Zamperla reveals its new coaster train at IAAPA for PNE Playland roller coaster

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

From the press release:

Two weeks after the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) announced in Vancouver the purchase of Canada’s fastest launch coaster - the Lighting LSM Coaster - Zamperla unveiled its ride ready Lightning train.

The Lightning vehicle is something the industry has never seen before: Zamperla’s engineers worked to make sure this is the best roller coaster train in the world, keeping our core design values at the forefront: safety, ergonomics, pure fun and the total cost of ownership for buyers.

“This Lightning train, and the Lightning LSM coaster project in Playland at the PNE, is confirmation that the investments made in people and technologies over the past five years in our Roller Coaster Business Unit are bearing fruit,” said Antonio Zamperla, Zamperla Group CEO. “In every market segment we have entered (kiddie rides, family rides and thrill rides), we have excelled because of our commitment to quality and innovation. I know our roller coaster division will see the same success. These will be two very important years for Zamperla Coasters business unit!”

“We are very pleased to be part of today’s announcement at IAAPA, the leading industry event for our sector,” says PNE President and CEO Shelley Frost. “Our Playland division is known around the world for our historic Wooden Coaster, and to be able to work with our long-time partner, Zamperla, to bring a state-of-the- art launch coaster is a very exciting edition to our park. Today’s announcement signals a new era for Playland.”

Exploring technical features of the Lightning vehicle, the most important attribute is the aluminum-milled chassis, which is critical for a few reasons. First, it weighs less than almost any other train of this type on the market. Secondly, the chassis is one milled piece so there are no welds. This feature is a game changer for maintenance and NDT costs: clients spend less time and money taking care of their ride on an annual basis than both our traditional coasters and those from our competitors.

The Lightning vehicle also has different road wheels, made to be low maintenance and withstand high acceleration: they will soon be seen on some of the world’s fastest attractions! Whether they are looking for a standard layout or a custom design, the engineering team at Zamperla coasters will offer a solution that fits the budget of any park.

The Lightning vehicle was designed around two key factors: comfort and cost of ownership. Zamperla did a lot of research, design studies and talked to hundreds of amusement park owners worldwide. The goal was to integrate end-user feedback into the vehicle design.

When it comes to rider comfort, we rethought how we design coasters. “We worked to make sure it is extremely ergonomic,” confirmed Adam Sandy, Zamperla’s Roller Coaster Sales, and Marketing Director. “Guests with a wide range of body sizes can comfortably fit in our seats. In addition, we moved the restraint tubing way outside the head line: this means the space is very wide and you’ll never have head banging like in a traditional, over-the-shoulder restraint. The lap bar fits right on the upper thigh, which allows for a comfortable ride.”

Talking about Cost of Ownership, two are the key features considered: the previously’mentioned aluminum-milled chassis and the seat foam. The latter we designed it in several pieces, so that the owner can change out in a matter of minutes, instead of taking days to get the seat replaced and re-foamed by a third party.

We look forward to you riding our Lightning LSM coasters around the globe!