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Turbine is a shuttle coaster located in Walibi Belgium. The coaster was built in 1982 by Schwarzkopf and was the first launched roller coaster in all of Europe. The coaster had undergone many changes in its lifetime and was renovated completely in 2013.
History[]
The coaster was originally opened under the name Sirocco. It was supposed to be built in a Japanese park, but was never delivered. This led to Walibi founder Eddy MeeĆ¹s, buying the small coaster with the claim that it would being many visitors. This coaster was known as the first shuttle looping coaster in Europe and attracted many guests in the opening date to see the unique attraction.
Incident[]
On Wednesday 27 August 1997, the train stalled at the top of the loop, leaving riders stuck upside-down. Nobody was injured in the incident.[1]
Alterations[]
In 1999, following noise complaints from local nearby residents, the loop was enclosed and the ride was rethemed and renamed to Turbine. The ride was further enclosed for the 2013 reopening, making it the first and currently only indoor shuttle loop. It also has the ability to operate on rainy days.[2].
Closure and refurbishment[]
Turbine closed by 2009 and stood SBNO until it was announced in 2011 that Turbine will be refurbished. The ride received a new train by Gerstlauer, the flywheel launch system was replaced with an LSM launch, and the spikes were enclosed. The flywheel was relocated to the coaster's queue as decoration and remains there today. The coaster reopened as PsykƩ Underground in 2013.
The ride was temporarily renamed Fanta Underground for the 2024 Halloween event.[3] It was renamed back to Turbine for the 2025 season with the opening of the new Dock World area.
Design[]
Colour scheme[]
Originally opened with yellow track and supports, this was repainted to green track and supports when becoming Turbine. The final repaint was when the ride became PsykƩ Underground, receiving black track and supports.
Trains[]
Single train with 7 cars. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 28 riders per train. Originally opened with a Schwarzkopf train. This was replaced with a Gerstlauer train for the 2013 season, as part of the remodel.
The ride[]
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Elements |
The train is launched out of the station at a speed of between 53 and 60 miles per hour (85 and 97 km/h) before passing through a vertical loop and up a 138-foot-tall spike (42 m). Once the momentum of the train runs out on the 70Ā° spike, the train begins to traverse the track backwards, returning through the loop. The train then passes back through the station and goes up another 70Ā° steep spike, which stands at 105 feet (32 m), until it stalls again and rolls forward back into the brake run and station.
Trivia[]
- The coaster received its own soundtrack by Franco-Swiss DJ Quentin Mosimann.
- When it was still called Turbine, music was often used in the station with special effects which were applied regularly before and during the launch, such as a countdown and smoke effects. Nowadays, a countdown has been incorporated into the attraction.
Gallery[]
Video[]
References[]
- ā Riders of Belgian roller coaster stuck upside down for 1 1/2 hours, Associated Press. 1997-08-28. Archived 2019-11-02.
- ā Derde leven voor achtbaan in Walibi by Adri van Esch, Parkplanet. 2013-07-15.
- ā PsykĆ© Underground wordt Fanta Underground: halloweenversie van Walibi-achtbaan, Looopings. 2024-10-22.
External links[]
- Turbine official webpage at Walibi Belgium
- Turbine at the Roller Coaster DataBase