, and urban land use by a factor of 10 compared to private cars or delivery vans

On this basis, and within the framework of the CARA cluster, the Transpolis project aims to create an innovation, research and experimentation platform, bringing together test and study resources for "mobility in the city of tomorrow".

The issues that are addressed are as follows: 

• Transport systems in reticular cities: securing and optimising all interactions between the city's networks (roads, transport, ICST, energy, etc.).
• Sharing urban space: integration of transport systems within urban roads, manoeuvrability, road allocation, track-guided systems, etc.
• The attractiveness, safety and security of the systems themselves (including user comfort)
• Optimising systems with regard to environmental concerns: clean and economical systems and vehicles (appraisal of specific public policies)
• Innovative transport systems (new systems and new vehicles) and new facilities,
• The specific features of the inclusive city.  .  

The "Transpolis Platform" project groups together operationally two pre-existing platforms, which are already open to a community of users, within the same entity:

• The RENAULT TRUCKS test centre in La Valbonne is composed of so-called road tracks (speed circuit, sensitivity to dirt, ramps), specialised tracks (low noise, low skidding resistance) and endurance tracks (accelerated endurance). It is operated by "SAS TRANSPOLIS".
• The LIER platform (the INRETS Road Equipment Testing Laboratory ), which operates crash test infrastructures, and is a subsidiary of IFSTTAR and SER (Road Equipment Federation) located near Saint-Exupéry airport, managed since 2014 by “SAS TRANSPOLIS”. 

In addition, since this site at Saint Exupéry airport must move due to the launch of new projects, a land search was performed in order to identify a site to build and group together the new test facilities as from the end of 2018 in the Les Fromentaux camp, a military site formerly used to store munitions, which is 15 km from Renault Trucks' test centre in La Valbonne.    

This new site at Les Fromentaux will make it possible to move the former LIER platform and build new research and development facilities for transport and the city. 

The Transpolis platform will house two sets of systems that are intended to complement each another

• I⁴C-M “IFSTTAR Innovation for City Move.”  This is to be built with IFSTTAR acting as the public sector contracting authority and will include the "Urban Systems" and the "Safety & Security" sub-systems as a result of the relocation of the St Exupéry test tracks. These will incorporate innovations that will be tailored to meet future needs.
• T E C “Transpolis Engineering Center” built under the supervision of SAS Transpolis, corresponding to the new "Architecture & Comfort" testing sub-system and the reception buildings and workshops for preparing vehicles and tests.

The "Safety and Security" activity conducted by IFSTTAR as part of the I⁴C-M operation will include the implementation of:

·         Tests to investigate the impact of vehicles on road safety equipment, in the context of product certification (CE marking)

·         Studies for the development of innovative road safety equipment or for the improvement of devices that already exist or that are being developed (digital simulations),

·         Studies to determine the acceptability, conduct diagnosis and validate ergonomic concepts for transport systems.

The "Urban Systems" activity will carry out full-scale studies and research on urban mobility simulation with the possibility of evaluating in situ the expected innovations in the areas of future transport solutions, urban development and new mobility services using ICTs...

This set of test facilities should include, among other things: 

·         An urban and peri-urban roadway (crossroads, traffic signals, pedestrian crossings, interchanges, etc.)

·         Pre-installed reconfigurable ITS equipment (Vehicle - Vehicle, Vehicle - Infrastructure interaction, traffic management, tests of mobility solutions...)

·         A bus stop

·         An energy station

·         A multimodal road-rail hub (passengers and freight)

·         A reconfigurable delivery area

·         A monitoring building

The project is financed by the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region (5.4M€), the Département of Ain (1,5M€), the Ain plain community of municipalities in the Ain plain (€1.2 million), the Lyon Metropolitan Area (€0.75 million), the State through the Ministry of Research (€0.5 million) and IFSTTAR (€0.8 million).