Electric traction transportation system with storage battery powered vehicles and fast recharge at the vehicle stops

A vehicle for an electrical traction passenger transportation network having a plurality of stop stations for loading and unloading passengers, said stop stations being other than terminals, at least some of said stop stations being recharge stop stations provided with contact means for connecting a vehicle to an electric power line, and stretches between successive recharge stop stations, said vehicle stopping a relatively short stop time of the order of tens of seconds, normally not exceeding 1 minute, at each recharge stop station and consuming an amount of energy while running each stretch in between successive recharge stop stations, said vehicle comprising:

• electric motor traction means;
• storage battery means having a storage capacity sufficient to store the maximum amount of energy required to drive said vehicle over a stretch between successive recharge stop stations, said battery means having a nominal loading current;
• and
• circuit means, including fast connection means for connecting said storage battery means to said contact means at a recharge stop station with a connection time permitting fast recharging of said battery means for substantially all of said stop time, for providing said battery means with fast recharging current from said power line which is of the order of several tens times the magnitude of said nominal current, including as much as the order of 100 times said nominal current, and of sufficient magnitude that said maximum amount of energy will be stored in said battery means during said relatively short stop time.