Atthis - Ligh metro train, personal project

Atthis is a Light Metro Vehicle (LMV) I have created as a personal project during the past month or so. My prompt was, “What would happen if my hometown (Granada) decided to build a higher-capacity metro system?”

I am taking inspiration from the Madrid Metro lines 1 to 5 and all the Valencia Metro Lines. they use high-floor, high-capacity trains. But they use so-called light metro trains, which are thinner than conventional ones, but allow for lower tunnelling costs where needed and lower maintenance of tracks and vehicles, thanks to them being lighter, (hence the name).

First I did a quick series of sketches from which I drew my form inspiration.

The next step was translating my chosen design to 3D with Catia, and making any aesthetic corrections. I gave it somewhat of an interior, and implemented some ideas for it, although my main focus has been the outside.

Finally, I investigated what name and Identity I could give the project. I researched flora and wildlife local to Granada, and then settled on birds, as they represent freedom and lightness, and they are closely intertwined with Spaniards' vision of train travel (think AVE highspeed trains, ave means bird in Spanish). I narrowed the list to 5 birds, and developed one of the ideas, to land on the Alcedo Atthis, better known as Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Kingfisher or River Kingfisher.

The result? my vehicle will improve on that light metro concept by not needing a driver and creating wider, more luminous spaces, thanks to bigger windows (including some on the roof and two panoramic ones in front and at the back of the train) and large LEDs panels on the ceiling for soft yet plentiful lighting.