A new type of ecological urban transport moves along special road markings. Fast-charging batteries are used as a fuel source.
Chinese transport company CRRC has begun introducing a new type of urban public transport. It is something between a bus, a trolleybus and a tram, combining the best qualities of each of the listed modes of transport. From electric transport, the new means of transportation took environmental friendliness, and from buses – maneuverability and the absence of the need to create special infrastructure (laying rails and installing wires).
The new system is called ART (Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit – autonomous rail high-speed transport). However, the rails here are quite conventional – they can only be considered a special double dotted marking. Each train includes three carriages, all together accommodating up to 307 passengers. Such a “train” can move around the city at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour. It differs from trolleybuses and trams in greater maneuverability, since it moves along special markings, and not along rails or electrical wires.
Testing of the ART system began in June 2017. Now the first 32-meter-long trains have taken to the roads of Zhuzhou and began transporting passengers. If necessary, from three-car trains they can be quickly converted into two- or four-car trains.
On one battery charge, a train of three cars can travel only 25 kilometers, however, according to the developers, this is not a problem – after all, it only takes 10 minutes to fully charge the battery. Since ART does not require either rails or wires, its implementation in the city’s public transport system will cost less than the construction of tram and trolleybus routes. In addition, such bus-trams can easily and quickly change their routes if necessary.
Since ART is an electric vehicle that does not emit exhaust gases, this is especially relevant for China. The environmental situation in Chinese cities is traditionally difficult. In this regard, the authorities are seriously considering plans to completely abandon the production of diesel and gasoline cars and switch to electric vehicles.
